Kaiiki sighed placing her pencil in her mouth. She pulled it out of her mouth and rubbed her forehead in frustration. She heard the familiar knock on the door and she raised her eyes to look at it, “Come in…” She said softly but loud enough for the person to hear her.
Kashoku leaned in the door and smiled at Kaiiki, “Hey..”
“Oh hey Kashoku!” Kaiiki smiled and placed her pencil on the desk, “Did you need something?”
“Err… yeah… about that…” Kashoku stuttered and closed the door behind her. Kaiiki tilted her head to the side looking at Kashoku, “I found something you might like…”
Kashoku handed a small gift wrapped in a fine silk cloth. Kaiiki looked at Kashoku curiously and took it pulling the silk off, “Kashoku… is this…”
“Yes… it holds the disease Tatsumaki had… I’ve known for a while… so have the others…” Kaiiki frowned looking at Kashoku.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” she asked hurt. Kashoku sat on Kaiiki’s bed facing the desk Kaiiki was sitting at.
“Because we are afraid of the way you think…”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… You always blame yourself… and no one likes you doing that…” She said softly.
Kaiiki looked down, “I-I know…” she said softly, “I-I’m sorry to get upset about you not showing me…”
“It’s alright… Anyway… the disease is marked with a purple sticky note… it should explain everything… and you might be able to find the cure…”
Kaiiki smiled at Kashoku and nodded, “Thanks Kashoku…”
“Nah… it’s nothing big!” Kashoku smiled and walked out of Kaiiki’s room leaving her to flip to the sticky note in the book while thinking. She read over the disease and frowned remembering how her grandfather received it.
Makkura was sitting across from Kyuuzou holding his hand of cards close to his face. Kyuuzou smirked behind his cards and Makkura shook his head, “Little cheater…” Makkura thought holding a grudge against his opponent.
“You show first…” Kyuuzou said smirking. Makkura frowned and shook his head.
“Nah… you go!”
“Your funeral,” Kyuuzou shrugged. Makkura grumbled annoyed and Kyuuzou smirked. He laid his cards down on the table and Makkura groaned placing his down. Kyuuzou snickered and pulled the tokens they were using toward him.
“You cheat!” Makkura pointed. Kyuuzou looked hurt and frowned at him.
“Anything but!” He yelled. Makkura jumped up followed by Kyuuzou. Just then, cards fell out of both of the two boys sleeves and they’re eyes nearly popped from their heads.
“YOU DID CHEAT!” Makkura yelled. Kyuuzou smirked and started laughing. Confused, Makkura stared at Kyuuzou as he nearly crumbled to the floor laughing, “What is so funny?” He asked dumbstruck.
“You cheated too… but you lost!” He snorted falling to his knees. A scowl formed on Makkura’s lips and he crossed his arms blushing embarrassed.
“So what! Just means you cheated more!” He yelled angry at Kyuuzou’s mockery. Kyuuzou continued to laugh and Makkura turned stalking off as Kyuuzou laid on the group laughing.
“Stupid Kyuuzou…” He muttered. Kaiiki stepped out of a room and Makkura watched her quietly. She carried something with her and his curiosity caught the better of him. He followed her silently trying to give away his position. She turned around and Makkura quickly jumped into the nearest room hiding. Kaiiki looked around nervously and turned a quiet holding the thing in her arms tightly to her.
“Wonder what she is carrying…” Makkura thought walking out of his hiding place. He rounded the corner quietly just as Kaiiki entered the clinic. Makkura’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Was she carrying a book?”
He frowned some in thought until walking into the clinic as well after his fiancée.
Tsuta sighed drinking a smoothie while sitting next to Juusanso who was stirring her cup of coffee. They were flipping through the kitchen’s recipes when Juusanso sighed in frustration. Tsuta looked up from her stack and raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong with you Juu?”
“I can’t find anything!” She whined rubbing her forehead, “What do these demons like to eat?!”
Tsuta shook her head, “Who really knows… what do you know of this guy?”
