“I know the feeling! Do you get teased for being interested in this stuff too?” Yue laughed, her demeanor had perked up significantly with the new topic. “Aside from baking, studying legends and different languages are my number one hobbies!”
“I am pretty exhausted…” Plus she was a bit too scared to be on her own at the moment. “Are you sure this wouldn’t be imposing on you and your family?”
“ It’s no problem at all. I wouldn’t offer if it was. “ He wouldn’t! He’s not as nice as Satou and Mikale. Shugo couldn’t help but chuckle at her sudden enthusiam for the shared topic of interest. At least now he had an idea for how to get her cheerful again.
“ My sons just left for Sinnoh and Satou finished changing the sheets, so you can stay in their room for now? Is that okay? Yuuto is a big fan of folklore and legends too. There should be some books hanging around. “
“Oh yes! Very much so! I’ve always been intrigued with the unknown and cryptids and all that stuff.” She replied, perking up moreso at the new topic. “When I was a child, I would always wander around looking for strange oddities and the like. You’re… practically a celebrity to me Yumeno-san.”
With age, her adventurous spirit had long gone dormant. Stomped out of her to pursue something more practical that she enjoyed.
“I’m currently rebuilding my collection of books, so I’d greatly appreciate that. I’d love to see your research sometime, i-if that’s ok!”
“ Of course. It’s fun to meet someone with similar hobbies, for once. “ Shugo laughed. It would be nice to get a fresh pair of eyes looking at some of the material he had gathered too. When it came to researching Sacred Children, most of the history was now locked in old stories and myths. It was a struggle to tell what was true and what was just made-up.
“ When you’re ready, I could take you home and lend you some books? Though if it’s too late, you’re welcome to spend the night. We rented a pretty big place. “
“it’s quite ok Yumeno-san. I’m just glad I’m not the only one this confused. I feel so dumb when it’s just me.” Which happened more often than she liked. “It’s so strange, it’s like I walked into a legend…”
Uh oh, her love for legends and strange occurrences was starting to show.
Luckily, before she dug herself into a much deeper hole, she had something else to talk about.
“Yes, we should check on them… I’m concerned for them…“ She said, standing up and taking another sip of her own tea. “You’re quite a kind man, Yumeno-san.”
“ I’m not kind at all, compared to her. “ Satou, he meant. He was already thinking about her again. Hopefully she was doing well with Humra... It did make Shugo feel anxious to leave Humra in the state she was in. He wanted to be by her side and reassuring her too.
“ Do you like legends and folklore, Kobayoshi-san? “ He asked, trying to distract them both. Until they were both mostly calmed down, he’d let Jirachi sleep. “ I have a few books of stuff, and some recordings of local folktales if you ever wanna borrow some. I collect a lot of stuff like that for my research. “
“The pleasure is all mine Yumeno-san!” She smiled. Hey, a genuine smile, that’s progress! She added the sugar to her tea as she continued, “I do hope this isn’t rude, but I can tell! You guys barely batted an eye at all this.”
She took a sip of the calming tea and took a deep breath.
“Ask Ho-Oh? So.. You are a sacred child as well, right? Perhaps that would help. I was wishing that Jirachi-sama was awake so we could ask them, but if you can speak to someone like that, then that’s just as good!”
“ Yes, I am. The Sacred Child of Ho-Oh. “ He didn’t mention Satou being a Sacred Child. Giratina had a lot of bad press, and Shugo didn’t want to risk making Yue uneasy... or risk making himself angry at her, should she not be a Giratina fan.
“ Speaking of Jirachi, sounds like the others cleared out of the living room. I’ll prepare a cup of tea for them and we can go see how they’re doing. “ He probably owed it to Jirachi to offer a healing, even if the little Patron was the source of lots of trouble. “ I’m sorry you got dragged into all of this so suddenly. “
“Hmm..” She was getting ahead of herself. What he said held a lot of truth to it, bravery isn’t the absence of fear, but facing your fear. She had to admit, she did do that. Humra was just upset, that’s all…
“Yes please…” She said, taking the cup into her hand and giving him a small smile. Her sweet tooth simply wouldn’t allow her to drink tea without sugar. “It was a mess. It all happened so fast too. Jirachi teleported us into this weird.. spacey place and there was this creepy looking person threatening Humra-san.”
“I was saying that they needed me to use their full power to help Humra, and something about Jirachi said something about redeeming itself I think?” She frowned as she strained her brain to remember more. “Yoshiya-san lost something precious to him as well. The creepy person broke his ocarina.”
Brr… Just thinking about that person sent chills up her spine. Something about her just radiated “danger” but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“T-thank you f-for the kind words Yumeno-san. I really appreciate them… A-and I’m sorry that our first meeting was so awk-”
!!
“Omigosh, I didn’t introduce myself!” She sprang from her seat and gave him a bow. “G-gomenasai! I-I am Yue Kobayoshi.”
“ His ocarina, huh? “ Shugo imagined that Humra was just as upset as Yoshiya about that. She was way too good of a friend in that regard. The idea of a creepy person who broke important objects as unsettling enough. He couldn’t imagine what someone like that would want from Humra or Yoshiya, except maybe to give them a dose of misfortune... and those kids didn’t deserve that.
