[fieldbox="Irene's Joy, yellow"]Konohagakure, the capital of the Empire of Akino | A meeting between Meilin and Irene Cho with Aoi Miyazato.
Wednesday, the fourth day after Team 4 returned from their mission in Hanaguro.
A collab between
@FrostedCaramel and
@Oetje.
Summary:
A long collab that portrays the interaction that took place between the Cho sisters with Aoi Miyazato. Aoi meets and learns one of Meilin's sisters. And indirectly sees a different side of Meilin. The end of the day almost seems to end in a bad note but only has strengthened the bond between Meilin and Aoi.
[spoili]
Meilin had her arms crossed out front of her chest. Her gaze rested on Irene who sat in front of a pond. The change was most welcome as Irene seemed to have found her own cheerful self. Yet the image of how she had looked when Meilin had found her after the battle of Homdar was still tormenting the chuunin. All that was needed was just to close her eyes and think of Irene and that gruesome visage crept in.
Sighing, Meilin threw a look at the right. If she wasn't mistaken, Aoi would soon arrive on the scene. The small plaza was quite peaceful. Not many were around in the noon. Most people came to this plaza in the later afternoon. A few people were around but Meilin doubted that it would be a problem.
"I like these fish. Do you think we ever can have fishes?"
Irene's question pulled Meilin's attention back to her sibling.
"For lunch?" Meilin asked, a smile dawning on her lips.
The response of her older sister caused Irene's eyes to widen as she shook her head.
"No! No! To keep! Come look."
Meilin pushed her back from the wall and walked towards the pond. Placing her hands on her knees she would bend forward, looking at the various fish in the pond.
"I like that one! He is so big and colourful!"
"That he is. You want to pet him?"
Irene threw a sideways glance at her older sister. She shyly nodded.
"Okay, I am going to hold you. Just lean forward and if he bites, we will have him for dinner."
"You are awful!"
"And pragmatic, it is a great combination."
Holding Irene by her sides, Meilin would let her younger sibling lean forward. Her hand reached for the water and halted at the surface. Some fish moved to the stretched out hand, likely expecting food.
"I think I want to do it another time." Irene said as she pulled her hand back, flinching.
"That is fine." Meilin would slowly pull Irene back and release her.
"We could perhaps go and eat fish later, hm?"
"You are awful!"
Aoi had spent ages the night before staring at her own arm in the mirror. Something about the thought of not having an arm set her stomach wrong, caused her to sweat and she couldn't sleep. She wondered how strong Meilin's little sister must be to be watching the fishes like any other kid. Aoi crossed the park to who must have been Irene, a sleeve tied where her left arm should have been and Meilin literally holding her confirmed the thought.
She raised a hand and waved,
"Hey." she said with a smile before crouching down to be eye level with Irene,
"You must be Meilin's little hero." she beamed at the girl before offering her right hand for a shake,
"I'm Aoi." She held her gaze with the girl, trying not to focus too much on the ghost of an arm at Irene's side.
The sound of Aoi's voice caused the two sisters to turn towards the approaching Miyazato. Meilin flashed a smile whereas Irene seemed to be more content to stand safely at her older sister's flank. When Aoi crouched, Irene shifted her gaze to Meilin for a second. The mentioning of Aoi that she was Meilin's hero caused Irene's eyes to widen. She would lick her lips before she would hold a fist out front of her chest while making a small bow towards Aoi. Her voice carried a soft accent that betrayed her origin.
"I am Irene Cho, a pleasure to meet you."
Only after the small bow, Irene would glance at the stretched out hand of Aoi. Slowly and cautiously, the smaller girl would move her hand and gently grab the wrist of Aoi.
Meilin had placed her hands at her hips, taking a step backwards.
"I think Aoi wanted you to shake her hand."
This caused Irene's cheeks to flare up as she would seem a bit shocked and embarrassed.
She couldn't help but watch in awe of Irene as she first bowed and then grabbed her wrist. She stifled a small laugh, only some betraying sounds escaping her lips as Meilin corrected Irene on Aoi's intention. She shook the little girls hand,
"The pleasure is mine Irene." and rose to meet Meilin a moment later.
"So you two were trying to catch some fish from a park to eat huh? You know they have markets for that." She teased before extending a hand to Meilin as well.
She looked down to Irene and lingered on the tied sleeve for perhaps a little too long and then turned back up to Meilin,
"So where to Cho Sisters? I'm in your care for the day." she smiled and gave a small bow to Irene.
Irene nodded, her eyes cast down as her cheeks still were flaming red. The red taint slowly spread to the rest of the girl's face and neck. Meilin would extend her own hand to shake Aoi's, a grin cracking on the older Cho's lips.
"They say that it is best to get them fresh."
Meilin noticed where Aoi's gaze went to but said nothing. Instead, she nodded towards Irene.
"Well, I did ask what she wanted to do. And she said that she would love to have something nice. I was thinking of lunch. There is a good restaurant nearby. It serves some more local cuisine, which you might like." Meilin replied as she gestured Irene to lead the way.
The small girl nodded as she would start walking and throwing another look at Aoi. Her lips parted slightly but the younger sister remained silent as she turned her head to where they were heading.
"She asked me before about you. On if you could indeed do things I am not able to." Meilin said, which caused Irene to halt and half turn around.
"Meilin!"
"And I said that you wouldn't bite."
"Meilin!!"
"Besides, she has a lot more questions for you."
"Meilin!!!"
Aoi chuckled at Meilin's response about the fish and turned to watch the pond for a moment as she talked. She could make out their reflections almost perfectly in the still water, and playing beneath it were the fish Irene had been so intent upon, randomly swimming from side to side and piercing the surface every so often to eat things to small for Aoi to make out with her own eyes.
"Food does sound like a good idea," she said without turning back to Meilin,
"I'm up for anything right about now." She turned back to them both and pat her stomach jokingly.
Following Irene, she'd keep pace with Meilin as they went along, the little girl out in front. She seemed as if she was going to ask something, but quickly decided against it and turned her haw back ahead of her. Aoi wondered if she should say something to ease the girls mind, but Meilin beat her to it.
She brought her hand over her mouth to lessen the sound of her laughter as Irene and Meilin seemed to go at it like only siblings could. She stopped laughing and looked down on Irene,
"Your sister is a bit of a butt huh?" She asked, the little girl was missing an arm and yet was still just a little girl. Still just as adorable and lively as any with two arms. Aoi's heart ached at the thought of what she had to put up with to still be a child at this point.
"You can ask whatever you like, Meilins right," she gave Meilin a nudge as she said it,
"I don't in fact bite. At least not normally." her cheeks grew a bit red as she remembered what she'd done in Hanaguro, but they quickly cleared.
"A bit," Irene replied as she shot a look at Meilin. The latter just winking back at the younger Cho.
"Okay, but if I go... euhm," the girl wavered for a second.
"Too far," Meilin added, almost as a mere reflex.
"Yes, then you have to tell me. It is very, very, very rude to ask guests too many questions." Irene said, a serious tone carried by her voice.
"Is it true that you're a kunoichi? But not a member of any Guard? If so, how is that..." Irene asked at first.
"Possible. She is more used to speak and hearing Chonobi," Meilin added as Irene nodded quickly while keeping her eyes locked on Aoi. Deciding even to walk to the side of the Miyazato to converse better.
Meilin decided to let the two try to speak. Despite she wanted to try to show that she wanted to trust Aoi and even consider her a friend, there was something that made her wary. She couldn't place it but considered it on the fact that another person that wasn't of the same kind origin was so close to Irene. Then again, Meilin doubted that Aoi would hold any malicious intent towards Irene.
Nodding her head Aoi smiled and watched Irene as she moved back alongside her,
"I'll let you know if you go to far Irene don't worry." She assured the young girl as they went. She raised an eyebrow and thought for a second on the guard question,
"No Guard units for me." she stayed confidently,
"You don't need to be a Guard unit to be a Kunoichi, just go to the Academy like your sister did and your good to be a Kunoichi." she paused and started again,
"Although I guess it's rather a different path for a Chonobi then?"
She smiled down to Irene as they went and shot a glance back towards Meilin, the smile holding all the way before she turned her gaze back to the girl.
The answer seemed to confuse Irene for a moment.
"But..." She seemed to weight Aoi's words for a moment. Then she looked back up at Aoi to bring up another question.
"Do you need two arms to go to this... Academy?"
"Yes, Irene." Meilin decided to answer in Aoi's stead. Figuring that the disappointment would be slightly less, if she were to answer in Aoi's stead.
"Not necessary though. There are some Cho who don't sign up with the Guard when going to the Academy. The Guard is rather, strict when it comes to acceptance. Not to mention, it works somewhat different." Meilin further said, hoping to fill in the small gap of silence as Irene's eyes lowered her gaze for a moment.
"Is it true that you're as strong as my sister?" Irene decided to ask. The curious tone and expression back, as if the disappointment of before hadn't occurred.
Aoi wasn't sure what to say, her mind jumped and she wasn't able to form the words she wanted, her face was beginning to go pale and then Meilin answered Irene's question in her stead. She let out a silent breath of relief that she had been spared that question. She had no idea how to break that sort of news to a girl she had just met. She let Meilin talk, being the subject matter expert between them and simply nodded in agreement as they went along.
A grin grew across her face as Irene seemed to shrug off the disappointment of her earlier question. She turned to Meilin and the back to Irene. She placed a finger on her lips and hummed in thought as they walked for a good minute. She pointed down to Irene,
"I think there are certain things I do better than her, and things she does better than me." she said and then smiled wider,
"But if we're talking physical strength I do think I'm the stronger one." she winked at Irene.
The girl's eyes widen as she then frowned.
"But Meilin fought a huge battle! Unless..."
Irene seemed to consider something before she continued.
"Did you fight any large battles? Or what kind of hero deeds did you perform?"
Meilin couldn't help but flash a smile. They weren't far away. Spotting the establishment up ahead, she was paying close watch of what the two others were talking about. The mentioning of a large battle caused the smile to become faint. Briefly, Meilin felt the need to say that it was nothing. But it had been something.
The questions that Irene then asked caused Meilin to shoot a look sideways at Aoi.
She swallowed at the question of Irene, unsure how to respond she'd continue walking in silence for a little. Her mind raced as she tried to find something that may please the young child but she was no hero as far as she was concerned.
"I have a little brother…" she started a bit softly,
"he has the same ability I have, which means when he was young he got very very sick. I had to go home to help him because my father had fallen ill shortly after my brothers ability began to show, I had to take care of him." she paused but decided to continue as Irene was surely old enough to know what she was talking about at least a little,
"I was home for the entirety of Shoji's Rebellion. So I didn't fight in it… I just helped my brother to stop being sick the whole time."
She shook her head and smiled down at the girl,
"No hero deeds for me, not yet." she grinned.
Irene stared at Aoi as she spoke of her little brother. A smile dawned on the child's lips as she nodded.
"Sure sounds like a hero's deed to me, miss. Your brother may sure thank the Gods for such kind and caring sister." The smile grew as Irene's pride seemed to swell.
"My sister fought a whole horde of bad men to save me! Like a hero from the sagas, sword in hand and as fierce as a..." the child's voice faltered as she tried to come up with a good analogy.
"We are here." Meilin said as she gestured to the door. She would take the lead, opening the door. Holding it open for Aoi, Meilin would step further. Arranging a table for three, Irene spoke up to Aoi again.
"She doesn't like to talk about it though." She said in a softer tone, a worried look visible for a moment on Irene's features.
"But, she is as strong as a hero. I even wager that almost every ancestor would lose against her. She is my idol, you know."
Being led to a table, a waiter asked what they wanted to drink. Meilin ordered some sweet tea for Irene while ordering some Pinedale ale for herself.
She was a little bit confused as Irene told her that was a hero's deed. It sure didn't appear to be anything and brave or as honorable as fighting a small army of bad guys like Meilin had,
"Thanks." she said to Irene as they walked up to the restaurant. She thanked Meilin as she entered the restaurant and took a seat across from Irene so they could continue to talk. She raised an eyebrow as Irene let Aoi in on a bit of a secret, telling her Meilin didn't like to say she was a hero after all. It was understandable. Things some saw as heroic were normally things the "hero" that did them wanted forgotten, especially bloody things.
"I'm sure your sister has her reasons. But it's like you said little one, even if she doesn't want to say it aloud, the Gods will know it as fact when the time comes." she smiled out being sure to make "God" plural for the young Chonobi and turned to the waiter as she arrived, ordering Pinedale ale as well she'd settle into her seat.