“His name… favorite color… flavor of ice cream…” Juusanso named thinking.
“Wait… what is his favorite flavor of ice cream?” Tsuta asked interested. Juusanso gave her a weird look but shook it off.
“Banana and Chocolate, why are you asking?” Tsuta rolled her eyes at Juusanso and waved over a cook.
“Can you make a big banana chocolate dessert next week?” The cook nodded and bowed to Tsuta before walking off.
“What was that about?” Juusanso asked confused still. Tsuta sighed and rolled her eyes again.
She placed the recipe cards she was holding down on the table they were sitting at and looked Juusanso in the eyes, “You said he likes Banana and Chocolate ice cream. That will be our dessert… now the main course, well, we will have to ask one of the guys or just ask Kaiiki for some help!”
“Oh… Alright now I get it!” Juusanso said with a smile. Tsuta laughed and Juusanso tilted her head in confusion again, “What’s so funny Uta-chan?”
“You are such a blonde Juu!” Tsuta laughed and shook her head.
“Hey! I take offensively to that!” Juusanso proclaimed and Tsuta laughed more nearly falling over.
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t like you Juu! I don’t mean to offend you it’s just that sometimes you think too much inside the box!”
Juusanso shook her head and sighed, “Whatever you say Uta-chan…”
“Juu, if you are from America then why do you say Uta-chan and not just Uta or Tsu?” Juusanso laughed some and shook her head.
“Haven’t you seen my room Uta-chan? It’s full of anime! I’m just a Japanese culture fan! Anything from Japan fascinates me!” Juusanso said nodding confidently.
Tsuta smiled shaking her head at Juusanso, “You sound like a close friend of mine…”
Juusanso smiled more, “Well, I’m glad because I want to be your close friend Uta-chan! I don’t want this grudge to last long…” Tsuta smiled more and she stood up before walking past Juusanso messing up her medium blonde hair.
“It won’t, don’t worry Juu…” Tsuta said quietly leaving the kitchen.
Juusanso smiled to herself, “I might start making friends with Tsuta… she seemed to be in love with Tatsumaki… She did say he was like family to them all… Maybe he was like father that she never had…” she thought flipping through the remaining recipe cards.
Kashoku laid on her sofa flipping through the channels on her 32” flat screen television, “Dull… rerun… ewe!” she said to herself flipping through the channels more.
She sighed and she took out the her T.V. Guide looking through it to decide what to watch, “Hmm… TNT is playing old Angel episodes. That sounds interesting. God I’m so happy Kaiiki decided to get the Earthen channels too!”
Kashoku turned to TNT right when Angel’s theme song started and she squealed quietly before nuzzling her remote, “Oh how I love this series!” She purred to herself.
“Goodness sis… I knew you had the cat spirit in ya but purring and nuzzling a remote?” Makkura said walking into his twin sister’s room. Kashoku yelped in shock and looks over her shoulder to see Makkura leaning on her wall.
“Jesus Makkura!” She complained, “Ever think about knocking?!”
“Yep. But only with Kaiiki,” He smirked, “Besides, I know you too well. You only lay around in your room naked on Saturdays and today sis, is a Thursday!” Kashoku stuck her tongue out.
“And how do you know this?”
“Because Kyuuzou kept walking in on you for the past three weeks and having his room next to mine doesn’t help…” Makkura shook his head and Kashoku blushed.
“Ah, so how many people did he tell?”
“No one, I just heard him screaming down the hallway, “Oh my god! She’s naked!” as he ran into his door.”
Kashoku laughed and shook her head, “You’d think he’d learn by now about my strange nakedness pattern…”
“Hey, you are twenty-four going twenty-five… you’ve been here just as long as I have which has been what almost six years? This is your house too and well… your body…” Makkura laughed. Kashoku laughed also and shook her head.
“So what do you want anyway Makkura?” Kashoku said changing the subject.
“Oh yeah. You gave Kaiiki that book didn’t you?” Makkura asked with a serious expression. Kashoku winced and smiled sheepishly.
