What A Cruel World! [Private: Mizuki Kiyoko]

[Tomomi]

Spoiler

Basic Knowledge:
Birth/Real Name: Kanemoto Akujin
Adopted Name: Byakko Kyūji
Alias: Mikisugi Kyūji, Mikisugi Akujin
Physical Age: 25
Actual Age: Older than 25, probably early 30's
Height: 6 feet tall
Weight: Wouldn't You Like to Know
Gender: Male
Day of Birth: October 5th
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Village: Sunagakure/House Byakko, Formerly Iwagakure
Alignment: Lawful Neutral or Is He?
Rank/Jobs: Tenured Medical Chief/Jounin
Medics Taught: Three(Azusa, Kumoni and Uziuke)
Religion: Celestial Winds
Languages: English(Site Generalized Language), Runic Terran(Suna Language)
Skin tone: Well he was white but now he is darker like all of Kuro's clan apparently. He is not black, but has a tan I would say.
Eyes: Golden(They glow yellow in some situations) and they are feline-like eyes
Glasses: Not anymore, corrected visions through taking the Byakko Oath
Hair: Straight and white. Refer to my face claim.
Hands and feet: He has normal feet, but his one hand resembles cat-like claws for the fingertips.
Ablation of Body Parts: His right arm; has nothing below the shoulder joint
Markings/Tattoos: Silver-white markings formed around his left hand and forearm; also Byakko Tenshi seal is on his back; Black-marking around right shoulder/neck to seal away his physical strength
Other Notable Features: Neko-ears
Relationship: Married to Lady Yanshi in the Eyes of Byakko/Betrothed to the Head of the Byakko Clan in Normal Eyes
Children: Kyushiko(Daughter) and Yanjirou(Son)
Looks Like: Avenger from Fate Grand Order

It was a dreary night as a light rain had begun to form outside of the warm and comfortable home of the great descendant of Byakko. Unfortunately for Kyuji, tonight was not going to be a fun and enjoyable one with his children nor his wife. No, the poor medical chief had received reports at his office in the Hospital regarding the results of an autopsy of a member of the Mizuki Clan who was murdered while on a trade mission for the village. The family of this dear man had been waiting for quite some time for their loved ones remains to be brought back to them and they were going to be able to see him once again and give him a proper burial as soon as the medics were finished reconstructing his body. Sadly for Kyuji, he was tasked with walking over to their home in the Levels to describe what had happened to their loved one and who the ANBU believed were the culprits behind this sad and tragic murder scene of people merely doing their jobs to afford living and caring for their families.

So, Kyuji slipped on his civilian clothing that concealed his body as he was somewhat self-conscious about his missing right arm still and proceeded to head out from his home in the desert to the inner city where the Mizuki Clan had decided to reside. The winds had begun to pick up as he walking to their home and his right sleeve was blowing in the wind clearly showing the world that he had nothing there and that it was all for show. Embarrassment would sweep his face at this site but fortunately when he was inside of the village and nearing the Levels, the wind slowed down to a gentle breeze and all was good with the world as much as it could be.

Once he was outside of the family's home, he would knock on their door and if it was opened say the following quite solemnly depending on who answered: "I am sorry to disturb you at this late at night, but I am a medic from the Hospital and I have information regarding your husband/father. May I come in and have a moment of your time as I believe it would be worthwhile for you."

[MFT: 388 Words. Sorry for the terrible quality, still a little ill.]

 

[Kitetsu Kurikara]

Kiyoko and her mother were enjoying a nice, simple dinner together after Kiyo’s first day of training. She had sustained a bruised and swollen cheek as well as other various non-threatening injuries from the small battle she had with her tutor’s grandson. She was also filling Manami in on the way her teacher had taught her and supported her. Manami was taking the news quite well, given that she had freaked out when her daughter had returned home with a swollen cheek. As they were eating their dinner, a knock rang out from the door. Kiyoko went to answer it as she usually did, but her mother told her to rest for the evening. Manami answered the door instead, though her heart nearly stopped when she heard what the man had to say. Kiyoko, having heard the male’s voice, set her food aside and rushed to the door to take her mother’s hand. “Please, come in,” Kiyoko would reply, leading her unresponsive mother towards their family room once more. “And please shut the door behind you."