With the waiter leaving, Meilin would lean back in her seat. Before she could say something, Irene already spoke up.
"You should try the..." briefly the child turned to Meilin, saying something in Chonobi. Meilin replied back with one word, in Taika.
"Honeyed."
"The honeyed roasted chicken! It is my favourite. I want to later try to make it myself."
Meilin shot an amused look at her younger sibling but once more, before she could say something, Irene spoke up again.
"So what kind of ability do you have? Is it flight? Speaking with animals? Or is it fire? Meilin says that she can spit fire but doesn't ever show. Do you ever show your ability?" The child spoke in a most eager fashion as she leaned with her one arm on the table, her eyes fixated on Aoi.
Aoi was beginning to quote like Irene. She was just so much more upbeat than she had expected and Meilin had let on. When she had originally talked of the girl and her injury it had seemed that she was faring much worse than this. This was about as normal as normal got though. A curious little girl with all the questions in the world and not enough time to ask them all.
"I'll get the honey roasted chicken then." She agreed with a nod to Irene and couldn't help but smile as the girl seemed happy she'd accepted her suggestion.
She couldn't help but laugh at Irene's question of whether or not she could fly. Her face became red as she laughed and she hunched slightly forward as she tried to calm herself down. She was really beginning to like this little one. She took a deep breath and forced herself to stop before righting herself and wiping a few years from her eyes.
"I can't-" she took another breath,
"I can't fly but-" she chuckled again,
"I can use magnetism." Aoi managed out in a grin.
"You have anything made of metal on you Irene?" she asked curiously.
The girl didn't seem to understand the answer of Aoi. She quickly threw a look at Meilin, who gave a quick run down in Chonobi. From the looks of the gestures of the older Cho, she gave a basic idea of what magnetism was about. Or so enough that Irene nodded and quickly returned her attention to Aoi.
"That is amazing. Euhm," she quickly searched for something. Pulling up a small iron medallion, that was tied around her neck with a thin cord, Irene held it up so that Aoi could see it from her seat.
"I got this. It is euhm..."
"Token of Fealty. I will explain it later. It used to be my mother's," Meilin said as she nodded towards Irene.
The girl climbed down from her seat and walked towards Aoi. She presented the small metal and round medallion. There was a snarling hound's head inscribed but nothing more to it.
Aoi watched curiously as they spoke in Chonobi. The oh so foreign tongue of the Chonobi people's, she was a little jealous she didn't know it and yet Meilin knew Taika, a little jealous that the Chonobi hadn't given up their language to everyone like the Taika had so readily done. She watched Meilin gesture and speak to her sister who nodded along. The waitress came by and dropped off their drinks to which Aoi took a drink as the two Chonobi talked.
With the explanation over the young Cho pulled up a small medallion.
"Iron works." She said happily as Irene left her seat to come and present the medallion to her. There was a small yet intricate snarling hounds face on the medallion and Aoi couldn't help but become a bit excited for when Meilin would explain what it was, another piece of Chonobi culture so hidden from the Taika was at her fingertips.
She formed a bird seal, slowly for Irene to watch and then released it. She placed a single finger on the medallion and quickly removed it,
"Alright now go take a seat Irene." She smirked as the girl continued holding onto the medallion.
Some hesitation was evident as Irene didn't seem to understand what happened. However, Meilin said something that seemed to ease Irene as the child returned to her seat. After climbing on the chair, Irene's eyes were casted towards Aoi and then cast back at the medallion.
"What now?" She asked, a frown appearing on the girl's brow. Meilin would take a sip of the sweet ale, remaining silent. The older Cho had a hunch of what Aoi would do but decided to wait and see.
Aoi cocked an eyebrow in a question,
"What do you mean what now? That's it it's done." She said as if it were a well known fact. She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper,
"Does it feel any different? Like something's off about it?" She asked before taking a drink of her ale.
The girl frowned as she inspected the medallion.
"It isn't heavier or lighter. Does it..."
Irene held the object a bit higher and then released it but it just fell against her chest. Frowning only more, the girl held it close to her face, trying to see if Aoi had done something visual. But once she didn't spot anything and gave up, Irene tilted her head to the left.
"I don't know."
She smiled and leaned her head to the side as Irene inspected the medallion, and when she seemed to give up Aoi acted.
"Are you sure?" She asked as the medallion without a sound floated away from Irene's open palm. It pulled the necklace up with it and came to a halt in front of Irene's face so she could look at it. Aoi began to make it twist and twirl in place for the little girl.
She turned to Meilin and grinned,
"Sometimes I can do some nice things with this." She whispered out before turning back to watch Irene.
The girl's eyes widen as she saw how the medallion seemed to have a will of its own. Muttering something, Irene remained frozen as she couldn't tear her eyes from the floating medallion. Her hand moved slowly up but as Aoi made it twist and turn, Irene let out a surprised but soft squeal. A smile started to dawn on her lips as she seemed to enjoy the little spectacle.
"Indeed." Meilin replied back in a hushed tone to Aoi. Meilin couldn't erase the small smile on her lips as she watched how delighted Irene seemed with the floating medallion. The girl even spoke Chonobi at a rapid pace, pointing in an energetic fashion at the medallion.
"She says that your ability is a miracle." Meilin calmly translated it for Aoi as she took another sip of her drink.
"Amazing... How do you do this? Is it magic? A blessing from the gods?" Irene asked, managing to throw a look at Aoi before locking her eyes on the medallion.
Aoi blushed at Irene and smiled back as the girl was enthralled with her gift rambling in unmistakable Chonobi. She was happy Meilin had decided to translate.
"My family believes it a miracle from the Gods," she continued using the plural form not to create any confusion with Irene,
"and I personally believe it." she nodded.
With a shrug she took another drink from her glass,
"I'm not entirely sure how I do it. I just do. It's a feeling that I have and I can use it and manipulate it." She hoped Irene would understand the last part, being her Taika still seemed a little new. She couldn't help the smile growing on her face as she watched Irene.
"How amazing..." Irene whispered, still audible enough for Aoi and Meilin. Slowly Irene touched the floating medallion with her index finger. Only to quickly pull it back as if she thought it was going to feel odd or hurt. When that not seemed the case, the girl managed to press her index finger against the iron.
"Doesn't feel warm or weird." She stated, further amazed by the spectacle in front of her.
"I wish I could do something like this. I envy you, miss!" The girl exclaimed with a wide smile. Then she seemed to realise something. Throwing a worried look at Meilin before placing her gaze on Aoi, the girl decided to ask something.
"It won't float forever though?"
She shook her head and giggled at Irene as she suddenly seemed to be worried that it would never come back down. As if her medallion would be stuck forever in the space in front of her,
"Only as long as I keep it up." She assured the young girl as the medallion dropped back down against her chest, no longer under influence from Aoi.
She shifted in her seat a little uncomfortably for a moment before speaking again,
"It's not something I would envy if I were you…." She frowned a little and rested her gaze on Irene and her arm, unsure which was worse,
"I spent three years of my life bedridden and in excruciating pain because of this." She pointed at the medallion and it jumped into the air before promptly falling back down,
"it's the same reason I had to go back for my brother." she said.
The server returned as if to save Aoi from her own words and politely asked what they'd all be having for lunch. Aoi ordered the honey roasted chicken as Irene has so very much insisted on and waited for the Cho's to order their own meals. Every so often she made the medallion wiggle against Irene or jump slightly away from her to keep the girl entertained.
Irene's hand clenched into a fist and raise it in front of her mouth, as she seemed excited for a second. Only to frown and realise that she had indirectly asked Aoi to make the medallion stop floating. Looking at Aoi, Irene's lips curled down as she realised that it wasn't as amazing as she thought it was.
"Oh. I am... sorry, miss." Irene said in a soft voice.
Meilin remained silent despite spotting Irene throwing her a look. The server, however, came back to take their order. As Aoi ordered the honeyed roasted chicken, Irene's smile grew. Then Meilin ordered the same for her and Irene. As the server took the order and walked away, Meilin decided to speak up.
"You know, Irene. How about I go and ask some paper and pencil in a bit. Then you can show Aoi how well you can write."
The suggestion seemed to give cause for Irene to be joyful once more, only to realise something. She would lower her head as she muttered something in Chonobi. This time, however, Meilin replied in Taika back.
"Don't be so silly. I am certain that Aoi would be most impressed. You practised a lot with uncle Jin, didn't you?"
Irene nodded in a timid fashion.
"I did. I practised... a dozen of hours! I can also read. But last time, Meilin read one of my favourite stories to me. She is very good at reading stories. Doing all kind of voices when she does that."
Aoi nodded her head at Meilins suggestion,
"I'd like that very much." she confirmed before continuing to watch the young girl in fascination. She opened her mouth wide and let out a whistle,
"That's quite a lot of hours…" She said in awe of Irene. She leaned forward on the table and smiled as she placed her head in her hands,
"can you write Chonobi and Taika?" She asked,
"Because you can speak them both and that's already amazing as is. I can only speak the one." She said with a sheepish smile. She'd stopped moving the medallion now, focusing her attention on Irene as the center of attention not her abilities.
Something about the way Irene carried herself reminded her very much of her brother at that age. Just the innocent childlike wonder and excitement that washed over them for what now seemed like the smallest of things. Her smile widened as she waited for Irene to answer.
Hearing that Aoi would like it, Irene seemed surprised. The cheeks of the child started to become tainted with a soft hue of red. Shyly nodding, she responded.
"I speak Taika and Chonobi. Though I find Chonobi easier. I know more words in Chonobi." Irene explained, throwing a look at Meilin before back at Aoi.
"I still have a lot to learn. I find writing in Taika..." Irene quickly spoke in Chonobi as she turned to Meilin, once more requesting some translation.
"Difficult."
"That! I find writing in Taika difficult." Irene said, nodding to further confirm her words.
She nodded in understanding as Irene spoke, happy that she was still doing a good job of keeping the little one interested and in good spirits. Although she was pretty sure she'd be in good spirits no matter what Aoi did, especially with Meilin close by to make sure she got right back up from any falls.
"Difficult." Aoi repeated to herself before smiling at Irene,
"It's funny, I'd say Chonobi is difficult too."
She pointed to Irene,
"But you at least know the other," and then to herself,
"I've got not the slightest understanding of your first language." she said with a shrug.
"I think it's fascinating you're so smart. Enough to know two languages. I'm sure Meilin is more than a little proud to have you as a sister." Aoi grinned to Meilin as she spoke,
"I know I would be."
The compliment of Aoi caused Irene to lower her head, a wry smile growing as the child wasn't sure how to respond to the kind words. She briefly threw a timid glance in Meilin's direction, as if she was doubting Aoi's last words. Meilin winked which caused Irene's cheeks to flare up red.
"Thank you, miss."
Meilin just had taken a sip of her drink. Then the server came with their food. The sweet aroma was a herald that caused Irene to forget the previous compliments for a moment. The server placed the plate with the sliced tender meat for the three girls, a knife and fork present on each plate. Broad beans were served together with the sliced meat. Taking his leave, Meilin would request if she could have some paper and a pencil. The request was taken with a small frown but the server replied that he would see what he could arrange.
Now that they could dig in, Meilin would throw a look at Irene. The girl grabbed the knife and cautiously as slowly would try to cut a slice of the chicken. Causing Meilin to grab a fork and flip it in a reverse grip. Driving her fork into the meat, she would enable Irene to cut her meat better.
"Remember, you are also going to eat your beans."
"But I don't like them."
"Then I guess there will be no dessert."
This threat alone caused Irene to look at her sister with widened eyes. Pouting for only a second, Irene would continue the tedious work of slicing the pieces of chicken into small pieces while Meilin held it down with her fork.
"Have you heard of the large University that has recently been finished?" Meilin asked Aoi, which caused Irene to throw a glance at the older girls.
"You're welcome Irene." Aoi said to the girl as she seemed to become embarrassed at her compliment. Then their food arrived. The waiter placing the three plates down and quickly disappearing to try and fulfill Meilin's request for a pencil and paper. She took in the sweet smell of the roasted honey and was about to begin cutting her own chicken when she noticed Meilin reach across the table and help her sister hold the meat down while Irene attempted to cut it. Aoi couldn't help but smile at the affection Meilin had for her sister. The little things she did to make her life more normal.