“Yeah… she needed to know!” Kashoku said in defense, “She wants to find that cure so badly!”
“But Tatsumaki has been dead for months! She’s only doing this to bring him back and when she finds out she can’t… what do you think will happen?”
Kashoku frowned, “I don’t know what’ll happen… but maybe by the time she finds the cure, you two will be married and she won’t feel so lonely anymore…”
Makkura stared silently at Kashoku and sighed, “I hope Kashie…”
“Whoa…” Kashoku said looking over at her brother.
“What?” Makkura asked staring at her.
“You called me Kashie… you haven’t said that since we first got here I told you to knock it off…”
“You were also trying to impress what’s-his-name, the old fire god before William or Moeagaru too.”
“Jason?” Kashoku asked tilting her head, “Tall, skinny but built, shaggy long brown hair, spoke English but mostly German to Niji and Jishin? He had your similar style… except he actually carried a gun in one pocket and some whips and chains in the other?”
“Yeah… he never really came back to headquarters unless it was serious…”
“Duh… why do you think he had whips and chains?” Kashoku said rolling her eyes.
“You mean to tell me that… he…”
“Yep, every night…” Kashoku said without blinking. Makkura frowned.
“He never…”
“Me? Nope, told me I was too young and that he didn’t want to break my heart…” Kashoku said shrugging, “Him and Kaiiki were pretty close… but nothing happened with them since he was like 20 years older than her…” Makkura clenched a fist.
“Close? Like how close?”
“Whoa buddy… nothing was going on between them! I was 18, she was 13 and he was 33! Goodness! He had more of a thing with Tsuta before he attacked her and she beat the crap out of him!”
Makkura sighed in relief, “That was when he was banished and Tsuta grew closer to Tatsumaki who was like her father.”
“Yeah… she really looked up to him…”
“Well, he father was never home… he was crack addict and he just slept around with random girls he found at bars…”
“Actually Makkura… you don’t know half of her past…” Makkura looked at his sister for a while, “She told me everything about her father… everything that happened to her and what happened to her mother…”
Makkura frowned, “Can you tell me?”
“Yeah… have a seat…” Kashoku said pointing to her couch. Makkura had a seat and listened to Tsuta’s history.
“Father… where did mother go?” a young Rachel asked her drunken father. Her father grunted and shot a glare at his young daughter.
“She left because she hated you… she said you were a slob and that you never do your chores…” He slurred taking another swing from the half empty liquor bottle in his hand. Rachel’s eyes watered and she looked up at her father.
“If I clean, will she come back?” she whimpered quietly. Her father looked at her and rolled his eyes grunting again
“I don’t know and I don’t give a rats ass Rachel!” He slurred again. Rachel’s eyes watered and she bowed her head closing them tightly.
“I will clean in hope…” She said and stood up. She took off into the other room going off to clean. She was scrubbing the floor and she heard her father’s footsteps rounding behind her. She looked behind her and yelped as her father practically pounced her.
“Father!” She yelled squirming from under him. He smirked drunk and he somehow manage to find a way to wriggle Rachel’s and his pants off.
“Shut up and be a good little girl to daddy…” he slurred.
“I don’t want to do this!” Rachel cried. Tears rolled down her face as her father continued to pin her down, “GET OFF!” She screamed and pulled one of her legs free of his grasp and kicked him hard. Her father yelped in pain and she pushed him off grabbed her pants and sliding them back on before running out of the front door.
She ran down the street and came to a near by trailer that she knew like the back of her hand.
She pounded on it hard screaming, “Phillip!” She cried. She banged hard before hearing quick footsteps racing to the door.
“Rachel?” A voice called from behind the door worried.
“Hurry up and open the door Phillip!” Rachel cried tears rolling down her face.
The door was thrown open and standing in the door frame was a tall fifteen year old boy standing 6’0” with short spiky dyed blue hair, “Rachel, what happened?” He asked worried stepping out of the trailer. He was immediately tackled by the terrified girl.
He frowned holding her close to him, “Shh, calm down Rachel… tell me what happened!”