Kiyoko seated her mother in one of the few chairs within the room, placing a blanket over her slightly shaking form. “Please forgive us…it’s been two years, but it still feels fresh,” she said as an apology towards the male she didn’t recognize. “Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” the young girl then offers. Her soft-spoken nature had to be put aside to care for her mother when she would go into her numbed mode of communication. It wasn’t an unusual practice for Kiyoko, but they didn’t have as many people over nowadays either.

If he were to request something, she would bring back a cup of warm tea to battle the chill caused by the rain and/or a small bowl of hot rice to sooth the hunger he was sure to have from such a trip as one from the Hospital. If not, Kiyoko would simply seat herself on the floor next to her mother, taking her hand as if to ground her vacant and drifting thoughts enough to hear what the man would have to say. After they had waited this long, Kiyo knew she wouldn’t be able to repeat what had happened to her father once she was told. It would tear her apart to tell, and tear her mother apart not to know. She would have to hear it from the medic himself if she wanted to hear it at all.

[OOC: It's fine! It was plenty for me to work off of. Don't worry!]

 

[Tomomi]

It appeared this was going to be a troubling time for all three individuals involved in this meeting tonight as the widow of the house grew pale when the neko-man mentioned he had some information regarding her late husband. Any warmth that eloped her was gone, but thankfully the younger female of the house rushed to her mother's side immediately and welcomed him into their house and away from the elements outside that had soaked him like a wet cat, pun intended. This younger female even offered him something to eat or drink, but he respectfully declined her offer as he situated himself in a chair across from the girl's mother as the two loved ones situated themselves into their seating arrangement in the living room, he presumed. This home overall was an acceptable one for the lower middle class, but it definitely would not suit someone as wealthy and well-off as Kyuji; however, he might have to consider downgrading if he continued to bring new people into his family's home because he felt bad for them or they needed someplace to go due to unforeseeable circumstances like deaths in their families or being exiled from their clan. His wife was livid with him for bringing all these people into their clan while they were trying to raise their own daughter as there were too many people who could influence her. But, that was a story for another roleplay as it has no relevance to this one.

Anyways, the descendant of Byakko would take his hat off and place it in his lap in respect to the family as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Why, oh why did he have to mention what happened to their loved one and in disturbing details? Truthfully, he could sugarcoat the whole ambush, but that would serve no purpose but make already unstable feelings escalate to even greater heights and put these two into the Asylum or worse on their deathbeds. He had to be strong for them and just fight through it all, but there was still some rumors circulating among the Medical Branch and a few ANBU about who was behind the attack; so, maybe a little white lie here and there wouldn't be that bad?

His eyes would reopen as he looked at them both with sorrow as he begun to speak in that solemn tone again: "Mizuki Kurai was murdered when he went on a trade mission towards Tsukigakure. His fellow tradesmen were also brutally murdered and nobody survived from that mission. We would know in our village as ANBU and Medics found the bodies--erm what was left of the bodies in the desert so they didn't get too far from home. Now, we don't know entirely what happened that caused all of them to be murdered...but we did an autopsy on numerous corpses including Kurai's and the results we find were horrifying..."

He would pause momentarily as the Mizuki clanswomen could tell that it was troubling for him to talk about this incident as it appeared something was eating him inside. It almost looked like he was telling them the truth but leaving some pieces of information out on purpose to protect them or to hide the truth from them. But to be honest, there was nothing that he was lying about as rumors were still running wild and thus there was no concrete evidence to prove the assumptions of the investigators of the crime scene, yet.

