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Post by kiku on Jan 26, 2009 22:03:36 GMT -5
Kiku’s mouth was open and ready to protest quickly after Kiran had spoken. (Pull more weight with a broken collar bone? Over her dead body!) However, her father had beaten her to the punch.
“Haven’t done anything wrong? Oh, hell…”
“Dad!” Kiku spurt, her back perfectly straight, brown eyes wide, long, pale fingers spread out against the wooden grain of the table. Redness invaded her peach cheeks, and, when it was apparent that her father was (reluctantly) gracing her with his attention, she sighed, closed her eyes for a moment, and spoke.
“Dad. Kiran protected us. All of us,” she emphasized, meeting her father’s skeptical gaze with a very serious one of her own. “He put his life in danger for this family. He even hurt himself.” With this she gestured, needlessly, to Kiran’s impaired arm, glancing as she did so; in stride, she graced Kiran with a faint smile. However, even with this one brief look, admiration slipped through this typically chaste action. Katsu snorted in a very unconvinced, disgusted kind of way.
“Kiku; you’re judgment is obviously clouded in this matter, so why don’t you just leave me—”
“Then why don’t you just ask Gram, or Mom for that matter!” Kiku rebutted in a rather loud voice, hot frustration revealed through the redness of her smooth, slender neck. Momentarily tongue-tied, she stuttered with brief second thoughts, before adding in a much smaller, hesitant voice: “D…did you ever think you’re judgment may be clouded?”
If Katsu was capable of standing, he would have done so then, but instead his chest puffed out in indignation and his nostrils flared. “Kiku Nakahara, you go to your room right--!”
“Daddy – please! Forget it, I’m sorry,” Kiku murmured in flustered embarrassment. “Please… Just let him stay until he’s healed. It wouldn’t be right to put him out alone. He needs a lot of assistance right now; he can hardly get dressed by himself…”
Katsu smacked his hand against the table, face the color of a ripe tomato. “Kiku..!"
Her hands shot up in defense, cheeks almost as red. “Okay! Bad example.”
With this, she chuckled nervously, determinedly not meeting Kiran’s gaze, before sighing.
“Dad. Please?”
Katsu’s eyes narrowed, first at his daughter, but more at the man that sat across from him. For several moments his eyes were relentless; was this man really worth all this stress? There was nothing exceptional to him, really. How had he gotten Kiku to act this way, so out of character? It did not make him like him more…
“He can stay for now,” he growled. “But as soon as he can as so much as put a teacup to his lips he is OUT of my house.” He glared at Kiran. “You understand?”
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Post by coldflame on Jan 30, 2009 16:28:34 GMT -5
Kiran had never imagined Kiku being the type of woman to stand up against her father. His eyes widened at times, just like Katsu’s (but unlike Katsu, his face wasn’t blood-red). Hell, he didn’t know Kiku could even get her voice that loud. Kiran’s eyes looked back at Katsu sometimes – he looked absolutely furious. Even if the man was trapped in a chair, his voice, his face, and his power over the household was enough to make a person obey him. It was enough for Kiran…to some degree.
Kiran had been sitting silently, watching and listening to Kiku talk to her father; at one point it was amusing. Her mess-up on telling Katsu that she’d need to help him getting dressed – which was partly true – nearly made Kiran smile. He felt it coming and brought up his hand to his face to wipe the corner of his mouth, as if it was a casual gesture; however, he mainly raised his hand to literally brush away the smirk on his lips.
But he couldn’t help but admire Kiku for her efforts to let him stay. Kiran could see from the small glances she gave him that she was admiring him – in every way. He only smiled back at her, though it was small. His eyes were better at communicating tenderness during moments like these. It was simply because now wasn’t the time, obviously.
Once the man sitting in the wheel-chair turned his eyes upon Kiran, he looked back at him; he seemed calm, but his eyes expressed what only could be known as total desperation. But when his answer came, he still felt strange. What if…
“I understand,” Kiran said firmly and calmly. There was a pause for a moment and then he added: “But…does this mean that I won’t be allowed to see her from that point on?”
It seemed like a dangerous question, but he simply had to know.
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Post by kiku on Jan 30, 2009 21:38:51 GMT -5
Tensing, Kiku glanced to her father with a gracious amount of hesitation – head tilted down, lips slightly parted, eyes cautiously gazing from underneath delicate lashes. Should she look desperate, or would that only encourage an undesired retort? Conflicted, her eyes only widened with vast curiosity, fists clenching against the smooth tabletop. However, Kiku’s fears were unnecessary; Katsu’s eyes were held steadily to Kiran. This made Kiku more nervous.