She formed a bird seal beneath the table and wriggled a hand up from under the tables cloth and touched Meilin's utensils before her hands linked back to her own fork. As she began to cut her own chicken Meilin's utensils would rise and start to cut the girls food as well. A simple multitasking job like this was actually on the simpler side of things Aoi could do, and if it meant Meilin would be ready to eat when Irene and her were, then Aoi would put in the effort.
She raised an eyebrow as she cut, the utensils at Meilin's meat hesitating for a moment before continuing,
"I have. What makes you bring it up?" She asked curiously.
Noticing what happened, Meilin flashed a smile towards Aoi as she then turned her gaze back to Irene. The girl was almost done with her meat. The question of Aoi caused Meilin to slightly turn.
"It is at the other end of town but I was wondering if we could pay it a visit. Just sightseeing." Meilin replied. Irene, however, decided to ask something.
"What is an.. university?"
Meilin turned her attention back to her sibling. She decided to use Chonobi to explain it as Irene's eyes widened. The small girl replied back in Chonobi, but the following reply of Meilin was in Taika.
"Yes, it is a place with a lot of books. Perhaps one day we can go together to read some stories there." The older Cho said. Seeing that Irene was done and could use her fork to pick up the sliced pieces of meat, Meilin would turn to her own plate.
"Promised?"
"Mhm." Meilin reacted as she would take her first bite. The answer caused the small girl to almost squealing out of joy, her eyes briefly squinted to a close as she shivered out of joy.
"The University…" Aoi said as she finished cutting both Meilin and her own chicken. She brought her fork up to her mouth and tapped it against her lower lip.
"I'm all for it." she smiled and the utensils in front of Meilin would rise to a position for Meilin to easily grab them.
She turned her attention to the chicken and dared a small piece of it as Irene seemed lost in flavor beyond Aoi's comprehension. She took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by the chicken, and a little more than glad Irene had so very much insisted on the food in front of her.
"I've heard the University is quite the sight." Aoi pointed her fork at Meilin and then to Irene,
"And apparently they've got a library that puts most others to shame." She grinned,
"I'm sure it's quite a beautiful place too, Universities tend to be well kept and very gorgeous." she wondered if some of the rumors she'd heard of it had been true, about the architecture and the courses offered. She figured they'd get a chance to ask there and didn't bring it up.
"Glad to hear so. I might need somebody to help me prevent Irene from running rampant with all those books." Meilin said, causing Irene to throw an angry look that only a child could give.
Gripping the utensils, Meilin would take another bite of her own lunch. Chewing on the tender and sweet chicken, she gave a glance in Irene's direction.
"Though I doubt that we will be allowed to just make use of all the facilities. We are just going for the sight. At a later date, we might try to arrange a proper visit."
Despite Meilin worry that it would damper Irene's mood, it seemed that the girl was still quite happy about getting her favourite dish as a trip to the university.
"Not to mention, I have signed myself up for a few courses at the War College. I am not entirely sure if you or Madoc would like to join. But I thought it could be fun, the three of us." Meilin further continued, before taking another bite.
"What is war... college?" Irene asked, throwing a curious look at Aoi and Meilin as she just cleared her mouth.
Aoi just ate her food and listened as Meilin seemed to let Irene down softly. She was sure there was probably a way to get into the library even if they weren't attending courses, but Meilin was right, they'd need to figure that out on a different day before Irene would enter in what was probably a book heaven of sorts.
She nearly choked on her food as Meilin brought up the War College and her want for Aoi and Madoc to come with her to classes. She swallowed and wiped a tear from her eye as she quickly caught her breath and blinked at Meilin.
"You want us to come? That's a terrible idea we won't learn anything," she began to stammer, afraid of embarrassing Meilin in a class,
"I'm a terrible student, I hate sitting for too long and the War College? Why would I want to go to that?" she exclaimed quickly before stopping and staring again for a moment.
"I'd love to go how do I sign up exactly?" She said quickly with a grin.
The response of Aoi caused Irene to frown and visibly becoming worried. But spotting how calm her older sister seemed prevented the child starting a rampage with questions.
"Because we are part of the Imperial military. I am trying to figure out more but all I know is that we are part of the 11th Brigade. Which means we could be called into service. I want to try to reach a bit higher. Earn a bit more wage to support my siblings. I reckon that the funds for a study at the university are going to be costly. Something I can't afford with my current salary."
Taking a small bite after her explanation, Meilin locked her eyes with Aoi's. Clearing her mouth, Meilin continued.
"I don't like books as much as Irene does. But I will need to study matters that I am not familiar with. I reckon it would be somewhat... fun and beneficial if you and Madoc would be there. You know," Meilin casted her gaze down as she paused.
"Can I come?" Irene asked, likely asking because she heard the word 'books'. Meilin flashed a smile towards her sister.
"Well, yeah. You got to help me study. But I am hoping that Aoi and Madoc will help me out as well. Currently, I can lay claim to the rank of sergeant. But my ambition is to try to become eligible to gain the rank of lieutenant. Every bit of extra gain will help me and my siblings. I can sign you and Madoc up. Benefits of being the leader, I guess."
Books and classes. All of it made Aoi excited. Despite what she had said she really did love learning new things, just the idea of continuing to find things out she had never known or misunderstood even if it was in the art of violence always intrigued her. She shook her head almost continuously as Meilin spoke, forgetting entirely about her food,
"Please sign me up. But we'll have to convince Madoc to come along I bet…. If we sign him up without his permission will he have a choice really?" She asked as a mischievous smile grew on her face.
She turned to look at Irene,
"I expect someone of your intelligence will need to help prepare you sister for her tests! And maybe one day you'll have her to help you prepare for yours!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms high into the air and spread to her sides as if proclaiming a great prophecy.
Meilin snickered for a second as Aoi brought up that they had to convince Madoc.
"Don't worry. I will work my charm to make him come along. The courses aren't super special. They are the required courses that need to be taken for what I try to claim. After all," Meilin pricked a piece of the sliced chicken.
"If by some luck I manage to become a captain, I will need trustworthy lieutenants."
The words of Aoi caused Irene's eyes to widen once more, almost forgotten to chew her bite. She started to shift her attention between Aoi and Meilin, only to try to find the proper response. Almost even looking like she was ready to jump out of her seat and start to running home to ready herself to help Meilin. Grabbing her fork, a certain determination grew on the child's features.
Raising her fork up in the air, Irene would release a soft but yet fierce battle cry. Muffled with the chewed bits of chicken in her mouth.
"Raaa!"
"If you would only eat your beans with such ferocious attitude," Meilin commented, though clearly amused.
Aoi snickered as Meilin assured her she'd charm Madoc over to coming to the war college,
"I'll see what I can do on my end as well." she replied. Required courses to become a Lieutenant. She was a little curious as to what being a Lieutenant would entail, but the idea of getting a bit higher pay certainly was alluring. Perhaps she'd try a bit harder than she'd been planning on doing in the 11th. She wasn't keen on the idea that they were being integrated into the normal soldiery, she'd joined to be a Shinobi not a soldier, but there was nothing that she could really do about it. She frowned for a moment before it was wiped from her face as Irene seemed to be go wild with the idea that she would need to help Meilin studying.
Aoi laughed as the girl put her fork into the air and let out the most adorable little battle cry she'd ever heard.
"Beans are good for you, they'll make you grow big and maybe even stronger than me." she grinned out as she ate her own beans.
She turned her fork back to her chicken and took another bite,
"If you make Captain…" she said to Meilin,
"Then you've got to pull some strings to get me promoted." she grinned wider now and continued to eat.
Flashing a smile as Aoi stated she would see what she would do on her end, Meilin took another bite of her lunch. The comment of Aoi on beans was, however, met with a frown from Irene. The girl's attitude shifted rapidly as she looked at her beans. Sticking her fork to prick a few beans on it, she closed her eyes as she moved the skewered beans to her mouth.
"And all of them, Irene." Meilin calmly stated.
The response of Irene was some muffled sound that sounded like a grumbling agreement.
"And of course," Meilin replied back to Aoi.
"I need a good pair of lieutenants after all. I will drag you lot with me while I climb the ranks. It is just that we will need to do a bit of work but it will be worth it." The Cho said, as she pricked a piece of sliced chicken. Holding the fork, she snickered.
"Though I can imagine that Madoc will most likely complain about the extra work."
Aoi snickered as Irene reluctantly ate a few of her beans, only to be told by Meilin that she needed to finish them all. The girl seemed to mutter and mumble as she looked away, Aoi was pretty sure she'd eat her vegetables like Meilin had asked. She brought her attention to Meilin and waved away Meilin's comment,
"I'm not sure how good of a Lieutenant I'd make, Madoc is the far smarter one he's the one you'll really need if you can only get one." she told Meilin as she too picked up another piece of her chicken.
"I imagine he will complain a lot if we're being honest here," she raised a fist up in front of her menacingly,
"but I'll give him something to complain about if he really needs it." She smirked and continued eating.
"Only one way to find out." Meilin replied. She wasn't, after all, certain how good she would be as a lieutenant or even higher ranked as well. Leading a team alone was a task she still had to get used to.
Snickering softly as Aoi stated she would give Madoc something to complain about, Meilin considered the situation for a moment. They were right now shinobi. But they could get deployed somewhere to the borders and serve in the military. The idea had some charm for Meilin, making her wonder what her father would think of her now. But such a situation meant that she would get separated from her siblings. If something would then happen to her, who would take care of them? Meilin wasn't convinced that Jin could forever take care of them or would.
Starting on her beans as well, Meilin looked up as Irene was about to say something.
"What is a lieutenant?" The girl asked, shooting a look at Aoi and Meilin.
"I will explain it later. Go and finish your beans. Then you may pick a desert."
She almost answered Irene, letting her know of the duties and design of being a Lieutenant or higher ranked officer in the military, but held her tongue as Meilin appeared to issue the girl an ultimatum. Finisher her beans in exchange for dessert and she would get an explanation on the matters from her sister later. Aoi smiled and continued to eat her meal, her beans gone and only a small portion of the chicken remaining. She raised her fork in question to Meilin,
"I'm honestly not very cut for leadership… But I'll try my best, especially for some higher pay." she said smiling before taking another bite,
"What sort of classes are you looking at taking at the War College? I know they have some interesting ones and some more practical ones from what people have told me in the past, but I don't really know much beyond that simple outline." she shrugged as if she were sorry and finished the rest of her chicken.
The comment of Aoi, on her own leadership capabilities, made Meilin shake her head lightly.
"All I can ask for. Besides, I don't think that anybody could call me a decent leader. Comes with trial and error, I suppose." She wanted to bring up Hanaguro as an example but decided against it. The question of Aoi made it easy for Meilin to avoid that particular topic.
"I am looking for some courses on about leadership. How hierarchy is built up and how it could be utilized in the field. Then some class on more into depth warfare. I believe it focuses on various conflicts, discussing why some tactics worked and which didn't."
Pausing, Meilin considered something. She shot a look towards Irene, who just squinted her eyes as she tried to eat all of her beans.
"But let us not speak of this more till later. I believe that a small heroine is almost done with her beans. Then we could see if we can't pick something sweet on our way to the University."
She was a bit surprised at Meilin's response to Aoi feeling she wouldn't be a good leader. She'd expected more to be honest, especially when she brought up herself as an example,
"You've got some rough edges to sand down I won't lie." she said with a smirk to get past it. As Meilin told her about the classes at the Academy she was more than a bit interested in what exactly they'd cover in terms of the more vague ones such as in depth warfare, there was quite a lot of available source material when it came to war in history. In fact there would probably never be a shortage of warfare for historians to look back upon and critique decades later,
"Sounds interesting, I'm already looking forward to some of those." Aoi put her fork down on her plate as she finished the last of her food and turned to grin at Irene while Meilin promised the girl dessert if she finished her beans which she was still messing around with.
"Come on Irene, your sister obviously wants some sweets and she can't get them if you won't finish it wouldn't be fair to you… And it won't be fair to your sister or me if you don't finish so we can all get sweets." she nodded her head and smirked at Meilin.
A light scoff escaped Meilin as Aoi stated she had some rough edges. But the Cho was quite happy that Aoi was interested in the classes. It certainly would be less intimidating if she or Madoc was there as well. Meilin wondered briefly how Madoc thought about to spend some time at the War Academy.
Irene looked up from her dreaded foe to Aoi. Nodding firmly, the girl would continue to eat her beans. It was clearly not easy to be able to just use one arm to pick and eat all the beans.