“He tried to molest me!” She cried in Phillip’s chest. Phillip’s eyes widened.
“Wha-what!? Who?”
“My father! He tried to molest me! He was drunk and I just asked where my mother was! He said she left because of me because I never cleaned! So I went to go clean and he tackled me and tried to molest me!”
Phillip held her closer and shook his head, “Rachel… you are only fourteen years old! That’s illegal anyway but your age on top of that… Your father… he should… god, he should be arrested!”
“But what about my mother?!” Rachel cried. Phillip sighed.
“I don’t know what happened to your mother Rachel.. But first we need to call the police…”
“People are going to think poorly of me!”
“If they do, then I’ll beat them up!”
Rachel looked up at Phillip and he smiled down at her, “You promise?”
“Of course…”
Rachel smiled at him and Phillip leaned down sealing the promise with a gently kiss.
“What happened to her mother?” Makkura asked frowning.
“She was reported missing for weeks before the police got a clue that changed Tsuta’s life… Turns out that her mother was murdered by her father… He was convicted on first degree murder and attempting rape to someone underage…”
“Why does she still have those memories?”
“Some things you can’t forget…” Kashoku shrugged, “You can try to erase them… but they came back to her…”
Makkura frowned more and shook his head, “Someone like Tsuta didn’t deserve that…”
“Yeah…”
“But at least she had Phillip…”
“Not really…” Kashoku looked down. Makkura looked quickly to his twin sister.
“What do you mean not really?”
Kashoku looked up at her brother and sighed, “Phillip promised to beat up those who thought wrongly of Tsuta… and he did… but one fight, he was jumped and one of them pulled a gun and shot him. Tsuta ran away and at the age fifteen, she got the notice on being proclaimed as goddess of the plants…”
“Damn it… how come it’s the good ones that all of this…crap happens to them? Kaiiki, Tsuta…”
“You…” Kashoku said looking at him. Makkura looked away.
“I caused what happened to me Kashoku…”
Kashoku sighed, “Your friends made you…”
“No, my friends advised me too… and I did…”
“But maybe Makkura… what happened to all of us… is what made us who we are…”
Makkura stared at his sister, “What do you mean?”
“Well… Kaiiki was born into this family of gods and goddesses and what happened to her, made her truly a goddess… not her family… Tsuta went through so much… and since she understood the pain and suffering of natural everyday life, she became the goddess of nature… You suffered the pain of the darkness… you became one with the darkness. I realized and understood the pain of goodness… here I am, goddess of light. Juusanso has a sad past also… the sadness is in her wind… and Kyuuzou… his anger is his pain. You told me about Kaiiki’s dream… Kyuu… is angry at himself which released the fire in his soul… our pain and suffering… made us who we are…”
“Kashoku… you’ve made more sense just now then you have ever in the past twenty-four years…” Makkura smiled and kissed his sister on the forehead.
“Icky… Makkura slobber…” Kashoku groaned and smirked. Makkura laughed, “and I’m taking that comment as a compliment…”
“Go ahead…” Makkura said standing up. Kashoku stuck her tongue out and Makkura smiled shaking his head, “I’ll see you at dinner sis…”
“Save me some food… I may be late…”
“Alright…” Makkura laughed and walked out of Kashoku’s room closing the door behind him.
Kaiiki sat in her room reading the notes she had taken, “Alright… now I have to find the equation and figure it out…” She sighed, “I wish I was majoring in medication…”
“Kaiiki! Dinner’s up…” Kyuuzou called from outside the door.
“Alright, I’ll be there in a second…” She called back and placed her notes in the book reminding her of where she left off. She shut off her lights and headed to the dining room for a nice dinner with her house mates.
“Makkura honey! You don’t eat spaghetti with your hands like a two year old sweetie!” Tsuta called from the dining room. Kaiiki laughed as she opened the door.
“Stop acting like my mother Tsuta…” Makkura complained. He crossed his arms stubbornly with spaghetti all over his face.
“Some one definitely needs too…” Tsuta muttered rolling her eyes. Makkura gave her a glare and Kaiiki walked over to them.