Katsu pouted a bit in thought, humming gruffly and rubbing his strong hand against his scruffy chin. What course of action to take? He was stuck with this boy from several more weeks, and Kiku would continue to spend time with him that long; no doubt the damn scum would enwrap her further into his greedily clutches… And that meant Kiku would hate him as much as a girl her age could hate her father. Damn this man. But Katsu felt the components of a plan start to come together…
“We’ll discuss that when that time comes, I think,” Katsu murmured darkly. But his eyes were not merciful. "Some work will be involved..."
Kiku sighed, uncertain, but relieved for the moment. For now – for several weeks at least – they were safe. But she had no idea what challenges awaited them after that. Katsu pulled away from the table.
“By the way, Kiku,” he began casually. “You’re grounded for the rest of the day; stay in your room unless your mother, grandmother, or I say otherwise. And don’t you dare to speak to me like that again, young lady.”
She felt her heart sink as her father left the room. Though her father was being completely unreasonable, Kiku felt guilty that she had disappointed him – now that those irrepressible loving effects had warn off. She tried not to look too sulky.
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Post by coldflame on Feb 6, 2009 16:01:23 GMT -5
Kiran was a little nervous about the answer Katsu gave him; it almost sounded like he had something planned already. Of course, Kiran wasn’t in the spirits to hear those sort of things just yet, so he took the grateful obligation of merely nodding in response. The only good thing that came out of this was that he was indeed allowed to stay for a little longer, even if he didn’t know how long that would be.
However, as Katsu wheeled out of the kitchen, he was disappointed even further. Kiran hoped that Kiku wouldn’t truly have to be grounded and sent to her room; what was he going to do all day without her? It would be boring, and now that he was on a possible, permanent time-limit, he wanted to be with her for as much as possible.
He looked to Kiku with a very small, sheepish smile and said in a tone that was disappointed:
“So…does this mean that we won’t be spending the day together?” He looked at her in a way that said that he hoped not. He also sounded a little skeptical; the day had just started and she was going to be sent away for the entirety of it? Kiran merely chuckled softly and leaned in a little bit closer to her, murmuring:
“Don’t worry. I’ll sneak you out later.” He smiled a little more and winked, despite the way he was really feeling at the moment.
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Post by kiku on Feb 6, 2009 21:48:36 GMT -5
Just the idea of wasting an entire day without Kiran – when he was so easily available – was heartbreaking. For months and months she had pined for an opportunity to just see his face, or to touch his large, calloused hand. Not being with him every moment he was able to be here sounded almost sinful it was so depressing. Kiku nearly cringed at his first comment; a thin grimace pulled down the corner of her pale lips. Simultaneously, her brow furrowed, and her mind clung desperately to shreds of optimism.
She was not sure how to reply, how to make this grim day set before them seem more bearable, but, like always, Kiran made her smile.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Kiku chuckled coyly. She looked to Kiran with joking eyes, her heart jumping slightly as she too leaned into the center of the table. Sliding her small hands across it, closer to his, she murmured, “You’re already on probation.”
Slowly, she cupped both, soft hands over his, her thumb naturally brushing over them.
“But,” she continued, glancing at this spectacle thoughtfully, “the females of my family might be persuaded to release me from my prison sentence…”
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Post by coldflame on Feb 12, 2009 22:45:56 GMT -5
The word ‘probation’ sounded more irritating than it was supposed to, but he knew she was kidding….in a way. Though, Kiran easily saw the flicker of disappointment on her face before she took his hands and smiled again. They both knew that their time together was precious – especially Kiran, for he already worried about the amount of time he would be spending away from her.
But he needed to stay positive; he knew things were going to be rough between himself and Katsu. And with the way she was holding his hands against the cool wood of the table, it was easy to be comforted. Her skin was smooth and her hands were tiny, but very warm all the same…
He chuckled softly at the idea of her having to require backup in order to escape her own house. Really, it was her own house. And it sounded ridiculous for a woman her age to be sent to her room as if she was five years old in the first place, but Kiran nor Kiku could do much about Katsu’s attitude. For the most part, or at least for now, Kiran felt grateful for Katsu’s momentary lapse of mercy.
“I suppose so,” Kiran said, winking at her. “Though, I thought the whole thing went fairly well considering what he could have done. At least I wasn’t the one sent to my room anyways.” He grinned widely at her and chuckled teasingly.