Mumbling something in Chonobi, Meilin would turn on her seat towards Irene. Holding the small bowl with beans, she would grab the fork of her younger sibling. Helping Irene made the process much faster. Irene muttered something in Chonobi, which caused Meilin to shake her head.
"You guys go outside. I will handle the paycheck." Meilin instructed. Irene would hop from her chair as she looked at Aoi.
"So, who is your patron god, miss?" Irene asked as she would gesture to herself.
"I most like stories with Signý or Bergjlot. Meilin says that I have enough bravery to be a good match to that of any Valvravn. Do you like stories about Valvravns as well? I find the one about Hilde one of the best." The girl almost rattled as they would make their way outside.
Aoi nodded to Meilin, giving her a thankful smile when she offered to pay for the meal, "I'll get you back for this someday." she said as she stood from her chair. She gave Irene a smile as the spritely girl jumped from her chair and practically tried to run Aoi out of the restaurant. Aoi's heart skipped a beat. Patron God? Signý? Bergjlot? Valvravns? Aoi felt the blood leaving her face as she tried to follow along. She had no idea about any of these Chonobi Gods, and what little she did know from Meilin was not going to save her in this conversation. They exited the restaurant and Aoi turned to look down the street to hide her face for a few more seconds as she tried to figure out what to tell Irene.
"I--" she choked on her own spit as the words became caught in her throat. She coughed for a moment, tears forming in her eyes before she turned down to look at Irene,
"I actually follow a different faith Irene, I'm not Chonobi you see? I'm Taika… Like most people outside of Chonobi lands and Chonobi compounds... I don't know your language and I don't know your Gods." she figured honesty was her best bet, she'd heard from her mother that little kids could always tell when others were lying and most of all that once you were caught in the act they'd take a very long time to trust you again.
"But these Valvravns… If Meilin says you could be one… Well I would certainly believe it to be true." she nodded at Irene.
The fact that Aoi turned pale was enough cause to make the cheerful expression of Irene to shift to a worried one. But before the child could ask Aoi if she was feeling sick, the reply made the worried expression turn into one of confusion. The lips of the girl parted but no sound came out. She then looked down, as if the answer was written on the ground. As if by mere miracle, the revelation of Aoi's answer was less confusion. Looking back at Aoi, there seemed to be a twinge of distrust visible in the eyes of the younger girl.
"But the stories. And..." the small girl seemed confused as, again, she looked away.
"You are Meilin's friend, aren't you? She told me that you are her friend. If you are her friend, then we can be friends. Then I can tell you the stories. They are really fun. In one of them, Signý decides that one of her valravns was very naughty. Because that valvravn wasn't doing her job. So Signý decided to make that valvravn do a test and at the end, the valvravn became really motivated and good. They help the souls of people go to the afterlife. They are very, very important." The girl once more rattled away in a happy pace.
Meilin soon exited the establishment as she nodded to Irene and Aoi.
"Very well. Now, let us go. It is somewhat of a walk to the University." The older Cho stated as she already started to turn.
Aoi's heart dropped. She'd tried so hard to not confuse Irene, to keep her contained inside her own comfortable and familiar world. Then she'd had to pop it. She watched as the revelation hit the young girl, her face growing confused and gaze cast to the ground. She debated saying something but figured she should let the young Cho figure it out on her own if she would. When Irene turned back and began to speak only to seem as though she hadn't really known what she was doing Aoi felt her heart sink again, she'd even tried to keep the young Cho's trust and here she'd obviously lost it.
She raised her hand to say something, to apologize and snap her fingers and make everything better but found herself hesitating as Irene began to rattle off again.
"Friend?" Aoi repeated the word back to Irene at a whisper as her cheeks grew red,
'Meilin thinks I'm…?' her mind was a seething pool of confusion at the words of Irene and she barely managed to follow the story that the girl told her as she weighed the idea that Meilin would consider her a friend after all that had happened between them.
"They sound important." Aoi agreed with a nod as Meilin exited the restaurant. She turned her face slightly away from Meilin to conceal her rosy cheeks and replied quickly,
"Yeah let's."
A serious expression flowed over the features of Irene, as she nodded several times.
"They really are! Without the Valvravns, it is super hard to reach the afterlife. They are super, super, super, super important!" Irene seemed to want to stress this further out as she spread her arm as if it would help to give Aoi a better idea of how vital Valrvans were.
"Their leader is Signý. She is a super important goddess. Right Meilin?"
The older Cho shot a look, a rather bland one. It took a second before she nodded.
"Mhm, that she is." She replied.
Irene grinned as she reached out to one of Aoi's hands.
"Also, Aoi is now also a friend of mine. Can she come to Jin's place for dinner? Please?"
The words of Irene caused Meilin to shoot another look back as she slightly frowned. A look was cast to Aoi before Meilin focused her attention back on her sister that walked between them.
"I will have to discuss it with Jin. But I don't see why not." Meilin answered, her tone even but the pace being a tad slow, giving off a cautious feeling.
Irene, however, didn't seem to pick up on the cautious ring of Meilin's answer.
"You will come to dine with us, right?"
Super hard to reach the afterlife without a guide? Aoi didn't quite get why any God would make it hard for their followers to find salvation without assistance but she wasn't about to ask Irene to explain the finer details of faith to her. She turned her head back towards Irene and Meilin as she felt her cheeks return to normal and gave the younger Cho a smile as she stretched her arm wide to emphasize just how important the Valvravns were. Signý? She sounded interesting. Something she'd wanted to learn a bit more about from Meilin if she had the chance.
"Huh?" Aoi said without thinking when irene invited her to the house of someone she had never even heard of before.
"I'm not sure that's the be--" she began before Meilin cast a look back at her and frowned. She wasn't sure she'd done something wrong or just broken a rule of the Chonobi or something crazy and outrageous that she had actually no control over but it scared her all the same. Then Meilin responded that she'd need to ask Jin before anything was set but she was pretty sure it'd be alright, even if she seemed hesitant in how she said it. Without quite realizing what was happening she allowed Irene's hand to slip into hers as they walked. She looked back at Meilin with a worried expression before answering the question of Irene,
"If Jin allows it, of course." she was now even more nervous than she had been the night before, she was pretty sure she needed to vomit.
"I got two more siblings. You will like them! More friends is fun!"
Irene said, her smile growing as she held on to Aoi's hand. Throwing a look around, Irene seemed to have forgotten all about the revelation of before.
"Meilin," the small rattled away in Chonobi for a short moment. Causing Meilin to visibly ponder.
"Go and ask her." Meilin finally said as she nodded. This answer seemed to make Irene almost hop out of joy.
"Miss, may I sit on your shoulders? Please?" The small girl asked, a glint visible in her eyes.
Meilin would shove her hands into the pockets of her jacket. There was still a bit of a walk towards the University but she had to admit, she was enjoying the walk. Despite the cold breezes and gloomy weather.
Aoi raised an eyebrow as Irene told her she had two more siblings and informed them that they'd have more fun the more friends they had. She didn't disagree with the girl, but she didn't entirely agree either. When Irene and Meilin began to talk in Chonobi again Aoi felt lost once more. She watched and listened to the completely alien language but wasn't able to parse much from it other than some obvious gestures that were motioned towards her. She giggled when Irene asked, prompted by Meilin's vote of confidence, if she could ride on her shoulders.
Aoi spun in front of Irene and grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her to face the opposite direction before she reached her hands down around the edges of her chest and lifted her quickly into the air, she was lighter than she should have been and Aoi couldn't help but realize it.
"UP YOU GO" she yelled as she practically threw Irene above her and placed her on her shoulders. She spun around again with Irene above her and set back in along side Meilin.
"How's the view little one?" she asked confidently as they walked.
Irene's eyes widened as she was almost thrown up. Being on the shoulders of Aoi, the small girl let out a yelp of joy. Placing her hand on Aoi's head and slightly leaning forward, Irene nodded despite Aoi unlikely to see it.
"Lovely, miss! Lovely!"
Meilin cast a sideways glance at the two. She felt a bit unsure, almost reacting out of pure instinct to grab Irene away. But she would restrain herself and just watch how Aoi placed the small girl on her shoulder. Despite her caution and wariness, Meilin couldn't help but smile faintly at the sight of seeing Irene having so much fun.
The walk towards the University went just fine. Irene kept talking about the Valravns to Aoi.
"It is hard to spot the difference between a raven and a Valravn. So whenever you see a raven, you must be nice. Cause they will else bring word back to the gods about you being naughty. And if you are naughty, the Gods might not favour you." Irene rattled away.
Upon closing in to the front entrance of the Homura University, Meilin frowned. The steps that led to the front, caused Meilin to throw a look at Aoi and Irene.
"I think it is better if Irene walks on her own. And once we get up and even inside, you aren't going to roam around. Stick with us or else this is the last time that we have a trip."
Irene nodded, the serious expression replacing the curiosity of before.
"Yes, promised."
Smiling and letting Irene talk all about the Valravns on the way to the University, Aoi hadn't even noticed how much time had passed as the young Cho went on and on while they walked. She made a mental note to be nice to Ravens from now on and listened as Meilin asked for Irene to be put down and that she keep close or they wouldn't be going out on any adventures any time soon. She brought her arms up and lifted Irene up and over her head again,
"Sorry Irene, end of the line. Meilin says so." she apologized as she put the girl down in front of her. With a sly smile she turned to Meilin,
"I promise I won't wander away from you two." she joked.
Irene shot a look at Aoi, clearly wanting to enjoy the comfort of not having to walk on her own. When Aoi promised that she also wouldn't stray off on her own, Irene raised her hand to cover her mouth. A muffled sound of a giggle escaped the girl.
"Good. Let us see this university." Meilin said, a chuckle leaving her before.
Turning to the stairs, she would gesture to Irene to take the lead. The small girl nodded as she would go first, clearly excited about to explore this unknown and imposing complex. Following behind Irene, Meilin watched her steps but also that of her sister. The staircase up to the entrance was quite imposing but also risky. If Irene would lose her balance, Meilin didn't want to think what the results would be.
Once reaching the top, the columns caused Irene to stand still. She muttered something in Chonobi, turning half around to give Meilin a look. The older Cho nodded as Irene hobbled off to inspect the large columns.
"Thanks, by the way." Meilin told Aoi, watching Irene walking around one of the columns.
"She seems to have taken a liking to you."
Aoi couldn't help but to look around as they walked up the steps in hot pursuit of Irene. The area was still rather tranquil, some individuals milled about as they entered the campus but overall they were for the most part isolated in the large complex. Irene seemed to babble about something while pointing at the impressive pillars that supported the overhanging roof of the building they were at the front of. She watched as the girl happily plodded away to go and inspect them only to jump a little when Meilin began talking. She felt her face go red again as Meilin thanked her and she held out her hands and shook them vigorously,
"No no, I should be thanking you… This is beyond anything I would have done alone and the chance to meet your sister and spend time with you is…" she paused,
"it's important." she said a little embarrassed at her own words. She smiled and turned to watch Irene for a second,
"I think the feeling is mutual." she replied.
Watching Aoi's face turning red, Meilin blinked twice in a quick succession. Only to snicker softly.
"Good." Meilin said, a small smile appearing on her lips. Throwing a look at Irene, Meilin would say something in Chonobi. Causing the small girl to turn and nod before quickly turning her attention back to the large pillars.
"I know that it is some time ago but I am hoping that I can make up for some mistakes back in Hanaguro. What I said... it wasn't very fair to you or Madoc." Meilin continued, in a softer tone as she kept her gaze on Irene. The small girl started to walk towards the entrance of the rather spacious courtyard as Meilin gestured Aoi to come with her.
"I..." Meilin's cheeks slightly became tainted with a soft red as she seemed to search for some words.
"I also find it important to spend time with you. And Madoc, of course."
Watching as Irene made off to explore the courtyard ahead of them she turned to Meilin as she smiled at her. She smiled back. When Meilin began to speak of Hanaguro she found herself starting to frown, and when Meilin seemed to wish to repent for her mistakes in the city Aoi couldn't help but to feel mostly at fault for the majority of the issues that had arisen. Had she only kept her tongue and managed her temper there would have never been any issues, surely they'd have functioned well without them, there wouldn't have ever arisen any problems due to the same issues they were having then at anytime in the future… Surely not.