Directly related to your loved one, he had deep lacerations in his arms which seem to us to be a struggle against whoever was attacking him. He however...um...had his skull bashed in repeatedly until he was killed from blunt force trauma to the head. But sadly, it doesn't appear from our reports that the murderers made it quick...no, they tortured all of these traders including Kurai by tying them up like wild boars and dragging them through the sands while the sun was at its peak which probably had all of them screaming and crying out in pain since the sands in the desert are extremely hot during the day. There were also reports that limbs from some of the traders were gone like they were cut off by a sword...and Kurai sadly was missing a leg and his middle fingers. To make matters worse, one of his eyes was plucked from his head and his body was cooked either by the sun or by a fire-style jutsu. Fortunately, shinobi from our village found all the bodies before vultures started to peck away at them, but one of the bodies did go missing and we found only bones with teeth marks on them...human teeth marks."

He then bowed his head to them in respect as he continued speaking while pulling a headset from inside his shroud: "I am sorry it has been so long, but Kurai's body is in the morgue in the Hospital. We can get funeral arrangements set up if you would like or you two could come and pay your respects to him and we will cremate him. Either way, I am so sorry for your loss and I will find out who did this and punish them for what they did with prison time or execution. For now however, I want you two to be safe and I want you to take this headset that will send a call directly to me if you think that you are in trouble. Also..."

He would go inside of his shroud again and yank out an envelope that was still sealed with huge writing on the front and some blood smeared from the massacre. "This was a letter written to Kiyoko. The contents of the letter had not been seen from anyone including me, but it was in Kurai's clothing. I would read this when you have a chance together or alone, Kiyoko. By the way which one of you is Kiyoko and which one is Manami as nobody included Kurai's family information in the report like they were suppose to do. I am lucky enough that they wrote the address down of his former residence..." He would hand the envelope off to whoever claimed to be Kiyoko and then he lean back in the chair.

His eyes would then close again as he allowed the two clanswomen a few moments to digest all the information as he himself allowed his mind to wander back to months earlier when he was confronted at his home by investigators that had claimed certain individuals related to him were involved in the crime. These idiots however did not have the proof to back up their claims aside from ripped fabrics found at the scene that appeared to look like they came off medical garments. There was evidence of syringes at the crime scene, but there was no real claims to back it up unless they could find fingerprints that matched medical shinobi on the evidence. But having syringes weren't uncommon as many people had them to administer numerous medical treatments at their homes like giving medicine to a pet or flushing an ear after wax had built up. The investigation would continue, but they had no evidence against him or his branch, yet. In time, they might, but he was safe for now and his reputation was not being harmed too much from the investigation as there had not been any concrete proof yet.

[OOC:
1. MFT: 1243
2. Enjoy the Feels!
3. Contents of the letter are up to you since it is your father. I can come up with the contents if you would like.]

 

[Kitetsu Kurikara]

Kiyoko gripped her mother's hand tightly as the man began to speak. She had already known her father was killed. But as this man began to continue to with his explanation, her eyes widened slightly. She wasn't even sure what this man was claiming was even possible. Her chest tightened as her mother's hand started shaking. Apparently this was getting to her mother. Kiyoko stood up and placed her free hand on her mother's shoulder, gripping it tightly. She felt her mother start shaking more, and when the man finished explaining their missing family member's death, Manami nearly collapsed. Kiyoko forced the tears in her eyes back as she felt her mother hug her. Kiyoko simply began to stroke her hair, subconsciously finding the position a bit odd to be reversed so quickly. "Thank you for telling us," Kiyoko managed to get out from her sore throat. She wasn't sure if any more words would make it past her trembling lips, so she clenched her jaw, meeting the man's eyes. It took a moment, but when she registered the fact that a letter was offered to her, she released her mother slowly, making sure she could remain sitting up before the white-haired young girl stepped over to take the note. She cleared her throat before speaking. "I am Kiyoko, and my mother's name is Manami," she said softly, looking at the bloodied envelope and setting it aside for now. She looked back to her mother, noting her going into shock, and she decided to finish talking without the woman in the room.