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Post by kiku on Feb 15, 2009 21:07:36 GMT -5
Kiku rolled her eyes, but her lips remained curled into a soft smile. A tint of fresh embarrassment, however, was made apparent by the slightly upturned corner of her smile and the faint pinkness of her neck. It was a bit humiliating – having been sent away during his visit, but he was right: things could have turned out much worse.
“You’re right,” she chuckled. “Though, I wouldn’t get too smug about it.”
After they were both finished spending a very leisurely amount of time in the kitchen, Kiku reluctantly returned upstairs to her room, glancing back at Kiran as she went, a bit of suppressed longing in her eyes. However, Kiku did not end up being sentenced to a day of solitude, like her father would have preferred. Indeed, Hana came up several minutes later to rescue her – and then to drop off a serious workload. However, being productive didn’t bother Kiku near as much as rusting alone in her room.
For one thing, customers seemed to drop by often that day, and, when she wasn’t checking up on herbs in the garden or organizing items in storage, she was interacting with people. Assisting people who needed it, of course, was her calling, and she seemed to enjoy this day especially well; she was doing what she loved, often under the gaze of the one she loved. It made her feel complete.
Yet, there wasn’t too much time to make eyes at Kiran. An especially grand amount of people came to visit, not all at once, but consistently throughout the day; though, it shouldn’t have been unexpected with the events the previous evening had brought. Most of her customers were young men; luckily there was nothing serious. Several scrapes, though some more serious cuts were apparent. One man had broken an arm, and a few others were burned. Between her and Hana, they managed to patch them all up with decent efficiency.
The busy day meant that Kiku was exhausted by the end. When the last customer had left to go home, it was early evening, and Kiku collapsed onto the soft settee in the living room, resting her head back against the back of the small sofa, while her knees curled up and her feet dangled off the edge.
“Ah, I ache all over,” she laughed breathlessly, but it was her shoes she slipped off and her ankle that she massaged gently. And, just then, there was a knock on the door.
“Oh, I’ll get it, sweetie,” Lien replied in her pleasant manner; she bustled away, to the door. With a light thank you, Kiku relaxed before smiling at the young man near her.
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Post by coldflame on Feb 20, 2009 16:42:33 GMT -5
The day had seemed to move by slowly. His job, while Kiku worked all day, was to not interrupt and just watch. Occasionally, he would do little things, like fetch a jar of medicine or get some bandages for the patients.
The patients that came through gave Kiran countless reminders of the night before. As he would sit on the store counter, watching Kiku patch up a patient, Kiran would often glance at their burns or deep cuts. They were all evidence of his nation’s rampage and Kiran felt deeply sorry for it. If a wound of one patient was particularly bad, Kiran’s face would fall every now and then. It didn’t help his guilt whenever a patient would have a tangent about how horrible is nation was or when they would talk about how their house burned down. Sometimes he left the room so he didn’t have to hear or see anything. The only reason why he would come back was so that Kiku wouldn’t be worried about him. He would wear a smile just for her…
But she always made that guilt go away. He enjoyed watching her work; her nimble hands moved quickly as they bandaged and cleaned injuries. She smiled at every person, welcoming them happily to her home. Even though it was a part of her job to do those things, she did it with such ease. Of course, being polite came naturally to her; Kiran knew that much. He admired her endurance too: she looked absolutely exhausted, but she never rested or quit. Kiku was pretty amazing when it came to her job as a healer. After all the times she’s saved his own skin, Kiran couldn’t do anything else but be amazed at her skill level.
However, it was easy to be bored sitting on a counter and watching all day. At one point, he thought about asking Kiku for some medicine for the pain in his collar (though there was no pain), just so he could have some attention – he thrived on wanting her attention. But he stopped himself and figured that her work was definitely more important at the moment.
Towards the end of the day, however, Kiran got his wish when he discovered that she was done working. Finally, they could have some time together. It sounded pathetic, but he was glad to be alone with her after a long day of sitting and not doing much. When he looked to her as they sat on the sofa together, he smiled a bit sheepishly; she looked completely worn out.
“You worked hard today,” he said, a tint of admiration in his voice. “I’ve got just the thing…”
He grinned and gently reached over, took her ankle in his hands, and then removed her shoe. As he started massaging her foot, feeling the tenseness in her muscles, he knew she must be aching. Well, he wouldn’t have that. He kneaded his thumbs into the pad of her foot, making note to himself about how small her feet were – she was so petite, but he liked that about her.