She gave Meilin a brief and sad little smile as she decided to respond,
"I was out of line." she said shaking her head,
"I shouldn't have demanded that of you. Your trust. It's worth more than a simple angry demand, we needed to earn it." she wanted to say more but she was sure it'd only cause more issues, she wanted to say Meilin had been wrong. That she'd acted blindly fueled by her own past experiences and her emotions that still dwelled inside her from them. She'd willingly placed them in danger over something as simple as turning into a bird as if Shinobi couldn't do weirder things.
She smiled as Meilin blushed a little and felt her own cheeks losing their color as the Cho stated her want to spend more time with Madoc and her,
"Thanks." she said with a little friendly bow,
"Really, thank you."
"Oh, you were. You and Madoc both. I was so close of starting to hit you," Meilin said, almost brusquely. Yet, her smile betrayed that she didn't mean it like that.
"Besides, you weren't entirely wrong. I just," pausing, Meilin kept her gaze on Irene. The small girl was starting to hobble over the large plaza. Not disturbing anybody but neither was she sticking around close enough that Meilin could reach out and drag her away.
"Was being a bit too cautious. I could have tried to explain--" The Cho stopped as she noticed that Aoi made a bow.
"Please, don't do that ever again." Meilin slightly frowned as she quickly threw a glance around. The expression on the Cho's face gave away that she felt a bit awkward, even nervous.
"No need for you to bow to me. Never." Meilin said, gently bumping Aoi's shoulder.
"But like I wanted to tell you, I should have try to explain things. I was just worried that you guys would have… odd opinions."
A vague gesture followed, giving away some of Meilin's growing frustration.
"Maybe that I was like those shapeshifters. Or you know? I… I should have done things differently." Meilin threw a glance at Aoi.
"I will try to be more transparent about things. Some things. I am not allowed to explain everything." Becoming silent, it was clear that Meilin wanted to say more but that she would have gone into a rant. Irene came hobbling back as she gestured Aoi and Meilin to come with her.
She laughed a little as Meilin state that she had almost come close to hitting them both as she noticed the smile on the Cho's face. She waved a hand as Meilin told her that she wasn't entirely wrong, moving the thought away from her as best she could lest it overtake her and skew her opinions on the entire situation a way she'd rather not have it lead. She frowned as Meilin seemed to be uncomfortable with her bowing,
"Sorry, that's a pretty normal thing where I'm from…" she said a bit absentmindedly before moving back to what Meilin was saying. She shook her head and followed Meilin's gaze to Irene as the girl made her way across the courtyard taking in all the sights of the University.
"You were overly cautious. That was no time for caution for something as simple as that technique." she shrugged and continued,
"I don't think I'll ever a liken your bird transformation to those… Others. They're a completely different beast." she shuddered at the thought of the large monsters.
She thought of her own techniques that she couldn't talk of beyond her family, for fear of them falling into the hands of other magnet release users that didn't deserve them, and although she imagined it was probably a bit harder for her techniques to be utilized by others than Meilin's were, she understood where the caution in explaining her more secretive techniques had come from.
"I can get that, I've got a few of my own that aren't exactly something I can explain in stark detail to you or Madoc either." she nodded. Aoi watched as Irene came back and gestured for them both to follow. With a smile Aoi nodded her head and turned to Meilin,
"Time to go somewhere I guess." she joked.
"If you only knew where it came from, you might disagree." Meilin said on a softer tone.
"But you are right though. I can't morph myself into a beast."
Starting to walk, they were awaited by Irene. The small girl placed her hand on her hip, a frown visible while she tapped with her left foot on the ground.
"Can we explore more? Please?" She asked, her composure suddenly shifting. Even reaching out to Aoi's hand as she shot Meilin a look.
"Fine. But we won't make it too late. Don't want to make Jin upset." Meilin replied, causing Irene to nod as she would grip Aoi's hand.
"Come, come, come! Miss, we are going on an adventure!" Irene said in a bubbly manner as she started to walk towards one of the directions. There was a double door that was open. Spotting people moving in and out, Irene nodded towards the spot.
"I bet that they have books there. I hope they got books about Valvravns! Or! Or! The story of Audhild's basket! You will love that one, Miss! Promised!"
Aoi wasn't sure what to say to Meilin about not quite understanding her hesitation with the technique and decided to just let it remain a mystery for the rest of time if she could. She then listened as Irene asked her sister if she could explore more and allowed the little ones hand to slip into hers. She once again found herself stifling a laugh as Meilin seemed to cave to her little sisters wishes. If only she could figure out how to make it that easy to get things from Meilin in the future. She surmised she'd need to have been born the Cho's younger sister for that to ever work.
She wondered a little who Jin was, but stopped her mind wandering on all the possibilities as Irene lead them closer to the doors of the University and began talking of the stories she so adored. Aoi tilted her head down to the girl,
"Will you read me them if they're in Chonobi? I can't read them otherwise." she said apologetically as they entered into the building.
Hearing from Aoi that she couldn't read Chonobi, gained briefly a surprised look from Irene. She would then nod as she looked around, already hoping to come across books that she wanted to read for Aoi. Meilin followed, both amused as wanting to see how this all would pan out. Irene started to keep walking forward. The stride of the girl was different from before. The confidence was starting to vanish, slowly being replaced by caution and more timid appearance.
If it was by mere luck or not, the three would arrive at the entrance of an enormous hall. Shelves were filled to the brim with books and a tranquil atmosphere was present. It was enough to make Irene stop and just stare with wide eyes at the enormous collection of books. The girl's lips parted slightly as she gently squeezed on Aoi's hand. Yet, no word left her lips.
Slowly but surely the girl started to sob as she bit her lower lip, still staring at all the books.
Before Irene could make another sob, Meilin already shot forward. Quickly lifting her sibling up, Meilin had a worried expression on her face.
"Hey, heey, what is wrong?" She asked in a hushed voice.
Irene buried her face in Meilin's neck, her arm wrapped around her sister.
"Didn't you want to go here?"
Irene nodded.
"You sure? Else we can go outside."
The small girl lightly shook her head as she let out another sob.
"Okay, shhh."
Shooting a look at Aoi, Meilin flashed an apologetic smile. Waiting for ten seconds, Meilin would get out of the way as some people entered and left the library. Some shot a frown at Meilin but the Cho couldn't care less for what others thought.
When she was certain that the girl was calm again, Meilin placed her sister down on the ground.
"You fine?" She asked in Chonobi, her hazel brown eyes quickly scanning if the girl was somehow hurt.
Irene nodded.
"So, why did you cry?" Meilin now asked in Taika, clearly growing more confused.
Irene whimpered as she pointed at the huge library. She rambled in Chonobi as it seemed that she was close to crying again.
"Dear gods," Meilin sighed as she would pick up Irene again, who buried her face against Meilin's neck once more.
"Let us go inside. Missy here is scared that she will not be able to find the books she wants to read for you. And thus that you will not go on an adventure with her. Not to forget that she is scared that we will never be able to read all these books while she really wants to read them all." Meilin explained to Aoi as she walked into the library, shaking her own head lightly.
Aoi was taken aback by the immense library that they wandered their way into. A sense of wonder grew in her at all of the books that must have been housed here and how long it'd take to read them once she started picking books out. She felt the young girl squeezing her hand and moved her gaze to the young Cho. When Irene began to cry Aoi wasn't sure what to do, she was about to move to pick the girl up but Meilin beat her to it and she released the girls hand as she was lifted into the air in front of her. She felt herself beginning to become upset as well, if only because the little one didn't deserve to be sad anymore and had to fight back the urge to shed a tear or two with her. She watched as Meilin tried to her best to calm the girl down, and found herself growing an apologetic smile which she flashed to everyone that passed the trio.
When Meilin placed her down and started talking in Chonobi Aoi could only speculate at what was being said, although she figured it was probably something to do with being better now, and when Irene began to ramble Aoi couldn't help but feel bad for the girl for a reason she wasn't even sure of. Aoi nodded her head a little confused as Meilin told her what had sent Irene on her little tirade, she felt a pang of sadness at the realization. A lifetime would likely never be enough to read every book in this room, especially considering this may have only been one of many libraries at the University. She wondered why she had been graced with an annoying younger brother instead of an adorable sister like Irene and softly pleaded with God to change it for her.
"I'm sure we can find the books you want Irene," Aoi started with a nod,
"Libraries are really well organized to make finding books easy." she reassured the girl.
The three would walk past the various shelves. Much like Aoi had stated, it was really well organised. Meilin tried to keep an eye open for what might be something that Irene could read for Aoi. But it was clear that most books weren't fit for a small girl to try to read and understand at the same time. Finally, Meilin thought that she saw a fitting book. Placing Irene down, Meilin would reach out and pull the book from the shelf. There was luckily a small table nearby with a few chairs. And nobody around, so far Meilin spotted.
Giving the book to Irene, Meilin memorised the small number which indicated where the book had came from. A nifty system, she thought to herself.
Irene placed the book on the table before she turned to the chairs. She frowned before she started to push a chair.
"Let me," Meilin said but Irene shook her head.
"I can do this." She mumbled as she started to push and pull two chairs close to another. Gesturing to Meilin and Aoi that they needed to sit down, Irene would sit in the middle.
Opening the book, she placed her left hand at the letters that formed the title.
"The mystery of Audhild's Basket. Oh, oh!" Irene quickly turned to Aoi and patted the girl's shoulder softly but still in an energetic fashion.
"Audhild is a very, very nice goddess. She is very caring!"
Turning the book, Irene would flip the page.
"We start by trying to understand what Audhild's basket resembles." Irene read in a slow pace, a frown appearing on her brow. She quickly turned to Meilin, softly whispering something in Chonobi.
"Go on. It is fine, Aoi will understand it. I will try to explain those words later." Meilin replied in Taika, nodding for emphasis that it was all fine.
Irene tried to continue but she kept stuttering and pronouncing various words wrong, trying to correct herself.
"The goddess is one that doesn't have any militant influence. She seems to be an odd egg as there seems to be little that resembles the warrior nature that the Chonobi have. Some argue that the Goddess is an 'offspring' from God. This, however, is not a theory that is far from approved by the Chonobi and some more less open minded faithful."
Irene slowly stopped as she threw a confused look at the book. Slowly realising that this wasn't a story about Audhild's basket or anything she imagined. Irene was close to whimpering as Meilin would close the book.
"I don't think they have the stories here, Irene. How about," Meilin shot a look at Aoi,
"You try to tell the story in your own way? Though, watch your voice. We need to be a bit silent."
Irene seemed disappointed, staring at the book. When Meilin made her suggestion, Irene shot a sideways look at Meilin before turning to Aoi
Aoi gave Irene a thankful nod as the girl decided she was capable of pulling out the chairs without help and took her seat quickly as Irene began to settle into her own seat. She watched with interest at how Irene placed the book down and use her only arm to work the pages, it was more than a little impressive how the girl had adjusted so well to her circumstances. Aoi listened intently as the girl began to read to her, her mind that only knew Taika easily filling in the blanks and correcting Irene's words in her mind without a second thought making it far easier to understand what was being said then if she could only hear and comprehend the words Irene said only. When the girl seemed upset with the book it became apparent why when Meilin informed her that it wasn't the story itself, but rather it seemed to be some scholarly piece on the Gods and Goddesses if Aoi had to guess.
Irene seemed as if she was going to begin crying again and Aoi wanted anything but for her heart to finally shatter. She breathed a sigh of relief as Meilin suggested she recite it from memory, and when Irene turned to her as if asking permission she gave the girl a happy little nod,
"Go on then, I'm sure your version will be better than some books anyway."
Irene seemed to cheer up when Aoi made her comment. Licking her lips, Irene wanted to start. She, however, seemed to ponder for a second. Then she nodded as if she verified that she was ready to go.
"Okay, the goddess Audhild. She is the goddess that likes parties and families coming together. I prayed and placed sweets so that she would make sure that Meilin came home." There was a certain pride swelling up in Irene's voice.
"But she has this basket that provides the sweetest of fruit and vegetables. One day, she was walking through her garden to collect her fruit. And a small sparrow landed as, wooooooosh!" The small girl used her hand to try to mimic the sparrow, landing down on the book.
"He asked her," Irene's face became focused as she tried to make herself a bit smaller.
"Do you also have a carrot for me?"
Then Irene shook her head as she tried to make her voice different.
"No, little bird. I need to save this."
Irene once more shook her head, this time she seemed a bit angrier.
"But, but I am hungry! Can't I have a little bite?"
