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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 14, 2013 16:54:18 GMT -8
Theme Song: Memories of the CityIn a park located on the very edge of the border of Dragon Territory, standing behind a swing specifically built for babies, a figure could be seen gently pushing a small infant, the baby's legs kicking happily, while nearby, seated on a bench, a black cat was keeping watch, his tail flicking every so often. Taking care to hold his full strength back, Kazuya would continue gently pushing his baby daughter, Kaori, looking down at her with love and affection as she giggled happily at her daddy, it had been quite a while since he took her to a playground, and today was good as any, especially as they were still within Dragon Territory. As such, The Flame Battalion were back at Kazuya's base of operations, working on the underground base Kazuya was creating underneath the bar he had built, currently working on the top level, meaning aside from Kuro and Kaori, Kazuya was the only other person around to protect not only his daughter and pet cat, but himself as well.
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 17, 2013 22:18:48 GMT -8
OOC: MEH, just going to post. LOL
She was dressed in the same clothes from her meeting with "Teal". Black leather jacket over her urban suit pullover, the hood covering her long black hair and the gas mask covering her face. Her gender would have been hidden if it weren't for the rather snug fitted clothing.
Mitsuki figured she was in Dragon Territory by now. She saw a father and child on a playground, and that meant they had seen her too. Not wanting to cause any trouble, she pulled her hood down and removed the mask, walking in their general direction hoping they wouldn't consider her a threat.
But before she removed the mask, a rather pained expression on her face. Where would her daughter be now, if she were still alive...? She quickly dismissed the thoughts. There was never a time for mourning over the dead. With a dry, impassive exterior, she approached the two slowly.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 17, 2013 22:37:30 GMT -8
The moment he noticed the figure pull her hood down and remove her mask, moving in the general direction of his owner, Kuro's tail would stop flicking, and he would simply meow at Kazuya. Having noticed the figure at the same time as his cat, Kazuya would gently stop the swing Kaori was in, as she would look up at her daddy in wonderment, before noticing the pretty young woman coming towards them, and would automatically grab the back of her daddy's Karate top, burying her face in it not out of fear, but out of shyness.
Furrowing his brows slightly, the young woman's face looked familiar, and it took a couple minutes before Kazuya remembered where, when, and why.
"... I haven't seen you in a long time... Mitsuki-san."
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 17, 2013 22:55:53 GMT -8
"... Ryuu?"
It took Mitsuki a minute or two for the face to register. It was at first difficult to believe; since when did he have a daughter? Or perhaps the child wasn't his? Her eyes would flicker to the young girl, a soft smile crossing her face to reveal friendly intentions, rather than harmful ones. God knows what evil she's already seen, especially in the past couple of years.
Or...maybe Ryuu was able to shelter her from all the mayhem. But sheltering, she mused, never really did anything productive other than keeping the innocence.
She nodded; it's been a long time since she's seen him.
"... your daughter?" she asked, nodding in the child's direction, who was hiding behind him.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 17, 2013 23:09:04 GMT -8
Kazuya would let out a soft chuckle, now there's a name he hadn't heard in a very long time. Kuro jumping down from the bench and trotting over to Kazuya and Kaori, he would sit beside Kazuya's right foot and meow up at Kaori, to distract the toddler from her shyness.
"It's just Kazuya now. Ryuu is my middle name. Yes, she is my daughter, Shizuka Emiko Kaori Hikari... formerly Delos Santos."
It didn't take a genius to figure out who the mother was. Gently lifting Kaori up out of the swing, he would carry her in his arms, Kaori hiding her face in his Karate top once more.
["Kaori, it's alright. That's Mitsuki Park, daddy knew her from high school."]
Peeking over at Mitsuki ever so slightly, since her daddy wasn't wary of her, Kaori would slowly reach out with one hand at her in curiosity and wonderment.
["Mi... Mitsu... Mitsuki?"]
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 17, 2013 23:18:26 GMT -8
"You and Emily...?"
Formally Delos Santos. That rung a clear bell, since she was one Mitsuki was more well-acquainted with during her high school years. She looked down at Kaori, taking in the familiar characteristics relating her and Emily together. Mmm. Definitely took after her mother more. Mitsuki would down to Kaori's height, a small smile crossing her face.
"Hi Kaori. How old are you??"
She was curious where Emily was. It would be good to find a familiar female face around the area. She would ask Ryuu, er, Kazuya that later.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 17, 2013 23:41:19 GMT -8
Kazuya would simply nod. To be honest, he himself didn't know how it happened either, how a child with both his and her DNA came to be. After Emily left all those years ago, disappeared without a single word to England, there had been no contact whatsoever with her, because Kazuya simply didn't know where she had gone to. However the reason, Kazuya did not inquire of Dr. Clavering, as the good doctor had lost her protege, the last thing he wanted to ask was about how Emily managed to acquire sperm for an egg inside her, and his sperm no less.
