Miara and Kai
| Title: | Miara and Kai | |
|---|---|---|
| Author: | firefly_1824 | |
| Date Written: | 2008 | |
| Continuity | SSEU Earth 1337-A | |
| Time Placement | August 19, 2008 | |
| Synopsis | After making some life decisions, Miara sets out to meet Kai and settle some things about the Tokyo Lupa. | |
| Rating | PG | |
| Additional Notes | ||
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When she was ready, she crossed the street and went into the diner. It was clean and a few tables had customers—she'd chosen a quiet time for this. “Irasshaimasu,” the hostess greeted her, and seeing she was gaijin, spoke in rather accented English. “Do you have a seating preference?” “By the window, please,” she said, pointing. “Will there be someone joining you?” “Not that I know of.” The woman picked up a menu and led her to a booth along the window. “Please excuse humble menu,” she said. “It's alright, I'll manage,” she assured her, and the woman bowed and vanished to the back somewhere. Miara flipped the menu open, which of course was entirely in Japanese, and glanced at some of the pictures. Then she closed it and put it on the table and watched the street until a girl came with water. “Good morning,” she said, bowing. “Sano Kai desu. How may I serve you?” “Do you prefer Sano, or Kai?” “Excuse me?” she asked, clearly not expecting this. “What do you like to be called?” “Kai, ma'am.” “Kai, then. I'm Miara!” “It's nice to meet you, Miara-san. Is there anything I can get you?” “I would like an orange, whole and unpeeled, and a dessert. Surprise me.” “A-ano...honto?” “Honto. Orange first, though. And relax. It's not a test or anything, just a fun way to try things.” “Oh. I understand, ma'am.” Miara watched her discretely as she walked away, trying to make sense of it. She had a nice walk, and Miara liked her astral. She also didn't sense anything too unusual, since her astral and scent were shielded. She looked out the window a few minutes more, then pulled out her notebook, which was bright blue and decorated with fun stickers. Selecting a green marker, she began writing things down. Kai brought her a fine looking orange, plate, knife, and also plenty of napkins. “Aren't you afraid you'll get juice on your paper?” “It happens. But it's not going to hurt it much.” “Plus then, I suppose it will always smell like orange.” “True! Added bonus!” They shared a smile, and then Kai went again, doing her job. Miara peeled the orange with a few deft strokes, and separated the sections of flesh similarly. They looked like a flower spread open on the plate, and she popped one in her mouth. When she finished up her page, and had finished with the orange, Kai brought out something else. It was a gooey, chunky brownie topped with layers of fresh fruit, whipped cream, and a touch of chocolate sauce. Of course, she couldn't help but drool over that, and she immediately dug in her spoon and sampled it.
“Wow, it looks like you did pretty well,” Aki-kun said. “You're really good at this.” “Oh no, it was just a good guess.” “You have a lot of good guesses.” She looked at the floor, hoping he'd let it drop. She hated lying to him, but she couldn't tell him the truth. He left to take care of his own tables, and she quietly watched the girl. Miara...Where had she heard that name before? There was something about her, certainly different, but anything other than that alluded her. It seemed almost as if the older girl knew her in some way. And yet, it was impossible. She'd never seen her before, she knew that. And yet... “It's not polite to stare, you know,” Hongo-san teased, startling her out of her concentration. “Don't do that,” she said, covering with a little laugh. “I was just thinking.” “Well, there's still table sets to do for the morning if you need something to do.” “Ah, of course.” She went to the counter where Hong-san was wrapping silverware, and began doing the same thing. “How long have you been working here now, Sano-san?” “Um...about three months now, I guess. It doesn't seem like that long, does it?” “I'm sure Tokyo is much busier than your home town.” “Immensely. But I'm starting to like it.” “Good. Was it very different, serving at an inn?” “The food was very different, and the atmosphere. All you really have to do is get the food to the room and make sure you're watching if they need anything during the meal.” “That's why you're always watching your tables like a hawk, isn't it?” She nodded, and took a peek out the door again.
“Is this one of the regular deserts?” she asked. “No, ma'am.” “It should be. You make it yourself?” She nodded. “I didn't peg you as much of a chef. Hidden talents, ne?” “What do you mean?” “I just didn't. Nothing you need to worry about. Now I need to get out of here soon, how much?” “I'll bring the bill right away.”
“Here you go. Keep the change,” she said, and began gathering up her things. She was debating whether to say anything or not, because she wanted to surprise her, but it might not be too nice a thing to do while she was at work, she realized now. So she left, and made her way around to the park, where she found Alex and played with him a while. “Ne, tomorrow I'll take you up and we can hunt, okay?” He gave a little bark to that, but followed her when she left. They made their way down to the shopping district to the shop, where she sat with Alex in her lap, writing a note to Eiry. Then she looked for tape or something to stick it to the door with. She finally found some adhesive, and stuck the thing on the door. Then she went home, Alex alternately listening to her and making a little conversation of his own until they reached the residential district of Meguro-ku. As usual late at night, she put Alex in her bag and climbed the fire escape up to her apartment, where they both got a shower and read a book before going to bed.