Once more Irene shook her head, this time calmer and slower.
"No little bird. You can not. Now, please, fly away."
Irene raised her hand as she made a soft sound.
"And the little sparrow flew away. But he wasn't happy on how Audhild had been greedy. So he came with a scheme. He decided to wait for the night to fall and then sneak into her garden."
She was more than a little surprised when Irene talked about how she had offered sweets up to this Audhild in hopes of a safe return for Meilin. It was touching she was so concerned for her older sister, and it made her wonder if Miko was every afraid for his big sister as well. She shook her head softly and forced the depressing thought far off and away as she tuned back in to listen along to Irene. She couldn't help but wonder about the Chonobi and the amazingly large difference in their faith versus her own. Multiple Gods and Goddesses were beyond her comprehension for something that she could really understand or ever see herself believing in, but it made a good story as Irene went on she could admit that. Aoi placed her cheeks in her hands and leaned down to listen intently to the young Cho and watched as her hand flew away when the sparrow was told to leave.
She sat up a little and rose a questioning eyebrow at Irene,
"So the sparrow is going to wrong a Goddess? Surely that can't end well right?" she wondered what might have happened in this story were it her God, and she was sure the sparrow would probably be forgiven… But Chonobi Gods seemed far more… prone to violence. Aoi was pretty sure this was a child's story, from the fact Irene liked it so much and seemed to know it so well, so she settled on the possibility that the bird would be spared at the end.
"Well what comes next?" she asked eagerly as she eyed Irene and bounced slightly up and down in her seat.
Irene had waited, keeping her eyes locked on Aoi. It was something that Meilin also did, the small girl remembered. Why? She wasn't entirely certain though. When Aoi seemed intrigue, Irene flashed the widest smile as she barely could hold her own excitement to continue the story.
"Maybe!" The girl gave as answer to the question if it wouldn't end well.
"When night came, the sparrow decided that he had some right to Audhild's fruits. Waiting for Audhild to fall asleep, he would land in the garden. And start to pick little bites from the vegetables and fruits. Little bites, as in super little. When the sun was coming up, he would quickly fly away."
Meilin was leaning slightly back, her arms crossed out front of her chest. She was amused on how Aoi and Irene interacted. Even feeling quite peaceful about it.
"Time went past as Audhild seemed to not notice the small bites of the Sparrow. He was super glad cause now he could just feed himself at night. Only when winter was coming, the Sparrow noticed that there was less and less and less food he could steal from Audhild's garden."
Irene paused for a moment as she clearly came to her favourite part. The twinkling in her eyes gave that much away.
"Growing hungry at night, the Sparrow would wait for Audhild to come to attend to her garden. Asking," Irene once more set up the voice she had for the Sparrow.
"Oh Audhild, why is your garden so empty?"
The child changed her tone to that of before, the one she gave Audhild.
"Because it is winter, dear little thief."
Irene leaned a bit closer to Aoi.
"If you want to know where to get more food, then you will have to sing me your most beautiful song. Then I might tell you where to get more food."
Irene then shifted her voice back to normal.
"So the sparrow song. He did his best to make the best out of it. It made Audhild smile and eventually, she decided to not punish the little thief. Instead she would help him, teaching him to survive the winter. And so more birds came to Audhild's garden to learn how to survive the cold of winter. Until spring would arrive."
Once the girl concluded her story, she threw a glance at her older sister. Meilin subtly nodded, a sign of approval. Irene clenched her hand into a fist and trembled slightly for a second, out of sheer joy. Turning to Aoi, Irene almost stuttered when she asked her question.
"Did you like it, miss?"
Aoi was… confused. She had expected a far different outcome from a Chonobi tale of a a thieving bird and a Goddess. Yet at the same time she was somewhat relieved, the very fact that the Chonobi faith had stories such as this, featuring forgiveness and even understanding on the part of one of the Chonobi Gods? It placed the inkling that perhaps the Chonobi weren't as bloodthirsty in everything they did as they were in combat. She found herself staring at Irene for a moment as the girl questioned her on if she liked the story or not, catching herself in her thoughts she blushed suddenly
"Of course! I thought it was cute!" she stammered out as she waved a hand in front of her.
"I liked the part where the Sparrow realized had he not stolen he wouldn't have been in trouble in the first place and so he sang to make up for it!" she continued before stopping.
She turned to Meilin and began to open her mouth before she paused and closed it again. She looked back to Irene and noticed the shadows growing long across the ground of the library. She wasn't sure how long they'd be allowed to stay in the library once the sun was setting and normal hours were over and as much as she didn't want to leave the place yet, especially not if Irene had more stories to tell, she was pretty sure that Irene would be more than willing to tell her stories no matter where they went,
"Getting a bit late huh…?" she said absentmindedly as she turned to look back at Meilin,
"Should we start heading to… To Jin's?" she asked cautiously, still unsure of who Jin was exactly.
Watching Aoi and Irene, Meilin noticed that Aoi had expected a different end. Where perhaps some old fashioned people of her clan or culture would have taken it as a slight, Meilin didn't mind it in the slightest. The reputation and expectations people had of the Chonobi that they only valued warfare as glory by bloodshed. When Aoi turned to her, Meilin still waited patiently.
"Mhm, we should get going back." Meilin stated.
Irene seemed quite glad as well as proud that Aoi liked it. The slight hesitation and perhaps visible confusion of Aoi were completely lost on the child. When Aoi noted that it was getting late, however, Irene quickly turned to Meilin. Already at the ready to oppose the notion of that it was getting late. But when Meilin stated that they should get back, Irene simply nodded.
Hoping off her chair, Irene raised her hand towards Aoi, waiting for Aoi to get up and walk with them.
"Next time, I will try to tell you about the valravn called Midra. She is a naughty one, really!" Irene said in a quite bubbly manner.
Arriving at the entrance of the Cho compound, Irene kept talking on various other mythological creatures of the Chonobi faith. Such as how ravens could be valravns and would bring luck if you left them some food. But also that dogs were the prefered companions of Valdar and so forth.
Coming to a halt, Meilin turned half around as she shot Aoi a look.
"I think that Aoi has learned more than enough," Meilin stated in an amused tone. This comment earned the older Cho a frown from Irene.
"But she doesn't know much about the Gods! They are super, super important!"
"Later." Meilin just said, which caused a sad expression to shift on Irene's face. She would release Aoi's hand but the child seemed to want to say something. Her cheeks were only starting to blush, her eyes lowered. Shuffling her right feet, Irene mumbled something in Chonobi.
"She states that she will leave a small sacrifice of sweets, in hope of that you will also come back." Meilin calmly stated, her gaze locked on to Irene.
She had been rather overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge, even the child version of it, that she was receiving from Irene as they had made their way to the Cho Compound. She struggled to sort it all into nice little categories that she could remember them by and had even at some point realized she'd been steadily forgetting the names of the Gods and Goddesses that Irene had talked of on the beginning of their walk. She felt a little bad about it, Irene was really trying her hardest to tell her all of her favorite stories and facts about her religion, and here Aoi was just forgetting it as fast as it could be thrown in her direction. This feeling vanished when the white walls of the Cho Compound loomed out of the dusk in front of them and was replaced with an overwhelming sense of wrong as they got closer.
The Cho Compound had always been something of an off-limits area to her since she'd arrived. One of the few places in the entirety of Konoha that the Cho gathered in numbers, that the Chonobi gathered in numbers. The reclusive peoples of an origin she knew little of and their lack of courtesy for outsiders had stemmed her curiosity from the beginning of finding out about the Cho Compound, and now she was expected to waltz on in through the main gate with Meilin and her sister. When Irene's hand let go of hers she found herself feeling a little naked. Vulnerable as the wall became larger and the feeling that she was about to be an outsider among the Chonobi dawned on her. She hadn't really been listening to Irene and Meilin, a bit too occupied with her own fears but she was glad she had managed to catch the exchange between the sisters in Chonobi and the statement of Meilin that Irene would leave her sweets to return back.
Irene smiled and blushed while she reached for the young girls hand,
"Of course, I'd love the extra help." she said as she squeezed Irene's hand softly. She kept Irene's hand in hers, trying to focus on anything but the fact she was about to enter a Chonobi compound.
Meilin was about to say something, already about to gesture Irene to come. But the small girl looked up and decided to bring up a question.
"Would you perhaps come with us? I still have some sweets that I wanted to save. But you have been really nice and.. I want to share them with you." The girl said. She did throw a quick glance at Meilin but seeing that her sister didn't say anything to oppose the notion, Irene threw a hopeful look at Aoi.
Aoi was happy it was a bit too dark outside to see the color of her face as Irene asked her question, though she didn't dare to think how close it was to the stark white of the walls.
'Definitely not. Maybe next time. Another day. Maybe later. I can't. I won't. I don't want to. I will never go in there.' all came to mind as entirely acceptable excuses to get out of the situation, to spend another day outside of the Cho Compound as she had done with no issues up to this point, she turned to Meilin and to the smiling Irene a few times before she swallowed,
"Yeah…" she managed to say before any of the other things she wanted to say with it became stuck in her throat.
The answer caused Irene to instantly turn around. A broad smile dawned on the child's features as she almost was about to drag the other. Meilin kept her gaze locked on Aoi for a moment but still remained silent. Entering the compound, there wasn't as much activity as there would be during the day. There were occasional patrol of guards or people, not that much different from other parts of the city.
Walking, Irene continued from where she left. This time that she one day would love to travel south. Where the Vanguri were. The child started about that she heard from her mother once that each child of the Vanguri were expected to ride a horse before they would reach the age of twelve. And if they wouldn't, then they were expelled from their kin and clan.
Reaching the front of a house, Meilin turned half around. Wanting to say something but decided against it. Knocking on the door, the young woman waited as Irene continued on about the Vanguri to Aoi.
As the door opened, Meilin was half expecting Hitomo and Atsumichi to charge forwards. Instead, they were greeted by Jin, who didn't seem surprised. Until he spotted Aoi. He said something in Chonobi to Meilin, a grumpy tone betraying he wasn't happy with unexpected visitors. Meilin seemed unfazed as she stepped inside when Jin stepped aside.
Irene softly squeezed Aoi's hand but remained silent.
The old man threw a frowned look at Irene but shifted his attention to Aoi as he gestured that they should enter his home.
"Welcome to my home, miss Miyazato. Come in, so I can close the door before the cold will make my bones rattle more than they already do." Jin said, though it was more grumbling than a friendly suggestion. Waiting for them to enter in, Jin said something to Meilin as he would walk away, grumbling something more.
Waiting a second, Meilin turned to Aoi as she rubbed her left arm for a second.
"Sorry. He is… a tad… old." Meilin would say in a way that could be described as cautious.
"Come. My other siblings aren't here but Jin said that he wouldn't mind if you would join us to drink a cup of tea." Before Meilin could add more to it, Irene already raised her voice as she pulled Aoi to the spacious living room.
"Tea is super, super important! My favorite is green tea. May we have some biscuits with it, Meilin?" Irene both stated and asked, continue to pull Aoi to one of the two couches. Clearly intending to make the Miyazato sit next to her before anybody else could claim a spot.
Aoi studied the inside of the compound intensely as they walked. She watched every passing figure and took note of the ones that seemed to notice the Taika standing out amongst them, standing within their own private sanctuary. When they stopped in front of a home and Meilin took to knocking Aoi tensed in anticipation of the person, Jin, that she expected to open the door. When an older man, easily older than her parents with a beard longer than her hair had ever been in her entire life opened it she found herself a little surprised. Part of her expected Jin to be some middle aged relative, or even a secret significant other of the older Cho. But an aging old man? It had not been on her list of possibilities, and that probably made it worse when the man obviously wasn't excited with the fact Aoi was here with Irene and Meilin. When they took to talking in Chonobi the want to simply excuse herself for some stupid reason began to knock at her mind, just to get out of the situation if she could achieve it would be a victory in her mind. She followed them inside and was quickly ushered to a spot on the couch next to Irene.
"Tea is important for me too, my reli---" she looked around anxiously and then back to Irene,
"I quite like green tea myself." she said as she shot a look to Meilin that likely screamed of how uncomfortable she was at that moment.
Meilin would follow the pair and take a seat upon the other chair. A servant of Jin appeared, asking what they would like in Chonobi. Meilin shot a sideways look at Irene and Aoi before she replied. Catching the look that Aoi shot Meilin, the latter would flash a smile.