Kaori reaching out to Mitsuki with her soft, little fingers, she would continue to regard Mitsuki with a sense of wonderment, as Kazuya would look down at Kaori with a look of unconditional love in his eyes. Though it was barely even noticeable at the moment, Kazuya's black pupil was just beginning to lighten, the very beginning of his eventual blindness.
"I--I one year old! Want Mitsuki! Want Mitsu!"
Kaori making grabby hand motions by this time, Kazuya would smile slightly before holding Kaori out to Mitsuki to carry.
"I think she wants to be carried by you Mitsuki-san."
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 17, 2013 23:56:49 GMT -8
Her heart was breaking. Who knew that looking at such a child would cause her this much pain? Although none of it was expressed on her face, for a flash moment - if Kaori were developed enough to understand - her eyes showed deep sadness. Her own daughter was two, or would have been two, if it weren't for the tragic early end to her life.
It seemed that she and Kazuya had much in common. Mitsuki's rare case of being color-blind would eventually lead to nyctalopia, consequently known as 'night blindness'. Fortunately for Mitsuki, it wouldn't happen until she was much older.
Her maternal instincts kicked in. As Kazuya would speak, Mitsuki would scoop up the young girl into her arms, her face softening noticeably. She stood up, holding Kaori as she would have her own daughter, with tenderness and motherly care. Only around Kaori would Mitsuki allow herself to reveal a more humane side.
At his lack of response about Emily, she figured it would probably be best not to bring her up. Just for the sake of being 'safe'- who knows? It could've been a sensitive topic.
"Kaori...are you and daddy having a date??"
She felt apologetic; she did not want to interfere.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 18, 2013 0:27:54 GMT -8
Seeing the brief moment of deep sadness in Mitsuki's eyes, Kazuya would smile slightly comfortingly at her while Kaori would reach out to her even more to comfort her, Kazuya having to keep a firm hold on her to make sure she didn't go tumbling out of his arms. What would probably be even more heartbreaking for Mitsuki was that Kaori would be turning two on May 30th... making her the same age as her lost daughter.
Kaori smiling up at Mitsuki, she would giggle happily while Kuro would meow up at Kazuya, he would crouch down and pick up his cat, depositing the cat on his shoulder.
"Daddy play with me! Daddy take me swings and slide!"
"... You're probably wondering what happened to Emily, aren't you Mitsuki-san? Kaori is hers and my daughter, but she is nowhere to be seen."
Kazuya would say, his arms casually folded across his chest... and a look of deep sadness in his eyes, Kuro meowing and rubbing comfortingly against Kazuya's cheek. It wasn't too hard to figure out, and though it was difficult to say... He would tell Mitsuki.
"Emily... she is dead. She was killed not only from the illness she had been afflicted with for years, but also from being stabbed through her eye... all the way through her occipital lobe. I do not know how Emily managed to acquire my sperm for her egg to have a child, as I had not see her in years, but I was contacted not too long ago by Dr. Layla Clavering, and it took much effort to get to London, England, to take custody of Kaori. She is buried in London, England... The place she disappeared to all those years ago..."
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 18, 2013 11:44:12 GMT -8
Either Mitsuki was unsurprised by the mentioning of Emily's death, or she had grown accustomed to hearing the lives of others lost; desensitized, in a way. What was interesting, though, is that it seemed as if Kazuya and Emily didn't have any sort of physical relationship with one another for a child to be conceived. It bothered Mitsuki a bit to hear that she had 'somehow' acquired Kazuya's sperm; what was going on in Emily's head at that time? She brushed those thoughts away. It was unimportant.
"I see."
Her eyes would be peering at Kaori the entire time, watching her face for any sign of familiarity or surprise upon hearing her mother's death. Considering how openly Kazuya spoke of Emily in front of his daughter, Mitsuki assumed this wasn't a foreign topic to Kaori's ears.
"Who killed her?"
Curiosity. Her eyes flickered toward the cat.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 18, 2013 13:14:55 GMT -8
The moment Kaori heard her daddy talk about her mommy, the sweet and cheerful infant would become quiet, a look of sadness on her face that would break even the most hardened of hearts. Even though she was still young at the time of Emily's death, Kaori was intelligent enough to realize her mommy was gone, and wasn't coming back. The days after Kazuya brought Kaori back to Long Beach broke his heart, because during the night, Kaori would wake up crying for her mommy, and only when Kazuya held her in his arms and comforted her, did she calm down and fall back asleep.
As a result, Kazuya had taken to letting Kaori sleep in his room and bed, so on the random times she woke up wanting her mommy, he could calm her down immediately.
"... I wish I knew. When she was found at the ruins of Public High School #259 by the members of Regalia, she had been dead for quite some time. It could've been anyone that had a vendetta against her."