"Please stay here for a moment," she told the male, then she turned to her mother and carefully coaxed her out of the chair. She took Manami to her bedroom and laid her in the bed, giving her a big hug before making sure she was resting comfortably. Not wanting to keep the guest waiting, she returned to the living room and knitted her fingers together. "She doesn't need to hear any more. She hasn't done well in two years," Kiyoko explained in a somber voice. She then met the man's eyes. "I want to see him, but I need to speak carefully with her to see if she can handle it. She isn't the most stable anymore," she continued, letting out a sigh in attempts to calm her raging emotions. "I-"

Before she can continue, a loud crash rings out from her mother's room. Her eyes widened, and she almost immediately ran out of the room, not caring what the guest would say. She burst into her mother's room without knocking, and she saw her mother standing in the center of the room with a broken picture frame on the ground, other parts of her room a mess. Kiyoko nearly didn't recognize her mother when their eyes met. There was some unfamiliar emotion in her dark blue orbs. "You're supposed to knock before you enter your parents' room." Kiyoko felt fear strike her as Manami moved closer to her. She flinched when her mother's hand went up to strike her, but she didn't block the strike. She felt the hand strike her still swollen cheek and let a few tears slip from her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Mother," she spoke softly, still shocked by her mother's brutality. Manami had always been very kind to Kiyoko, so being struck by her mother in such a way was unnatural to her. She hated the feeling, but her fear prevented her from doing anything to stop her mother. Manami's eyes seemed to soften for a moment before she dropped to her knees, and Kiyoko caught her before her head hit the ground. She let a small sob rack her body as she set her mother down on the ground. Manami had fainted, though Kiyoko wasn't sure why. She stood up after a moment of silent thought, wiping her face carefully before walking over to the picture frame. It was a photo Kiyo had drawn of her mother and father together. She let a stronger sob shake her as she looked at the picture, and she moved to the doorway of her mother's bedroom, leaning against the frame to support her weak knees.

She would attempt to regain her composure as she moved to where the man was standing. "She will not want to see him. She needs to recover from the shock," Kiyoko explained a bit shakily. She then let her right hand fall to her side, the picture gripped loosely in it. "You're a medic, right? Could you inspect her? She fainted in her room just a moment ago," she then requested, looking up to the stranger.

[MFT: 777 words]

 

[Tomomi]

When he was walking over to this unfortunate family's home, he wasn't sure how he was going to explain the brutality and torture that their loved one had endured before he was killed. It was a gruesome autopsy when some of his medics had informed him of the incident along with the ANBU that had also been investigating; he himself being a medic for his entire life had actually grown sick when he was hearing the same tale that he told the Mizuki females mere moments ago. It was one thing for someone to die or be murdered in cold blood, but it was another thing to learn that they were tortured and had been suffering for an extended period of time. Truth be told, he had been growing ill as he had to recall what he was told by his fellow medics and ANBU...he still was confused who or what exactly would do this to another human being; it wasn't a sandworm or a wild animal...so it had to be human, but who would do that? So many questions were unanswered and would continue to be unfortunately until more investigating and research was conducted.

As for the situation that was occurring right in front of him, it wasn't good at all for the family as he could see the looks of shock and fear on their faces as he had told them the story. It had to be hard for them if it was hard for him even if it had been two years since the incident; this family deserved closure and that was what he was trying to do for them. Sadly, the wife of the dead was not taking the situation well at all as she had grown even more weaker and actually collapsed in her room. Of course, the descendant of Byakko wanted to talk to the daughter and try to help them more, but he was being asked to look at the mother which he nodded as his eyes reopened and the daughter could see sorrow on them as he walked by her and knelt down beside the woman.

When he was beside her, he could see that she had gone into shock and her breathing was dangerously low. With his left hand, he would go through a few signs to summon a medical assistance that would begin to emit a green aura on the woman's body as the descendant of Byakko begun to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. As a trained professional, he performed the techniques almost flawlessly and closely monitored the woman. This process would continue for a respectable few minutes until she started to breathe normally and her heart rate was going back up to a reasonable rate for someone her age. As he was focusing on her heart and breathing, the medical clone had been going over her body tending to any bruises or scrapes that she had sustained from her fainting and shock.