"Good. We will get our tea soon. Jin is a bit tired from today, so he won't join us." Meilin lowered her voice a bit, amusement evident in her tone,
"Old age, you know."
Irene patted Aoi's lap as the child seemed to remember something.
"Wait here miss, I am going to get you something! Just wait!"
Climbing off the couch, Irene almost ran out of the living room as both Aoi and Meilin could hear her rushing up the stairs.
"Don't worry." Meilin suddenly said in a calm fashion as she crossed her legs.
"Jin is a grumpy fart. Most of my clan and people would have received you as one of their own, regardless of your origin."
Aoi wasn't sure how but she managed a smile for Irene as the girl made off to grab her something, the sound of her clambering up the stairs filled her head for a moment before Meilin's voice cut in to the noise of her mind. She turned to Meilin, her face a terrified little image of its usual happy self and she nodded her head slowly,
"Good Uhm…" she shrugged a little,
"That's good to know."
She'd heard a lot about the Chonobi, and so far much of what she'd know of them all her life had yet to be disproven with the only one she knew even more than a little being Meilin and she had managed to be the perfect embodiment of the distrust her culture held for others. Now, here in a Chonobi home she had been greeted as a nuisance and then reassured by Meilin it was simply Jin, since he was old. She didn't want to trust the Cho, but she was afraid what sort of ridiculous things she'd think up if she didn't. She resigned to take her words as a half truth before she spoke,
"I feel very out of place… very unwelcome." she said quietly,
"I'm not a child Meilin, but I also don't know this Jin. He seemed far more than just old and cranky when he saw me."
A smile dawned on Meilin's lips as she nodded when Aoi stated that she wasn't a child.
"Jin is… different. Truth be told, I am not fairly certain about him. But he has been a huge help to my family. However," Meilin paused for a second,
"You know that I grew up in Keishi? Where we lived there weren't many Chonobi. I grew up around Taika. I didn't have anybody to converse with in Chonobi except a handful of merchants or my parents. And of course, my siblings."
The Cho threw a look at the opening where Irene had vanished to.
"What I am trying to say is that I felt quite of place as well. When I moved in here, everybody was already somewhat acquainted with each other. They are so used to speak Chonobi that they don't have a certain accent. Where as I do. But most people here won't treat you different. Which does sound like I am trying to comfort you but I am not, really. It is the truth. We have our own rules of hospitality that we hold dear. Besides," Meilin paused as they could hear somebody rushing down the stairs.
"I think you are being close to be adopted."
Irene appeared in the living room with a small brown bag. Walking quickly to the couch, she would take her former spot. Once in place, she would place the brown bag in a cautious fashion on Aoi's lap. A serious expression was plastered on Irene's face as she stared at Aoi for a moment. Only to nod towards the bag, which was filled with small cookies and sweet baked bread.
"I think Audhild and Signý will not mind if I skip tomorrow. I baked the bread myself. Jin says that I poured too much sugar into the dough but I like it sweet. The cookies were baked by Hitomo." Irene started, almost going on rattling only to catch a frown from Meilin.
The nervousness in her guy remained as Meilin told of her own childhood, how she'd grown up feeling alone as well, surrounded by people who didn't speak her language. She wanted to remark on how she at the least knew Taika, but decided against it. Meilin was being genuine, and she didn't want to spoil it by making this into an argument of who had it worse off in their two situations. She let out a small laugh for Meilin to get a sense that at least some of her tension was gone and turned back to the stairs as the sounds of Irene coming down them could be heard, "I'm not sure I'm ready for a parent." She said under her breath and then Irene had returned.
When the girl deposited a bag of sweets on the Miyazato's lap she couldn't help but eye them curiously while listening about who had made what. She could feel the color in her face again and although she still felt a bit queasy she was sure she'd need to try at least one of the sweets,
"You want me to try a piece right?" she asked just to make sure she wasn't about to upset some of the girls Gods,
"I'm going... To try your bread. I like sweet things too." Aoi reached into the bag and pulled one out before taking a bite. It was rather sweet and she could see why the old man Jin had said she'd used too much sugar, but she did like it.
"It's really good Irene!" She exclaimed as she took a second bite of the bread.
The girl nodded twice as reply on Aoi's question. When Aoi took a bite, Irene stared intensely at Aoi. When Aoi stated she liked it and even took a second bite, pride and joy flowed over the girl's face.
"Thanks! Next time, I will make more for you! Promised!" Irene threw a glance at Meilin, realising something. The girl's eyes darted back to the brown bag as something seemed to upset her.
"It is fine." Meilin stated, already aware of what was going on in the mind of the girl.
"Tomorrow, we will bake something together." Meilin further added.
This seemed to prevent Irene from bursting into tears, as she seemed to be more than happy with Meilin's response. She turned to Aoi and said a single word in Chonobi, pointing at herself. Then she repeated the same word but pointed at Aoi.
"Friend." Irene said in Taika, pointing to herself.
"Friend." This time she pointed at Aoi.
As Irene spoke to her she couldn't help but smile when the girl became proud of her work. She then became aware of what Meilin had caught onto when the older Cho spoke, and began to feel a little guilty for not offering a piece of the bread to her before eating it, but when the problem was quickly resolved she was able to at least feel full relief for it. When Irene spoke a word in Chonobi and pointed at each of them while saying it, Aoi was pretty sure she was about to learn something from the slow deliberateness of the girl. She said the word in her head a few times and when Irene did the same motions again but in Taika, Aoi felt a little stupid for not being able to throw all the context clues together and figure it out on her own what the word had meant.
She sat for a moment before pointing to herself and repeating the word back. It sounded alien coming from her mouth and the sounds of it rolled off incorrectly with certain sounds altogether being lost to her Taika learnt tongue. She blushed a little and pointed to Irene before clumsily repeating the word once more. After a moment she hesitantly turned to Meilin and repeated it a third time, ever aware that she was absolutely butchering the word each time.
Irene nodded heavily as she would repeat the motion and word. It was evident that the girl did enjoy the fact that Aoi seemed to try the word. Once more, Irene would slowly pronounce the word and use the same gestures to indicate what it meant.
Meilin remained silent, watching the interaction between the two. It was touching in a way. But at the same time, she wasn't entirely sure what to think of it. Deciding to not crack her skull about it, she would just further watch the interaction. The servant of Jin came into the living room with a plate to bring the refreshments Meilin had asked for, only to take her leave once Meilin stated that they would be fine.
Once Irene was content with how Aoi pronounced the word, she decided on another. She pointed at herself, slowly stating another word. Before pointing at Meilin, repeating the word. Slowly she would point to Aoi, repeating the same word. The gesture would be repeated as Irene announced the word once more in Taika.
"Family."
Listening intently she'd repeat the word in her mind every moment she had as Irene went around the three. She was pretty sure it was 'girl' but when Irene revealed it to be family she hesitated a moment. She pointed to Irene and repeated the word as best she could, practically cursing herself as she spoke such an odd word before moving her finger to Meilin and repeating it. She didn't point at herself though, perhaps at a different time she could call the two family, but today was nothing close to what a family was between the three even if Irene helped close the gap considerably.
Irene shook her head. She repeated it over again, but pointed now twice at Aoi. As if she was now in some odd argument with just using the same word over again. Almost would the girl continue to restart the gesturing as repeating the word but Meilin spoke up.
"Easy now, Irene."
An apologetic smile from Meilin was cast towards Aoi, together with a subtle nod.
Irene threw a sideways look at Meilin before back at Aoi. She would help Aoi practice the word without insisting that Aoi was also family. Once the girl was content with how Aoi pronounced the word, she decided to continue on another.
Placing her hand on her chest, the girl tapped it lightly as she said a word in Chonobi. She seemed to think for a moment as she repeated the motion and stated the word again in Taika.
"Love!"
Aoi listened again, repeating the alien and unnatural sounding word in her mind before waiting for Irene to point to someone else, when she didn't and instead repeated the same motion on herself Aoi became confused. Then she spoke in Taika and Aoi certainly understood a little why she hadn't pointed at anyone else. The word 'love' couldn't really be used properly alone by itself to express its meaning to another, but tapped over ones heart it dl certainly resonated the understanding the two languages shared of the word. She placed her hand on her chest and repeated it carefully, still managing to mostly to it an injustice as she did.
Irene didn't seem to fully catch on that Aoi was struggling with words that seemed so natural for the small girl, as if it was as easy as breathing. She would help Aoi pronounce the word a bit better to the point she was once more content. Irene was already at the ready to teach Aoi another word but Meilin spoke up.
"Easy now, Irene. It is quite rude to exhaust your guest." Meilin stated, adding a wink to Aoi.
The girl seemed shocked for a moment as she then considered something.
"Miss, would you show that mag.. mag… magne.." The girl became frustrated for a moment till she realised something. Picking the medallion that she carried with her, Irene lifted it up from the cover of her clothing.
"Can you teach me what you did?"
She continued trying her hardest to pronounce the words as best she could, but certain sounds simply didn't exist in Taika and translated terribly across her tongue into sounds that were entirely wrong to her brain. She wondered how Irene and Meilin so easily spoke both languages and was honestly a little jealous of the fact as her pronunciation went on. With Meilin telling Irene to give her a break Aoi gave them both a smile for the rest.
She held back a snicker as Irene managed to have trouble with the word magnet and didn't feel so bad that she was absolutely horrible at the Chonobi pronunciation as it happened. She raised an eyebrow at Irene as she asked to be taught what she had done and shook her head slowly with an apologetic smile,
"I'm sorry little one, I can't teach you. It's not something you can do without having the release when you're born. Like Meilin and her release, she was born with it, I," Aoi made a bird handseal,
"was born with this." She raised her arms out to the side and the iron dust that had been clinging to her skin beneath her clothes all day long filtered out from her sleeves like flowing water. A long and low hiss escaping as the iron dust rubbed against itself and her clothes.
The iron danced in the air for a moment, swirling around in a wide circle before it fell down to Aoi's height and came together in a tight ball.
"I can't teach you it, but I can definitely do something with it I think you'll enjoy, although I'm not sure how well exactly it'll work out…" she offered Irene while at the same time giving Meilin a questioning look to ask if she too was alright with Aoi doing something.
The eyes of Irene widened as Aoi started to manipulate the iron dust. Enchanted by the looks, the girl didn't even seem to register the hiss of the moving iron dust, that would else have caused her to panic and run towards Meilin. The girl briefly raised her hand, almost wanting to touch some of the iron dust as she softly mumbled something in Chonobi. When Aoi stated she had something in mind, Irene's gaze traveled to Aoi and back at the tight iron ball.
Despite it was clear that Irene was most impressed and curious to see what Aoi had in mind, Meilin felt less eager. She watched the iron dust and though it was certainly impressive, she was aware of how deadly it could be. At least, when Aoi seemed to be willing to use it for self defence. When Aoi shot Meilin a questioning look, the older Cho didn't hide her worries.
"Just listen to the miss, Irene." Meilin said, giving indirectly the word of permission for Aoi. Slowly Meilin's right hand clenched into a fist while she remained seated.
With Irene completely enthralled with the dust, Aoi couldn't help but feel a smile growing over her lips evena s Meilin didn't appear to be the most eager to see what Aoi had in store for her sister. When She told Irene to listen to her she took it as her cue to carry on. She leaned in toward Irene
"You need to be really still at first okay? You can't watch either." she held up a single finger,
"Do we have a deal?" she asked as the ball of iron would unfurl into the flowing tendrils once more. She eyed the knot at Irene's arm and paused before she began to untie it.
Irene slowly nodded as she replied to Aoi.
"Yes miss!"
Closing her eyes, it was clear that the small girl was excited for what Aoi had planned. Keeping herself still, Irene's hand was clenched into a fist. Meilin simply watched the two, her worries increasing but not to the point she would stand up and get closer. Right now, she figured that this was one way to show that she tried to trust Aoi more than before.
The young Cho's eyes closed, Aoi would lean forward and untie the knot in her sleeve before leaning back. She turned to Meilin and mouthed the words,
'Trust me' as the iron in the air above her would begin to hiss once more as it moved,
"This may be a bit cold Irene." she said, warning the girl before the iron would snake it's way into her sleeve and press itself against the stump that was once her arm. Aoi had to concentrate as she molded the iron dust into the shape she wanted, her gaze moving often from her iron dust to Irene's good arm. The dust would begin to come together and partially solidify, enough that it wasn't easy to press an object through it but not so much that it would be stiff and unmoving. She glanced to Irene's good arm again and back to the dust and with her own hands would smooth the iron in places and extend it in others until she sat back. She breathed out and took in her work checking to make sure it was as correct as she could get it.