“ Well, maybe I can ask Ho-Oh about it... Hm? “
One right, introductions. Shugo brought the sugar bowl over and laughed, returning to being a smiling and easy going stranger rather than a troubled and thoughtful one.
“ Kobayoshi-san, huh? It’s a pleasure to meet you formally! “ Shugo grinned, “ Nothing awkward about it! We’re a pretty chaotic family. My girlfriend and I? We met when I was being held hostage-! “
That’s such a good joke that I’m use everyone forgot to laugh, so here. ahahaha.wav.
Goodness, this guy definitely had his stuff together. He must’ve seen some things to be so calm upon seeing what he just did.
She wondered what in the world this family has been through in the past to react so.. well… organized. Sure, there was a bit of panic, but if it was Yue walking in on a wounded man, his bird-lady girlfriend and a complete stranger, along with some girl that called herself Jirachi… Needless to say, Yue would have called the cops on the way to the hills she was running for.
“A sacred child… I’ve heard of them in my readings before, but I never would have guessed they were anything but myths…” If she hadn’t seen all the crap she did today, she still wouldn’t have believed him. “Jirachi thinks highly of me..? I can’t imagine why, but…”
“That raises the question of why they chose me…” Yue frowned and played with her hair as she spoke. “I was just told that someone named “I” wanted my help and that I was supposed to get some album, patch it up and give it back to the girl with the white hair. I did that, but.. it didn’t help…”
“She was right. I was useless… And I don’t get why Jirachi would choose me of all people.”
“ I? “ Well that was a weird name if ever he heard one! And Shugo thought Satou was the world’s worst namer. He checked the tea, though really the only way to know it was done was to trust the clock and eventually taste it. His thoughts were wandering and he was just doing this to pretend he was still grounded in the situation. Who was I...? And how had they known to help at all?
“ I wouldn’t say you were useless. Sometimes you don’t see the effect of what you’ve done right away. Doesn’t mean it was a useless effort. “ If he’d known she was a baker, he might have referenced her hobby as proof of this. For now, he was going to pour the tea and struggle to explain what he knew. “ I’m impressed you were about to do anything at all. It must have been a terrible mess if Jirachi got involved in it. You have a lot of courage for being able to act. You should be more proud of that. “
He slid a cup across the counter for her. “ Need sugar? It’s green tea. “
Yue was still in shock as she watched the lady fuss over her… daughter? And he was her father? They didn’t look any older than her! Her list of questions was getting way too long.
She took Shugo’s hand and got to her feet before wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve.
“Thank you Yumeno-san.” She said as she forced a smile on her face, “I do drink tea… And I appreciate the offer. I h-hope I can explain everything well enough…”
The brunette looked over to the three others involved in the incident as another wave of guilt washed over her. She was no help… If she was, this wouldn’t have happened…. She whimpered softly, unsure of how she could have done more.
No. Mikale wasn’t going to be happy to see her. No one should, and she doubted any of them would. The doubt immediately set in when her mother said those words, so the white-haired continued to gather the blankets, now thinking of Jirachi and Yue. Afterwards, Humra was determined to at least sleep outside.
Unlike the other times where she’d be inclined to hide her feathers and talons, she didn’t care this time. Instead her empty red eyes gazed at Satou for a moment before going back to work.
“No.” Humra murmured. She wasn’t Humra or Hana anymore. She was a monster, it settled it, “You need rest too..” The teen continued to say emptily, balancing the three blankets in her arms.
“ No problem. It must have been a lot of trouble to bring them all back here... I might still have some of the cakes Mikale stress baked somewhere... “ Shugo guided Yue into the kitchen and sat her down at the table. It was meticulously clean, and he didn’t have any trouble getting the electric kettle set or finding a selection of cakes displayed on the counter.
Also easy to see: Someone’s guilt. Shugo paused his task to give Yue a more worried look. “ ... Sorry. We’re a pretty crazy family. I’m sure you’re more confused than I am right now. .. so if you have a question, then shoot. “
“ ... Sweetie? “ Satou didn’t like seeing her daughter this way. If Mikale came back to Humra in this state then he would flip out... then again, he had every right to. And as selfish as it was, Satou would feel so much better if her other half was here to panic on her behalf. Being a strong mother was hard right now.
She walked closer and took the blankets from her daughter, matching Humra’s gaze for a moment. “ I’m not worried about you right now. You’re home... For me, that’s enough. Do you think we could sit down for a minute? Yoshi and Jirachi-san will be okay without blankets. “ Probably. Satou really didn’t care that much. Jirachi could stay because Dusk, but she was debating whether or not she needed to kick Yoshiya out of the house for a while.
Ack! No-they were so close! Humra felt like she was definitely dragging him to the couch, though. Quite annoying considering she was doing this for him. But now he was collapsing. No-no-no, not again-! She winced, holding him up,
“She’ll b-be home later..” She blurted out, at least getting him to sit on the couch. Slightly ignoring him again, the white-haired looked back to the crying Yue, frowning.