After monitoring her for a few more minutes to ensure that she wasn't in immediate danger, he placed his shroud-like covering on her which had been dried and was emitting a warmness from a slight jutsu. He would then get on his headset that he brought along like he always did and get on the medical communication channel asking for some medics to come to the Mizuki household as they had an emergency. As he was talking, Kiyoko would be able to see a slight muscular build from the man and his missing arm if she was curious enough to look in on what was occurring. If not, she would see it soon enough when her mother was taken care of and safely being transported.

Fortunately for everyone in the household, the medics arrived quickly and had brought the proper equipment to transport an individual the Hospital. What was even better was three of them came so two of them could carry her while the other could keep her dry from the downpour as they traveled her. After a quick discussion, they hauled her away towards the Hospital and he nodded to them that he would be there shortly and that they knew what to do. They should at least considering they were medics and he had taught them all at one point in how to be a medic so if they failed, it was a giant slap in the face for him.

He would return to the child that had experienced the whole incident and knelt down beside her putting his arm on her back and rubbing it as he tried to calm her down. He would talk slowly and slightly quieter to try to get her mind and body to relax and understand that she had nothing to worry about. The medical assistant clone would place its hand on her face where she had been hit and "injured" earlier and within a few moments, the bruise was gone. When the assistant was done, it would poof and he would begin to talk to her: "Kiyoko, I am truly sorry about your father. But, I will figure out what happened to him to bring closure to your family. There is still an investigation going on and once I know more that I am allowed to share, I will let you know. As for your mother, she is going to be okay, she went into shock, but she is breathing normally and she will recover quickly. However to follow protocol, I cannot let her leave as soon as possible as I need to do further tests on her to ensure she is okay...and honestly, I would say that you come in as well for some tests." He would then pause a moment to gather his thoughts and then he would continue: "I also need you to come in to answer some questions for us about you and your mother since the incident. Also, I cannot allow a child to stay at home alone after an incident like this, but you can't go to the Hospital and be with your mom as she needs time to recover. So, I am going to ask you to come with me back to my home for the night or I will stay here if you are more comfortable. As a father myself, I cannot let you stay alone, I would not feel right if something happened to you. Also, I am sorry that I didn't respond to anything that you asked...but, I can now if you want...just ask me what you want to know."

[OOC: I apologize for making you wait. That was not my intention, but you know how my personal life has been hehe. Also, this post was okay...needs improvement on my part so sorry for that.]

 

[Kitetsu Kurikara]

Kiyoko watched silently as the man began his ministrations on her mother. Although her young mind was still attempting to comprehend what her mother had done, she watched with a keen eye and observed what the man was doing. She didn't know much about medical ninjutsu, but she did recognize that whatever he was doing was working. When he had called someone to come take her mother away, she forced her eyes away and let her eyes fall to her picture once more. When the man approached her after her mother had been taken, she folded the small picture and slipped it into her kimono's inner pocket. She felt her cheek beginning to heal and looked up at the assistant, watching it disappear before registering the hand on her back. She looked over to the medic that had come to their house first and felt her nerves settle as she met his eyes. She then looked away once more, clearing her throat as she listened to his diagnosis of her mother as well as his need for her to answer some questions. "I can tell you as much as I know," she agreed softly, crossing her arms to slightly close herself off from her surroundings psychologically. Kiyoko knew she needed to be helpful, but she was still scared of the entire situation. She hadn't talked to many people aside from her mother, unless it was necessary, and she still grew nervous around new faces.