“How does that feel?” he asked, grinning.
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Post by kiku on Feb 20, 2009 22:48:34 GMT -5
Her eyes widened when Kiran first took her foot into his steady hands, but, as soon as she felt the warmth and pressure of his strong fingers, Kiku’s shoulders relaxed and her back slipped and shifted against the arm of the sofa, so she was reclining more than sitting. Her eyelids fluttered faintly, and a bashful smile played on her lips. Whether it was because of the dramatic strain the day had brought on her feet, or because Kiran was exceptionally talented with these sort of things, her muscles cooed at his touch, as it was calmly releasing the throbbing ache present there.
Of course, while it was easy for her body to relax in response to the pleasing release his action brought, she was still a bit baffled by it. Since their current relationship was still fresh, Kiku remained unused to the attention she received from him, and still marveled about the feelings he possessed that encouraged them. What did he feel now as he held her foot so gently in his hands and looked at her with those pale, golden eyes? There was raw compassion in his massage; surely he felt that within his heart. The thought was pleasantly numbing, and she smiled as she wondered if she deserved that from him…
“It’s fantastic,” Kiku replied softly, glancing at him with shy, admiring eyes. She chuckled gently. “Thank you.”
Her toes rippled under his touch for a moment, thoughtful silence briefly consuming them, before she spoke again, in a low, tender voice.
“I really enjoy being alone with you,” she murmured. A soft grin spread into her lips. “And not just because your exceptionally gifted with this,” she added with a gesture to her feet.
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Post by coldflame on Feb 25, 2009 22:30:13 GMT -5
Kiran chuckled as he continued to massage her tensely sore foot. He lightly welcomed her after her shy and admiring thank you, smiling a bit warmer as he did so. He was glad to help her feel better, but she instantly knew how to make him feel better as well. Kiku’s soft comment after their brief pause lifted his heart, because they both knew just how precious their time together was. It was only a matter of time before he would have to go home…and probably be forced to stay there.
No. No, he was thinking about that all day. ‘Enough for now’, he told himself.
So instead, he smiled at her, his mood having not faltered much.
“It’s just too bad we didn’t have more time together today…” he said, smiling in a way that said ‘It’s disappointing, but oh well’. “But hey, I can’t complain now – even if I am massaging feet.”
He grinned widely and wiggled her toes, tickling her foot slightly to emphasize the “feet” part. But of course, being the man that he is, he couldn’t resist moving his palm to her ankle and massaging there as well. He wouldn’t lie to himself: he found that Kiku’s small feet and slender ankles were becoming very attractive. He chuckled lightly to himself, glancing up at her once with a handsome smile before looking down again.
“But you deserve to be relaxing. You did a great job today…” He smiled again, but he kept his eyes calmly downward, moving one hand over the curves in her foot. His fingers slipped around and kneaded their way to her ankle again; he was gentle, but strong enough to ease the cramped muscles under her skin. A few moments of silence passed and it was only until then did he realize that his hand had moved to her leg, massaging the area on the back of her knee. He must have dazed off, because he didn’t quite seem to notice this until now. But he didn’t stop. He merely hesitated for a moment, then moved his way slowly back down to her foot. Of course he had to savor it; why not go slow?
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Post by kiku on Feb 26, 2009 19:56:24 GMT -5
Kiku murmured a soft “thank you” after Kiran complimented her, before letting silence waft around them once more. Silence had always been a type of release for her – it was nice not having to force out something to say – but, with Kiran especially, the quietness felt significantly tranquil; even without words, they felt at home with one another and soaked up each other’s presence, taking nothing for granted. It was disappointing to think that a whole day could have been spent like this, but Kiku didn’t let it get to her. In some strange way, Kiku felt as if being separated kept them closer. When they knew their time was together was precious, they maximized it, and pining for such togetherness – whether over a day or several months – kept longing and love burning in their breasts.
For a few moments, Kiku closed her eyes, sighing almost inaudibly as she continued to absorb the soothing pressure of Kiran’s able hands. She continued to smile… Until she gradually detected a change. Eyes opening in mild puzzlement, Kiku soon discovered that Kiran’s hands were slowly drifting up her leg… Instantly her shoulders tightened and vibrant color crept up her pale neck, her body automatically shifting backward.
“Hell-o…!” She exclaimed silently at the unanticipated action, before tilting her head up and praising the spirits that she had shaved that morning.