The iron dust, mostly solid and seeming to sprout off of Irene's shoulder where her arm had once been was formed into as identical a copy of Irene's good arm as Aoi could make it. It rested with its hand in a fist against the couch unmoving, an iron appendage waiting to be used. Aoi took another deep breath,
"Okay. You can open your eyes now, just, whatever you want to do mirror it with your other arm… And don't move too fast okay?" she told Irene, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving suddenly.
Despite Meilin really wanting to trust Aoi, there was some distrust that wasn't easily dispelled. Watching the blue haired girl untying the knot, Meilin felt restless. She wasn't entire aware of what Aoi was up to but still restrained herself. The hissing of the iron being manipulated and moving towards Irene caused the girl to slightly shiver for a moment. When Aoi warned Irene that it would be a bit cold, the girl just nodded. Until the cold metal touched her skin, causing Irene to shiver but still keeping herself as still as she could.
Meilin watched the two intently. Feeling the need to get up and be close. She was telling herself that Aoi was experienced with her iron dust. That she was aware of what she could do. That Irene wasn't in danger. Yet, Meilin couldn't help but sit on the edge of her seat.
When Aoi told to Irene that she could open her eyes, the small girl threw a look at why the knot was untied and she had it cold at her stump. Seeing the arm made of iron dust, Irene's eyes widened as she would freeze. Staring at the arm, Irene was too afraid to move for a moment. Then slowly she seemed to try something. The arm moved and it caused Irene to release a soft yelp. Slowly she moved the hands together and observe the arm. The arm moved slower than her other but it still moved. Then out of nowhere she would wave for a second. Likely expecting the arm to fall apart in front of her. But it stayed. Just slowly moving into a waving motion.
Tears started to form at Irene's eyes as she wanted to say something. Turning to Aoi first, she pointed at the arm but then turned to Meilin. The small girl would hop off the and slowly spread her arms while approaching Meilin.
Watching her little sister, Meilin got off her seat and kneeled down on the ground. Slowly but surely Irene would wrap Meilin in a hug with both arms. Her shoulders trembled as a sob escaped the child. Meilin wanted to say something as she gave a hug back to Irene. But words seemed to escape both.
Throwing a look at Aoi, Meilin mouthed two words.
"Thank you."
Releasing Irene, Meilin would watch how the small girl stepped backwards. She observed the odd but fascinating new arm. Waving once again, the arm slowly moving, a small laugh escaped Irene. She then turned towards Aoi, the joy making place for a most serious expression. Forming a fist with her right hand, she would slowly press her fist against the open palm of the left hand. Doing that so in front of her chest, Irene would make a deep bow. Her shoulders slightly trembling as she muttered something in Chonobi.
"She is thanking you," Meilin softly said, translating it for Aoi. Though the gesture already made that clear.
Aoi's focus was entirely on the young Cho's good arm. She hoped that she would follow the instruction and use it as the example, or else Aoi wouldn't know what to do with the new iron one. When she opened her eyes and seemed hesitant Aoi almost spoke, almost said something to reassure her, but Irene seemed to find her own confidence and slowly moved. She did her best to mimic the girls good arm with her iron one, it jumped a little sporadically at first, a jolt here or there as Aoi got a feel for how much she needed to manipulate it to be as smooth as possible. She had been up until the wee hours of the morning mimicking her own arm in the mirror of her apartment, but there she had known what she wanted to do before doing it. Here she had only Irene to follow, and she wasn't Madoc in the slightest, she couldn't read the young Cho's mind to better plan her movements in the future.
When the girl brought her hands together, Aoi did her best to curl the fingers around her good hand in as natural a way as possible, concentrating hard as she exerted her will over immensely small areas of her magnetic field to best comfort the girl in her movements. She found herself forming a bird seal as she sat, something she hadn't had to do to keep the magnetic field under her control since she had first begun to learn how to control it nearly seven years prior. When Irene stood suddenly Aoi found herself gasping, the arm followed her body, if only due to the fact she had slightly adhered it to the girls shoulder, but a small portion of the dust hung in place where it had once been before it quickly rejoined the rest of the arm as Irene moved toward her sister.
Spreading the arm was easy, and the fingers hadn't been too hard compared to holding her own hand, but when she moved to hug her sister Aoi nearly lost it entirely. The simple act was easy enough, but Aoi had to figure out just how much pressure was enough as she wrapped the arm around her teammate, the fingers splaying and touching the girls side. She watched intently, a small headache growing as she did. She could taste a metallic tang in her mouth as she continued to manipulate the iron on a level she had never quite had to in the past. She swallowed. The metallic taste remained. When the two sisters let go of their embrace Aoi found herself lagging a bit behind, a small portion of the iron dust remaining on the back of Meilin before it snaked away in streams and back to the arm. She was glad Meilin didn't seem to notice.
Irene turned to her, and it took every ounce of her will to not drop the iron completely as she tried to watch the girl. Spots of nothing were in her vision now, areas that nothing seemed to exist only punctuated by the world where she could still see. She smiled and made the arm wave as Irene smiled back. When Irene thanked her Aoi nearly began to cry. Had her head not been screaming in protest she would have. The pain of the headache was lancing at her from the front to the back of her head. She winced and smiled a second later,
"You're welcome Irene." she managed to keep her tone normal, her voice steady. If she could hide the fact from Irene and continue to keep her happy for even a few more seconds, it'd be worth it to her. But she was anything but as she tried to keep up with the girl. For all the years she had been able to wield her own kekkai genkai, for all the varied techniques and trainings she had endured and learned. Only one stood out as amounting to how terrible this was for her now.
Irene observed the arm, completely drawn into the fact that she had an arm back. Oblivious to who actually controlled and made the limb move, the girl turned once more to Meilin. Rapidly speaking in Chonobi, she started to say matters that caused Meilin's features to shift. From the soft joy that had been plastured over Meilin's face to worry. And a clear dread in her eyes. Saying something to Irene, Meilin wanted to turn to Aoi. But spotting that Aoi winced, Meilin turned her gaze back to the artificial arm that Aoi had granted Irene.
Putting one and one together to make two, Meilin turned her attention back to Aoi.
"I think it is time to tell Aoi goodbye for now, Irene." Meilin said, her tone stating clearly that she wouldn't accept an argument from Irene.
The small girl seemed shocked, her eyes widened. The small lips of the girl parted as she wanted to protest. Her own hand moved to the iron arm but no word would leave Irene's lips.
Meilin placed her attention on Aoi.
"Aoi. This is enough." Meilin stated as she was getting worried. But she wasn't sure how to stop the arm by herself. She assumed that picking Irene up and trying to weave the iron dust away wouldn't work. Or would it?
Aoi dreaded the words that Irene seemed to be speaking to her sister as Meilin's expression changed suddenly. She had overdone it. She knew she did. The girl had asked something like if she would always have the arm, or if she could do something with it later. Aoi winced again as Meilin spoke to her sister, whether it was out of pain or a twang of sorrow she wasn't quite sure. Irene seemed to grab the arm in protection but Aoi new it was a futile gesture. Once Meilin told her that it was enough she didn't even nod an affirmation. The dust of the arm disintegrated back into the wave-like flowing form of earlier and quickly snaked its way back under her clothes and disappeared. She breathed out a long breath and could feel something warm trying to escape her nose. She wiped at it as subtly as she could, the red smear across her hand the only evidence of the nose bleeds beginning.
"Sorry little one." she said with a small smile, she hoped it had done more good than harm for the girl.
Irene remained silent, her gaze following the iron dust. Her hand moved to the stump that was covered by the sleeve that now hang at her side. Tears were welling up at her eyes. Suddenly, the girl turned and ran, vanishing into the hallway. Judging by the sounds, she was running up the stairs.
Meilin threw a glance at her sibling. She clearly wanted to put a halt to Irene running away but restrained herself. A second of silence followed before Meilin turned to Aoi.
"You..." she began, her voice a bit shaken. Taking a breathe in and then out, Meilin flashed a wry smile.
"Shouldn't give me a scare like that. Are you okay? Need something to drink?" Meilin asked, not hiding her worry about Aoi's wellbeing.
With Irene running off Aoi could feel the immense guilt welling inside her. She had gone too far, gotten the girls hopes up for too little a reward, for something too fickle and too short lived. She turned to Meilin as she said a single word. The dread built inside her as Meilin seemed to gather herself. She blinked. Repeated the Cho's words in her mind once, then twice and then simply shook her head.
"I'm fine." she turned back toward the staircase and where Irene had run off to,
"I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to…" she hesitated and turned back to Meilin,
"Just go to her, will you?" she asked. With Irene gone she didn't try to stop the blood streaming from her nose now, simply pushing a sleeve up to catch it as it ran off her lip.
Meilin threw a look over her shoulder but would turn her attention back at Aoi. She shook her head before speaking up.
"It is fine. I will go to her in a moment. She isn't the one with blood leaking from her nose." Was Meilin's reply. She considered something.
"Allow me to get you home. You could use some rest, I wager." Meilin offered as she held a hand out towards Aoi.
She almost smacked the Cho's hand away. Almost yelled at her to go to her sister. But she caught herself in the thought. It would only make everything worse if she did, even if it would make her feel just a little better in the moment. She reached her free hand out and took the Cho's,
"You don't need to walk me the whole way, I don't want you gone from Irene for too long now." she said, accepting Meilin's offer and rising to her feet with her help.
"Don't fret about Irene. I can take care of that later." Meilin said, her tone calm. Once she saw that Aoi was on her feet, Meilin wanted to ask if she was sure. Yet, she didn't want to doubt or cause Aoi to think that she was considered weak.
"Come. I will walk you to the compound's gate then. Least I can do." She stated, letting Aoi walk the first few steps towards the door. Once Meilin was absolutely certain that Aoi could manage, she would stop watching and try to refrain from looking worried.
Once outside, Meilin would wait to close the door behind her before she spoke up.
"You did something for her, you know." Meilin began as they started to walk towards the direction of the compound's gate.
"Perhaps didn't all turn out in a happy ending. But you made her feel happy. Complete again. I won't forget that."
She couldn't help but to fret about Irene as they made for the door. The girl had been so happy and it had been so easily crushed with a simple phrase and Aoi's final action. When Meilin appeared to try and comfort her Aoi forced a smile,
"Yeah." she said as she nodded her head,
"Yeah I guess I did." she said as she moved on, the blood seeming to continue from her nose at the same rate as earlier. "I just…" she continued walking, not quite looking at Meilin as she did,
"I feel I went about it wrong. Like I could ha--"
"She lost that arm, Aoi." Meilin stated, with a harsher tone.
"I sometimes find myself feeling angry. Guilty and pathetic. If I had done this or that, I could perhaps have spared her. Saved her. But things are as they are. You nor I can't give her a new arm."
Pausing, Meilin thought about something.
"You managed to make her feel normal. As I said, complete. It was for a brief moment. She is now upset but for a moment, she was just herself again. You did more than I ever could. I think that is what counts, Aoi."
Cut off Aoi could only listen. She wasn't in a position to do too much arguing and she felt she had already pushed herself to the edge so she merely listened. The revelation that Meilin felt so responsible for her sisters condition was almost jarring. She figured the girl was more sound than that, that she realized she most likely couldn't have changed things. No matter what she had done the outcome would likely have been the same as no matter what she knew now, or was capable of now she could never have been able to carry that knowledge at the time. She reached a hand over to Meilin and found herself placing it awkwardly on her teammates shoulder. She tensed and pulled Meilin to a stop as she still held a hand to her nose.
"Thank you." she said softly before pulling the girl into a hug. She wasn't sure how Meilin would take it, and even was prepared to laugh it off if she pushed her away.
Being pulled to a stop, Meilin frowned. She was about to say something but then thanked. Though Meilin had some mixed feelings, she couldn't help but genuinely smile back. Before she was able to say that Aoi should receive such words, Meilin was pulled into a hug. For a moment, Meilin stood still but would return the hug.
"Thank you too."
Breaking the hug up after a second, Meilin glanced at Aoi's nose. Clearing her throat, Meilin would speak up again.
"We probably should get going. Before people wonder why I punched you at your nose or something." Meilin spoke in a tone that was attempting to hide that she was feeling happy about how today had more or less ended.[/spoili]
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