When she heard him speak of where she would spend the night since she couldn't stay with her mother, she felt herself loosen up a bit. "You have children?" she asked, beginning to feel she could trust this medic a bit more. As she began to take in his actions, she realized he knew what he was doing quite well. He had been able to calm her racing heart with a simple, gentle touch and soft words. Only people who dealt with children would be able to do so that quickly. She gave her options a bit of thought before letting out a soft sigh. "Mother told me never to follow strangers, though I have gone against that rule twice already," she said, more for herself than the man before her. She then made her decision. "I think I will go with you. You need to be with your family, and I promise I won't cause trouble." The white-haired child smiled faintly, meeting the man's eyes once more. "What can I call you?" she asked. Once learning what she would address him as, she would then head to pack a small bag with her necessities as well as a few of her pictures from around the house. Enough to keep her spirit calm when she would miss her mother.

Kiyoko would then return to the small family room, cleaning up the dishes her and her mother had eaten out of. As she was cleaning, she noticed the letter that was written for her. She clutched it in one hand as she spoke up. "Could I...see my father? Before you run any tests?" Although she knew her emotions weren't overly stable at the moment, she knew she could recover as long as she had closure. Up until this point, she had wished she imagined it. She had never truly accepted the fact that her father was gone and simply acted as if his trip was simply taking longer than expected. It was the only reason she had been able to keep herself going this long.

 

[Tomomi]

During his kneeling, he could feel her heartbeat and breathing slowly calm down as his words escaped his mouth. Of course, the girl was still distraught but it was good to at least notice her calming down from the incidents that occurred only moments earlier with her mother and the news of her father. If she was able to keep her demeanor calm on the outside, she would be a fine shinobi and maybe a medic someday. But for now, she still had much room to improve since she was probably in the Academy currently and learning to be a fine shinobi; hopefully, the teachers were taking good care of the students and were not being slackers like some of the previous ones had been. In either case, the girl told him that she would do tell him as much as she knew regarding his questioning and he nodded at her in understanding since he didn't want to begin the questioning quite yet. No, he would wait till the rest of the night's events were complete and then begin asking and doing what he needed to do either tomorrow or in a few days depending on how she was handling everything. Besides, she was closing herself off from the world psychologically by crossing her arms so she was in no condition to be questioned at all.

As they continued on, she would ask him if he had children and what to call him. He would have answered either question, but she also made the decision to come with him back to the Byakko Estate tonight which gave him a sigh of relief. It was one thing to handle events circulating around your parents, but it was another to do that and also try to go about your days in the same location like nothing happened there previously. That was something that Kyuji knew quite well while he was living in his home country in the Abandoned Mineshaft where his father died in his arms and his mother was crushed to death due to a freak accident. Of course, he gave them a proper burial, but he had nowhere to go after their deaths and continued to live in that same location after their deaths and was haunted by guilt until he finally ran away from home. He didn't want Miss Mizuki to have to endure the same hardships as he did, so it was good that she decided to want to go to his home. As she started to rise, he would stand as well since he had some knee issues and merely answer her questions with some upbeat in that old voice of his: "I do have two children! They are twins and their names are Kyushiko and Yanjirou. I also have two teenage girls staying in my home currently due to unforeseeable circumstances in their lives and a foreigner staying in my home as well as she needed a place to stay while she is visiting. As for my name, you can call me Kyuji as there is no need for any honorifics in public, in private, and in the Hospital where I work." It appeared when he was done, she would go do her own thing as he picked up his shroud that he tossed to the side earlier and mess around with it a little to get the wrinkles out of it while he waited on her.

When the girl returned to the room, she would do some cleaning of the dishes before asking Kyuji if she could see her father. He wanted to facepalm at this request since she just saw her mother collapse, but it appeared she wanted to keep pushing forward with more heartache. Luckily for her, the descendant of Byakko wasn't going to allow her to merely get what she want like he did all the time for his apprentice, Aikayume Azusa. No, she would have to wait until he believed she was ready and this would be expressed in the following way: "Well, you can see your father, but it would be best for us to return to my home and let you rest and recover. Let's give you a few days to adjust and then we will go to the Hospital and you can have time with your father and your mother can join you if she wants. The tests and evaluations will be afterwards if you are up to it. However while you stay at my home, I would ask that you help around the house if my family needs it as there are a lot of us and not all of us are always able to do everything. You may stay as long as you want or need to. You are not going to be a burden or anything, I promise!" He had been calm as he explained to her all of this; he had to be since she was a child and dealing with quite a lot as a child.