Kai came down with lunch about closing time, and looked at the arrangements. “They're beautiful, as always. What's this flower?” “White camellia, for unblemished loveliness.” “I like it.” “Yumiko, you want to go with Gitaro and deliver these? I can do the other set.” “Are you sure?” “Yes, it's about time you started going to more events.” “I don't have suit or anything.” “Well you won't need one today, but we can get you one.” “Really?” “Sure. A nice green or blue, maybe?” “Pastels,” Kai said. “Why don't the two of you go shopping sometime this week?” Eiry suggested. “Oh, yes, that would be great,” Kai said. “Oh, Eiry, this was for you,” Edar said, handing her the note. “It was on the door this morning.” She read it over quickly, glancing at Edar and Kai, then handed it to Edar. “Seems more for all of us.” “What does it say?” Kai asked as Edar read. “We're having a meeting later, around four, with a friend. Make sure you're up there, okay?” “Um...okay? That's it?” “For you. Nothing bad, I promise.” “Edar?” “Nope, wait and see, imooto.” “Looks like you're going to be surprised,” Yumiko said. “And Gitaro's back, I'd better get going. See you.” She and Eiry went to load the car, and the others dispersed to their afternoon activities. Kai and Edar were sitting at the table playing a game, waiting for the meeting, Kai wondering who this other “friend” was. She was fairly sure it was one of the other Lupa who was “around,” but nothing else.
“Hi Eiry!” “Hey. That's Alex?” “Yep.” “Come here and let me see you,” she said, squatting down to pet Alex and pick him up, which he loved. “You're a cutie aren't you?” She petted him, and got a few exited licks on the face in return. “You don't mind? He's been sticking around since last night.” “Not at all, come on up.” They left their shoes in the landing, and made their way lightly up the stairs. Alex jumped down the minute Eiry opened to door, and went to greet the siblings, who gave him the proper attention.
“But you're not—!!—You knew—the whole time—who I was!!” “Yup. I was going to tell you, but then I thought it would be mean while you were at work.” “But...are you?” She could barely believe what her nose was telling her now. “Of course! I've been trained in how to hide it.” It didn't escape her that her brother wasn't meeting her for the first time, either. “You know her, too?” “I met her when I first came and went to the house,” he said, looking a little guilty. “But...neither of you've ever said their names, how was I to know?” “Then why did you recognize my name?” “And that's right! No astral yesterday, either! Oh! OH! Elie āan, you're astraglia! You could have at least warned me! Oh, I remember! It was Raihosha-san. He was asking me if I had a mentor and he mentioned you. I'd forgotten.” “There's a reason you don't know about me, and Edar doesn't know much, either. But things have changed, so I decided it was time we all got together.” There was silence for a moment, and then Eiry suggested moving to the other room. Miara and Eiry took opposite positions in the window seat, Kai the one (and comfy) chair, and Edar made himself comfortable on the blanket pile. “There are things about me that I can't tell you, and Kai, you must promise me not to go looking for them. I'm going to block them, and I would have to hurt you if you tried to get past my shields, understand?” She nodded. “But most of it goes like this. Eiry was part of a group organized last September to combat a large group of Hunters. I was part of it too; that's how we met and it was the first time I was in the Ten'ou house. I was injured in that, broke some ribs, but when I was better I came back to see how Eiry was doing. I made visits there every once in a while and eventually I liked it enough to consider staying, and here I am.” “So...where are you from?” Kai asked. “Home, in a different time.” “And you moved here?” “This is an interesting place, with people from many places and experiences.” “And her boyfriend lives here,” Eiry said. “That's hardly the only reason,” Miara said crossly. “But you said time; can you time travel, then?” “I could. Not anymore.” “That's it, you gave it back,” Eiry said. “That means you're stuck here, doesn't it? “Pretty much. She has one, but only for important stuff.” “But are you from the past, or the future?” “The future. Neither of my parents have been born yet. But now, I have an apartment in Meguro-ku, and I work at a salon there. And Alex here, he just kind of happened.” “How many people know about us now?” Eiry asked. “Taki knows. Solar's family. Rai and his family.” “Aescapulus.” “How about Nana?” “Well, both she and Yumiko spend too much time around us to think we're normal, but I haven't actually told her.” “Don't wait too long,” Miara said. “I've...been thinking about it.” “So, are we a pack?” Kai asked. “I know we're only four, but we're here.” “What do you think, Eiry?” “The three of us already operate like one.” “I'd be no good for your business, and I'm happy where I am.” “I know.” “We should run together Friday.” They all nodded. “Aescapulus knows everyone?” “Yes, I had them added,” Eiry said. “Who's going to be Leader?” “You