“The easiest way to make Makkura act his age is by doing this…” Kaiiki said grabbing a napkin. Tsuta and Makkura looked over at her and Kaiiki sat in Makkura’s lap placing the napkin over her mouth before kissing him through it.
Makkura stared at her and quickly wiped his mouth clean and his hands, “Awe! Come on! There was a napkin between us!” He complained.
“Act your age and then maybe…” Kaiiki directed. Makkura pouted and quickly changed it into a frown.
“Fine…” Kaiiki smiled and kissed him softly and quickly before going to get off of Makkura’s lap but Makkura stopped her, “No… you are my hostage…” He whispered in her ear. She smiled and leaned back into his chest sighing. Tsuta smirked at the two and shook her head.
“Get a room…” She teased and Makkura looked down at Kaiiki.
“After dinner?” Kaiiki looked at him surprised.
“Whoa… what happened to your shy attitude?” She asked smiling. Makkura smiled and shrugged.
“Well, everyone knows about us now so I don’t see why I have to be shy…”
Kaiiki laughed and shook her head, “Alright… but no… not after dinner… after the wedding…”
Makkura groaned and placed his forehead against her back, “But that’s in six months…”
“Tough love darling!” Kaiiki said softly and Makkura buried his head into her back.
Tsuta smiled, “Awe! So much love between you two!” Kaiiki smiled at her and Makkura looked up smiling also.
“Of course there is!” Makkura said hugging Kaiiki closely to him.
Kaiiki smiled and giggled hugging onto Makkura’s arms. Tsuta shook her head and looked down at her food, “Awe man… my food is cold!”
“That’s what you get for ordering me around like a child!” Makkura said smirking.
“Shut up Makkura! Your food is cold also!”
“So what? I’ve already eaten…”
“Yeah like a pig too…” Tsuta said rolling her eyes.
“Eh, both of you knock it off…” Kaiiki interrupted. Makkura looked to the left and Tsuta looked to the right.
“Keh….” Makkura muttered and Tsuta rolled her eyes.
“Whatever…” She said and poked at her food with fork.
Kaiiki rolled her eyes and slide out of Makkura’s grip, “I’m going to get something to eat…” She walked off quickly with a plate in hand.
“She’s bossy…” Makkura muttered and Tsuta laughed.
“I’m going to tell her that you said that…”
“Don’t! You spoiled brat!”
“Yep!” Tsuta grinned, “I sure was spoiled!”
“You were like Tatsumaki’s dughter!”
“He treated me like one… but only because of pity…”
“No… Tatsumaki loved you Tsuta!”
“I know… but he only noticed me out of pity…”
Makkura frowned and shook his head, “Whatever you think happened… He saw right through Jason though didn’t he?”
“Yeah… dang that name hasn’t been mentioned in years…”
“I know… me and Kashoku were talking earlier and about your past…”
“It’s alright… just don’t bring it up…”
Makkura frowned more, “Alright I won’t…”
“Kashoku likes to tell people about someone’s past…”
“I’ve noticed…”
“She told me yours… about why you have those scars on your arms…”
Makkura sat there quietly looking down.
“You did what you had to Makkura…”
“I still did it though!”
“For Kashoku!”
“Just… drop it…”
Kaiiki walked back slowly and saw the sad expressions on the two people who she loved dearly faces, “What did I miss?” She asked quietly sitting next to Makkura.
She didn’t get a response and she noticed Makkura was looking down at the ground, his long bangs covering both eyes, “Makkura?” Her eyes widened as Makkura grabbed her and pulled her into his lap quickly hugging her tightly.
Kaiiki hugged him back immediately and noticed that Makkura was sobbing. She frowned and hugged him closer, “Don’t ever leave me with my memories… please don’t…” he whispered so only she could hear her.
“Makkura… what happened in your past that you never told me?” Kaiiki thought as she hugged her love tightly to her, “I won’t ever leave you alone with your memories… I promise you Makkura…” she thought closing her eyes.