Then, he would allow her a few moments to digest all of his words before he continued. When he deemed that enough time had elapsed, he would continue by saying five words in a questioning matter: "Are you ready to go?"

 

[Kitetsu Kurikara]

Kiyoko would allow all of the information to sink in before she would pack her things. Once she returned and received her answer her request to see her father, however, her eyes would tear up in sadness. All she wanted was to see him. She wanted to be near him when she would read the letter she received, imagining him speaking to her instead of simply reading words written by his hand. But after thinking over it for a good amount of time, she would understand why he wouldn't allow her to see her father immediately. All she would do is cry next to him. She wasn't even sure if she would handle it well, despite her confidence in hiding her emotions. She wiped her tears away with the back of the hand holding the letter, gripping her small bag tightly in the other before relaxing her grip once more. There was no use in losing her control in front of the kind man offering her a home for the night and a chance to see her father once more, no matter what condition he may be in.

"I have been the homemaker here for two years, so whatever I need to do, I can," she agreed after letting out a soft breath, forcing on a small smile once more as she lowered her hand. She sniffed once before pulling it together and looking up at Kyuji. "I'm happy to be meeting your family, Kyuji-sama." She then remembered his specification of not using honorifics and added, "I'm sorry if I use honorific suffixes...my mother raised me strictly. It's a habit." Hopefully she would grow comfortable enough to not worry as much, though she wasn't sure how long it would take her. Kiyoko let out another small breath and looked away when he asked if she was ready to leave. "I think I am," she said softly. She allowed her eyes to take in the sight of her small home one more time, and she said a small goodbye that she hoped would be temporary. However, with the way her mother responded to the news and the fact that Kiyoko was likely too young to handle herself with no real adult present, she had a feeling it would be the last time she laid eyes upon her home in this condition.

She then followed Kyuji out of her home, looking at the picture hanging outside. She removed it from the door and quickly placed it inside before returning to the medic's presence once more. She didn't want their family picture to be ruined. She looked out at the streets before her, where she played with her friends up until her father's passing, and wondered what they were doing now. She hadn't seen any of them in two years, almost as if the death of her father placed an omen over her home and herself. She then looked up to Kyuji. "What you did for my mother...thank you." She then cast her eyes forward once more as she would begin to follow the man away from the only home she had ever had. She was beginning a new phase in her life so suddenly, but she wouldn't let it knock her down, no matter how painful it may be. She was going to face it head on.

 

[Tomomi]

It appeared this was going to be a trying time for this small child, but also himself as he was fighting back his emotions when he saw her crying in front of him. A parent would normally comfort the child but hugging them and telling them that it was okay, However, the descendant of Byakko wasn't her parent and he had already made her feel better once by just being a good medic...being a parent to her was not in the cards for now. Sure if something were to happen to her mother, he would probably adopt her but nobody was hoping or praying that someone's parent was going to die so they could adopt them. That was simply ludicrous to think that way! Fortunately, the girl could calm yourself down within moments which brought relief to the Byakko follower.

He would listen intently when she responded to him. She mentioned that she was a homemaker and expressed that she was happy to meet his family. Unknown to her, his wife would probably kill him eventually for bringing in all these adorable little marshmallows to their home to live till they could get off their feet or because he had a former student of his in their home who she did not particularly appreciate and who had taken a close liking to him. Their marriage had been falling apart prior to all these marshmallows coming into their home however due to their schedules and their son leaving to go exploring among many other things. Of course, he would crack a smile at her to not let her know the truth about his family for now since it was better to give a little white lie or not say anything and let her experience it all. An apology would follow after her respectfully giving him a honorific after his name, but he just shrugged it off. It wasn't that he hated the honorifics, he just didn't deem them necessary was all.