Despite her coyness, however, Kiran continued unabashed, gracing her muscles with a slow, romantic touch, and Kiku relaxed again… But that’s when Daichi walked in.
He was moody – he couldn’t help that – but seeing them on the settee together almost made Daichi loose his cool. He was giving her a foot massage? What were they? Married?
Shaking his head and scattering those bitter thoughts, he walked calmly in front of the display, arms folded. His muddy eyes took a swift observation of Kiran’s bandaged collar… a neat job. No doubt Kiku’s work. He sighed; what was he going to do with this woman?
“Mm. Did I snap your collar then, Kiran? Damn,” he said, though he was uncertain if he was trying to be threatening or funny, “Thought I did better than that.”
Kiku’s glare was like ice. She apparently did not think it was very funny. Daichi put up his hands.
“Hey, easy there. I’m actually not here to be a complete jackass."
“You could have fooled me,” Kiku purred, her brow furrowed as she stared at the rug. Daichi sighed, and, knowing he was loosing with Kiku, glanced uncertainly to Kiran. He folded his arms again.
“Um. Yeah. So. Maybe I overreacted,” he began reluctantly, before his voice and expression hardened. “But. The honest truth is that I don’t trust you.”
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Post by coldflame on Feb 26, 2009 22:51:56 GMT -5
Everything was completely relaxing and peaceful until Kiran detected someone else enter the room. He paused, his hands still around Kiku’s ankle as he turned his head and looked up. His expression immediately became sour.
Daichi. That bastard.
And of course it didn’t help the atmosphere of the room with Daichi’s snarky comments. Before Kiran could even scowl, Kiku seemed to rebuke him just as fast. Kiran inwardly sighed; he knew he couldn’t show his hate to Daichi – not in front of him anyways. Of course, it was already obvious that he wasn’t happy to see him here. It ruined his and Kiku’s quiet time alone together – that was enough to irritate Kiran a little bit. But then having this jackass come in and toss a few sarcastic jokes in the air made that irritation rise tenfold.
Kiran sighed heavily and sat up a little more, his hands sliding off of Kiku’s foot. His stare was hard but calm as he stood up so he could be eye-to-eye with Daichi; he was happy to see that he was a little taller than the earthbender.
Kiran narrowed his eyes and spoke skeptically at first.
“Maybe overreacted? Tck. Right,” he said, his voice low, but still calm as he tried to hide the true nature of his irritation. “Sorry that a broken collar bone doesn’t compensate for your idiocy. I’m sure there’s a whole lot that can’t compensate for that.”
He stepped a little closer.
“You know, I frankly don’t give a damn about whether you trust me or not. I trusted you, because you’re Kiku’s closest friend. She trusts you, so I thought I could do the same. That’s all the convincing I needed.”
He paused for a second and glanced at Kiku, before looking back at him.
“But…actually, I should be thanking you.” He smirked slightly. “You see, if you hadn’t broken my collarbone, then I wouldn’t have been allowed to stay here longer. But, seeing as how I’m temporarily crippled, I can’t leave until I’ve healed. Now I get to spend more time with Kiku. So…..thanks.”
Kiran’s realization at what he said only made him grin even more.
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Post by kiku on Feb 28, 2009 22:46:55 GMT -5
If there was only one thing Daichi hated about Kiran, it was that Kiran always made him look like the one at fault. He was trying to protect Kiku; he shouldn’t be criticized for being skeptic about some random stranger that just happened to waltz up to the house and sweep Kiku off her feet, especially when that stranger was from a nation primarily noted for its deceptive and cruel nature.
Daichi though, irked as he was by Kiran’s insults, took everything with a straight face, having much practice with this from his instructors in the army. His jaw was set, his eyes sharp and narrow.
“Well, that’s very lucky,” He said coolly, undaunted. “But you’ll have to leave eventually, and, I daresay after spending more time with her your separation would probably only hurt her more.”
But he dusted this off, continuing with the real issue.
“And as far as your trust… Well, that’s very noble of you and everything, but, Kiku has known me her entire life; I think she would have a very accurate, trustworthy opinion of me. But. How long has she had to get to know you, exactly? A month, two? It’s easy to lie, and we’re in the middle of a war here. There are men positioned everywhere, some very adapt at pretending like they’re someone else. No offense, but that’s the truth. Kiku’s smart, but she doesn’t have a soldier’s eye, and I see your people attack my brothers and our families on a daily basis, so sorry if I’m a little skeptical.”