should.” “What?” “But you are,” Edar said. “It's your place, your business.” “But I don't want to be. I didn't ask to be.” “You can't help what naturally happens,” Miara said. “Besides, I do my own stuff most of the time, and I don't live close enough to be Leader.” “What if...we don't really need a Leader. Not like that?” “Not have a Leader?” Kai said, not sure what to think of that. “Can we do that?” “It's our pack, we can do what we want. If we turn into like fifteen or something, that's different. But like you said, we're only four.” “We could not have a day to day Leader,” Edar said. “Only if something were to happen.” “I know,” Miara said. “Eiry runs the business. Our personal lives are our own, and none of us will control another that way. We all want to be part of this world, and your decisions are yours. If something big happens, the one present with the most experience is Leader.” “That makes sense to me,” Eiry said. “Agreed?” “Agreed,” they all said. “So long as we trust each other, we won't need more than that,” Miara said. “No bowing here,” Eiry added. “No pressing people like your Leader pushed you, Kai.” Kai shuddered, and Edar went over and put an arm around her. Then he looked at Eiry. “I have a date with Nana tonight. I suppose I should tell her before too much longer. How did you tell Raihosha?” “After Tally died. I realized a lot of things about myself and I really just wanted to be myself around him, without thinking about it. So I just told him what we are.” “How did he take it?” “He couldn't believe he didn't figure it out earlier. But he was fine. He's seen too many things to care, I think.” “How do you think Nana will be?” “There's only one way to find out,” Kai said. “You think I should?” “Yes, definitely.” He nodded. They all heard the back door open downstairs, and shortly Nana's step ascended. “Hello?” she called, knocking on the door. “In here,” Edar called, and she came in. “I know we were supposed to meet later, but I was in the area...am I interrupting something?” she asked when she saw everyone. “Not really,” Edar said. Eiry sneaked a wondering glance at Miara, who shrugged. “But we—I—have something to tell you.” “Maybe you should...do it in private?” Kai suggested. “No, this is fine. You're all in on it, anyway,” Nana said, surprising them. “You're sure?” “Yeah.” Edar brought in a kitchen chair for her to sit on, and then gently took her hand in both of his. She wasn't at all apprehensive, and in fact, Miara and Kai noticed, a hint amused, although serious. “Nana, you know that none of us are quite normal”-she nodded- “We're not, technically, Human, but very similar in appearance.” She let him talk, listening. “We're called Lupa. We have...more than one form, or physical shape.” “I know.” “Eh?” The simple statement brought startled reactions from everyone, and Nana finally cracked a smile. “I've known for some time now. You see, I knew a Lupa in the states, from before I moved here. His name is Mark.” “And you just happened to get a job here, before you knew?” Eiry said. “Talk about ironic.” “I couldn't believe it when I heard you two talking the one day, I almost cracked up laughing.” “Why didn't you say anything?” Edar asked. “Because I wanted you to tell me.” “Was that okay?” “It was sweet.” He squeezed her hand, and Nana looked around. “So there are four of you. Isn't that a bit small?” “Perhaps, but we'll figure it out,” Miara said. “I suppose this really is our first pack meeting.” “Should I put us on the list?” Edar asked. “What do you mean?” Miara asked. “The pack list. Didn't you know I'm working to set up an Office here?” “Wow, really? That's cool!” “Should we vote on it?” “But aren't packs listed by Leader?” “Location.” They took a vote, and all watched as Edar got the laptop and entered their basic information—Tokyo, Japan. Members: 4. “Do we want to list singles for the pairing list?” “Kai? It's up to you.” “Uh...sure. Aren't I a little young?” “There are no other Lupa here, and people don't want to be. If you're dead set on having children, you're better off just doing it now rather than waiting until then.” “You're right. Put me on, then.” “What about you, Miara?” “What!? I'm not single!” “Oh...I didn't realize. Sorry.” She stuck her tongue out at him, and put Alex down on the floor, who rushed to greet Nana now that he was free.
“Are you alright?” she asked him, pausing with a pair of jeans in her hands. “Yeah, just thinking.” “I suppose I gave you a bit of a shock today.” “Just a bit.” She came over and gave him a hug, resting her cheek on the back of his shoulder. He turned to put an arm around her, but she put a hand up to his face and looked at him a while. “You're a good man, Edar. They're not so easy to find these days.” “I...uh...was just raised that way, I guess.” “Maybe. Maybe not. But I appreciate it.” He gave her a smile and attempted to hug her without getting dishwater on her, mostly succeeding. They finished their chores, and then spent a quiet night on the couch with a movie—exactly what Edar needed after revealing himself and finding unexpected acceptance.
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