But she couldn’t do a thing about it. “No. You weren’t.” Humra stated plainly, trying to get Yoshiya to lay down, not looking at him and his panicked woes.
“ What’s going on out here?! “ Other than CHAOS. Luckily, Shugo was practically married to chaos magnets. He was the first one to come running down the stairs and into the front entry way. Reassuringly, Yoshi’s blood was on the floor and staining his pants leg. Also reassuring, the strange young woman curled up on the floor. Actually reassuring--
“ HUMRA! “
“ HUMRA?! “
The second parent on duty practically fell down the stairs. While Shugo went to check on Yue, Satou tripped and stumbled after Humra and her whatever. “ Humraaa!!! Yoshiya-kun! Oh Arceus-- YOSHI! “
Shugo knelt in front of Yue and put a hand on her arm, quietly asking if she was okay and if she could stand. His quiet was in contrast to Satou, and the panicky silverette boy who was sitting on the couch.
“ I won’t--! “ He resisted as Humra tried to get him to lay down, but it was a pathetic resistance. Yoshiya was barely breathing as his panic hit its peak. Humra wasn’t okay! She’d been hurt... and it was worse than being slashed or bitten. He tried to put his hands on her shoulders and force eye contact, still blabbering as his stress tried to suffocate him. “ I won’t-- I can’t leave you! We promised--- Dammit!!! “
“ Yoshiya-kun! “ Satou finally intercepted, putting her hand on his shoulder. Oh goodness was he ever a mess. She didn’t understand what had happened, but she could see her priority was shutting him up getting him to rest. It was plain to see that she was not going to be able to push him down without more flailing, so Satou instead dragged Yoshiya into a hug. “ Ssshh. Yoshiya, honey.... Breathe. Please breathe, sweetheart. “
“You will do well. Lunette is sure of it,”She assured. She was so happy her dad knew her quickly even though she looked different. Maybe just maybe she wouldn’t be completely replaced right away.
“ I appreciate the confidence! “ He really does, holy. As they reached the kitchen, he set Lunette on the counter and lifted a finger to his lips. “ We won’t tell Mikale, okay? You want plain water, or something flavored? Still not hungry? “
“Blue!”She announced, hugging him back,”Lunette wants blue. Shugo will help Lunette?” She has trouble braiding her own hair nicely. But she never used to care if parts of her hair didn’t make it into the braids.
“ Blue it is then! And of course I’ll help. “ He was lucky that he knew a thing or two about hair braiding from Omichron and Theta, or this would have been as embarrassing as trying to make lunch on his own.
Careful not to drop his daughter, Shugo headed to the kitchen and alerted Satou mentally that they needed some ribbons. “ I’ll help give you the best braids I can, fair? “
Shugo switched from just holding her to hugging her tightly. For now, he’d focus on making Lunette comfortable. He could deal with Satou and Mikale later. “ Braids it is, then! Let’s pick cute ribbons to tie on the ends, hm? “
“ Don’t you worry about a thing. “ To prove his point, Shugo lifted his daughter up off of the ground so he could carry her away from the mess. There was not going to be a choice in this matter! “ Let’s get you something to drink! And how about we braid your hair? Braids suit Lunette better than anyone. “
Aaand a few minutes later. There he was. Presented in his glorious self. And in a spiffy suit! One that you'd see a bouncer in a club wearing. Hand tailored. Leather gloves for a lush feeling. And a black tie to make him seem like a black jack dealer from a hotel resort. Not to mention those cool new sunglasses too! "KNOCK KNOCK! GUESS WHO'S HERE!"
“ LEEEEON! “ had better run. Because this young woman has superstrength thanks to magic anons, and she cannot control it. But here she was! Opening the door and jumping in for a hug! “ Leon Leon Leeeon! “
Whoops. Those words slipped right out of his mouth without even a second thought. Gotta slow the roll on that ego someday. But today is not that day. And at the sight of the little bitty girl chirping and rushing towards him, Leon slumped to one knee and opened up his arms to welcome her into a hug.
‘Wait a minute if she’s the robot and Shugo had problems carrying her because of her sheer weight wouldn’t this be a real mistake in letting her hug me on account of stronger than human-’
Crack
Yeah that was definitely his back somewhere. “Huurk…o..k… that’s…a ni..ce….hug…go get ready… for watermelon…” Yep. Grim Reaper was definitely going to stay hovering around close by today. One way or another. This guy was going to be close death.
“ Ehehe! “ Sakura stepped back from the hug when he mentioned watermelon. Of course, she was a robot and could not actually eat it. That was part of why the family had decided to turn smashing it into a game: to get the robot daughters involved. Because yeah. That was plurral.
“ Grandmaaa! Greatest Uncle Leon is coming! “ The bitty called as she darted down the hall again. Shugo gave Leon a very worried look once the little girl was out of sight.
“ Yeah, uh... Let’s get you a compress or something. You’re gonna want to start collecting them. “ Shugo suggested. “ Sakura’s pretty strong... The other little girl, Chika, is afraid of touching people. So at least there’s that? And don’t ask me how we got them. Humra’s friend found them, apparently. “
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