His voice was grim, more bitter than sincere, arms still folded at his front. He stared – only slightly upward – straight into Kiran’s eyes.
Meanwhile, Kiku felt her anger melt, exasperation taking its place. She couldn’t stay mad at Daichi for long. She was just upset in general now, sad that her two favorite peers were fighting like this. But she was powerless at the moment; if she were to interrupt, what would she say? For now, this was between them, and she could only look at them with a sorrowful tint in her eyes, for even if one won, the other lost, and she didn’t want either of them to lose.
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Post by coldflame on Mar 2, 2009 22:11:46 GMT -5
Kiran, in all his frustrations, knew that Daichi had a point. No matter how many times he tried to get around it, there was no escaping the rational look of things. Kiran had to pause for a moment and get a real glimpse. After a short pause, his jaw tense just like the earthbender’s, Kiran could see the concern in Daichi’s words and voice; albeit it was covered in grim hate for him, Kiran cared just as much for Kiku as Daichi did. And it stung a bit – Kiran also knew he was only being a burden to Kiku, but he also knew that he was too selfish to give her up. He wasn’t going to walk away from someone he loved; not like last time.
And, as much as Kiran hated to admit to himself, there were other things that Daichi brought up where he had a point; as far as knowing Kiku for as long as Daichi has, well, Daichi was obviously the winner. Kiran only knew Kiku for about – what was it? A week? – until they became friends. Then it was only until he returned when he realized he loved her. He knew it was strange, but all together, Kiran has known Kiku for about five months or so. But he hadn’t been keeping count, exactly.
Despite all that, there was that obstinacy that didn’t want Kiran to give in to this guy. He was far too deep in the water to be saved now; he was with Kiku and that was how it was going to stay for as long as it could.
He stood firm, but his eyes naturally drifted to Kiku, seeing her face drop with exhaustion – she was just as tired of this as he was. He sighed deeply and looked back to Daichi, staring him right into his green irises. He sounded calmer this time, exhausted almost.
“If you had the soldier’s eye, you would have obviously seen what I did last night. I tore apart my own nation’s tanks – one by one. I did my part to protect Kiku and her home. I don’t regret it either.”
He sighed again, because he knew that what he was going to say next was going to be hard to admit to someone like Daichi.
“Listen. I know I haven’t known Kiku that long, but…I feel like I’ve known her forever – for just as long as you’ve known her. And if you trust Kiku, then you gotta trust her judgment too. If I was really here to harm her or this village, then I would have let everything that almost happened last night actually happen. But I didn’t. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t.”
Kiran felt his shoulder throb a bit, so he backed up and slowly sat back down. He only winced slightly.
“And by the way...don’t think that I haven’t lost friends to this war either.”
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Post by kiku on Mar 5, 2009 21:13:30 GMT -5
Kiku watched almost cautiously as she examined Daichi’s face as it morphed from stubborn defiance, to grim thoughtfulness, to flat-out annoyance. He shifted his weight to his back foot and crossed his arms in a casual manner, brow furrowed, a gruff sigh slipping reluctantly from his lips. Kiku couldn’t help but smile at this; she could almost hear him, in that exasperated voice, moan “Come on, Kiku,” when she wasn’t interested in doing something that was potentially exciting… and certainly dangerous or in some other way very, very stupid. But, Kiku also smiled because it was a face often followed by his resign: “Fine. We’ll be boring and not trick Shen into eating the wild mushrooms.”
So, with faint hope, she listened.
“You know what?” Daichi sighed, rolling his eyes. “Maybe you have a point; you did surprise me by carrying out your promise. However…” he paused then, meeting Kiran’s gaze mercilessly. “I still find it necessary to keep an eye on you. Honestly, neither I nor this family knows much about you, so I can’t help but be skeptical, at least for several more encounters.”
He wore an almost teasing smile, but it was also bitter. Daichi needed to know that Kiran didn’t do this one decent thing to gain his trust, to then take advantage of it. Kiran would have to be damn consistent. He would never forgive himself if Kiku got hurt over all this mess. He paused again.
“And I’m sorry about your friends,” he mumbled, before adding very quietly, “…but you guys started it.”
Kiku, suddenly by Daichi’s side, whapped him sisterly on the arm, a scolding look in her normally peaceful eyes.
“Very mature, Daichi.”
With this, she looked at Kiran, wearing a soft, apologetic smile, before abruptly changing the subject.
“…Would anybody care for a late snack?”
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