A little bit of time would elapse and they were outside of her home and she was thanking him for what he did for her and her mother. He would merely smile and pat her head. When everything appeared to be done and she was ready to go, he would hand her his shroud and say sternly: "Put this on. It is big for you but you can use it to stay dry and not catch a cold or some other illness. Don't worry about me, I am fine. Let's just go and get to my home quickly before the rain starts to get worse, alright?"

He would then offer his only hand to her and hold hers if she accepted it and proceed to head towards his home. If she rejected it, they would still proceed towards his home. The journey itself would not take entirely too long at a slightly quickened pace since Kyuji hated water and wanted to get out of the rain as soon as possible. Once inside, they would stop at the entryway of the entire Toraono Clan and the descendant of Byakko would take a breather due to his quickened pace and a slight panting could be hard from him if Kiyoko was listening close enough. He wasn't having any issues at all, he was just out of breath for some odd reason probably because he had been away from his normal routine for quite some time and was a little out of shape...who really knew however. When he managed to calm his breathing down to a respectful range, he would address her: "Welcome to the Toraono Clan's home. My family's portion of the estate is the corridor all the way to the left and can be made out by the white walls. When you go into my clan's portion of the estate, you are going to see other people who look like me with these eyes, ears and claws. You will also see others who have ears resembling foxes and one even has tails like a fox. I forewarn you that there are a lot of different personalities so don't take anything to heart, alright?"

It was better to forewarn her than to throw her into the fire metaphorically and have her figure it out on her own after he had given her a place to stay and what not. Hopefully, her mother was doing alright in the Hospital and they would soon know he was sure.

[Topic Left/Migrating. I noticed we went from your home to Kyuji's IC so I am going to continue this thread in a new topic in the Toraono Clan after you post in here one last time. So in other words, respond like you usually do and then leave the topic and I will start a new one in response to your last post.]

 

[Kitetsu Kurikara]

Kiyoko wasn't sure what to think of the medic just yet; she didn't trust him fully, as it would be foolish to trust a stranger of any kind, but she found his kindness genuine in some way. She was a young girl of an unstable home with nowhere to go but a hospital, and he was inviting her to his own home despite the fact that she knew the hospital would house her until she was deemed stable once more. He had a fatherly feel to him, which didn't seem all that far-fetched if his talk about his children was true. Again, something she would have to carefully make sure was true before she could feel more comfortable. But when he gave up his jacket just for her to not get as wet, she was almost positive there wasn't an ill intention within this man.

As she hesitantly took his hand with her free one, she moved with his fast pace a bit difficultly. Eventually she pulled her hand away and simply caught up with him if he were to go too far from her. She took notice during their travel that something wasn't balanced on Kyuji's body. He was missing his right arm. Kiyo wasn't a judgemental girl by any means, and her silent nature would keep her from addressing it for now, but she was definitely caught off-guard by the sudden revelation. He worked well with only one arm, and it was as if it didn't effect him in the slightest. She smiled slightly when she realized there was most-likely a story behind the loss. Although it was a dark thought, she couldn't help but feel happy someone else had made it through a struggle of some sort. If this man could do it and still become such a great medic, then she could push on too.

When they reached the estate, her nerves began to take over as she pulled into her protective shell a bit more. Her smile faded away, and only her eyes would show her emotion for the time being. She scanned the area, somewhat in awe with how beautiful it was. Then again, anything could be more beautiful than her shabby little home. But this was the first time she had been to such a higher-classed home. "It's beautiful," she would say softly, so much so that it may be difficult to hear. She would then begin to listen to the man as he explained the different people living in his family's section of the estate. Her eyes moved from his to his ears and to his claws in respective order. Upon the mentioning of the foxes and the tails, her eyes lit up with a hint of excitement. Foxes had been her favorite animal since she could remember, second being wolves and third being cats.

"Did you say fox?" she questioned, meeting the man's eyes once more.

[OOC: Topic left]