Kaori clinging onto Mitsuki rather tightly, not because of surprise at hearing her daddy talking about her mommy, but because she still missed her mommy, and even though she was with her daddy, Emily and Dr. Clavering had looked after her from the moment she was born until the day Kazuya came to take custody of her.
"... I cannot say I am surprised at her death, as after she disappeared all those years ago, I presumed the worst, that she was dead. Knowing now that she had been slowly dying from an illness, at least now, she is free from pain. If I ever find the person that killed her, I do not wish to exact revenge, I simply wish for one thing: I wish to know why. Why that person killed her."
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 18, 2013 13:58:42 GMT -8
If people could mentally frown, Mitsuki would do so. To hear that Emily had passed on the ruins of PHS #259 was disheartening, to say the least, and perhaps even a bit ironic. She had been a defender and peacekeeper of the school from what Mitsuki remembered, and to have had died because (potentially) someone had a personal vendetta against her... Mmm. She began to wonder, then, if she was also unsafe on these grounds? She discarded those thoughts; everyone was unsafe, not just Mitsuki.
Mitsuki held Kaori close to her, hand subconsciously rubbing Kaori's back to comfort and soothe her to a lull. Her eyes turned back toward Ryuu, simply observing him and his mannerisms. He had changed, but in a way was still the same. He had matured, and physically there were differences but moreso in his mentality.
She remembered when the two fought for the SC position. She had no doubt if they were to fight again, that she would be on the shorter end of the stick.
Personally, she did not believe this was a conversation for Kaori's ears, but Mitsuki was in no position to tell Kazuya how to be a parent. In the end, Kaori would develop into a young woman largely based on Kazuya's parenting, and Mitsuki firmly believed that Kaori would turn out beautifully, both mentally and physically.
She started changing the direction of their conversation.
"Is it safe for you to be out here alone...?"
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 18, 2013 14:30:06 GMT -8
Though Kaori continued to cling to Mitsuki, her grip would loosen gradually from her back being rubbed to comfort and soothe her, and soon Kaori was back to her sweet and cheerful self, smiling happily at Mitsuki. Kuro meowing at Mitsuki, he would jump down from Kazuya's shoulder and trot over to her, sitting down in front of her and looking up at her and Kaori, as Kaori giggled happily at the now bigger ball of fluff.
"... Do not worry about me. Though we are at the very edge of Dragon Territory, I am more than capable of protecting Kaori by myself. Not only have I grown stronger since that day we fought for the title of School Captain, I have a personal army, but today, they are all busy working on a project, and it was a good day to take Kaori out and spend some time together."
His expression however, would grow harden, as a slight frown appeared on his face.
"You however, are not a Dragon, and from the moment we spoke, you have been watched the entire time you stepped foot onto our territory. However, I will ensure no harm falls upon you."
Pulling out a white hachimaki from his pocket, sewn on the inside were his initials. This article of clothing would ensure no harm would befall Mitsuki any time she came to Dragon Territory.
"Two other Dragons must be present when I give you this hachimaki, but I am sure Leon and David would not mind being present at the exchange."
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Post by Mitsuki Park on Feb 18, 2013 14:46:14 GMT -8
A small smile would cross her face upon hearing that she had been watched as soon as she stepped into the Dragon territory. Figures. This all was so foreign to her; she was so accustomed to names of the cities rather than being chunked into four large categories: Barker's, Dragon's, Crow's, and the neutral grounds.
He took out a white hachimaki and explained that it was an object not freely given. Its purpose, however, remained a mystery to Mitsuki; she assumed that whoever wields this symbol would be untouched upon entering Dragon's territory, but was there all there was to it? Her eyes trailed back down to the cat; not very fond of felines, but this one was a cutie.
"Leon and David."
She repeated. She would look up to Kazuya...perhaps he would know what it was she would say next.
"After you and Kaori are finished playing, would you mind taking me to David?"
A short pause. And...
"It's good seeing you again, Kazuya."
She hoped Kaori and Kazuya wouldn't mind if she joined in on their playdate. She wasn't sure about Kaori... But for Mitsuki, being with the child was a healing remedy, albeit a painful one.
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Post by Kazuya Hikari on Feb 18, 2013 15:10:31 GMT -8
"Of course. ... It is good to see you again as well, Mitsuki-san."
Kuro meowing up at Kaori, with a flick of his tail, he would trot off, heading back towards the dojo and house. He may be a cutie, but he also wasn't as spry as he was when he was a kitten, and with two people looking out for Kaori, he figured he didn't need to stay around as a guard cat.
"Mitsuki! Want slide! Want slide!"
Kaori reaching out to the little kids playground slide, considering she pretty much adored Mitsuki completely by this time, it's safe to say she didn't mind Mitsuki joining her playdate with her daddy, and from the slightly smile on Kazuya's face, neither did he.
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