[And while he looks like he's doing nothing but eat, he's catching all of the memories and emotions that flicker right on the surface of Cisco's mind. To be fair, it isn't that difficult to do; the woman isn't even aware of it.
She would not be the only one who has been... ambivalent, since the Measuring. No one questioned the results. Plenty wondered about the reasons, the Measuring itself.]
You're not here for the ramen.
[Tohru Fukuzawa has never been one to beat around the bush unless he's trying to find a subtle, clean way of dispatching you.]
[ That actually gets her to smile. ] We each have our own ways of getting our jobs done. Hiding my emotions tends to make my charges suspicious of me. Can't have that, especially when so often, they happen to be parents with children or the occasional recalcitrant teenager.
[ She takes a sip, sets the spoon down.
She might never get another opportunity to do this. ]
Fukuzawa-san, [ a pause, ] thank you. For letting my son drive Hikaru home. [ Looking at him now, earnest. It's about seven years too late a thing to say, but she's a seventy-three year old Reynardi who's made it a point never to forget. ]
Finishing the last bit of his bowl and setting his spoon down before turning to her. Quiet, assessing.
He turns away moments later, and reaches into his coat pocket for his cigarette case.]
It was what the Blade King wanted.
[He must be careful now, with what he calls Toshizou Hikaru Shinta. While some things cannot be changed, many others did the moment he had kissed his wife goodbye, and stepped into that arena.]
[He opts to light up and take a proper drag first before honoring her with a response, because that gives him a little more time to think of the best way to word it.
Since he cannot word it, he's moving on to something else. Cisco started it, really.]
Thank you for feeding him last month.
[He had known of his son's leader's wanderings even before the latter had texted.
[ It's tricky territory, Tohru, that is. He was around when she was still new, had known Hikaru longer than she, had committed himself to the cause of the Wolf long before she had ever heard of the World of Darkness -- and of the conspiracies within it. ]
I owe the Blade King, [ she takes her cue from him, refers to Hikaru by his title instead of his name, ] more than I can ever repay. But he was also one of my first friends after I feel through the cracks, a mentor in ways I hadn't realized. There is a lot in my life now that I wouldn't have, if he hadn't-- [ meddled ] --intervened in some way.
[ A family much larger than the one bound to her by blood. A purpose and a cause to fulfill. Someone to grow old with, children she loves. Friends, comrades at arms; lives she has touched. ]
I am glad that he has you at his back. [ More than as a father, but as one of the Searing Wind, she doesn't say.
It had been on her mind, there in the arena, whether it was wrong or right that she hadn't spoken up for Aria. Sitting beside Kalika, she had averted her gaze from her blade mate, stamping down any thought over whether this was a betrayal of their friendship, because what Aria was doing was damaging more than just that. ]
[ She ruminates over that statement for a bit, before pulling out her own pack of cigarettes and lighting up a stick. When she breathes in, Cisco tilts her face up a little, savoring the drag and exhaling quietly. ]
What good is being loyal if you turn a blind eye to the mistakes that could harm the whole. [ She fishes for her tin, taps the ash out in its confines. ] We all make mistakes, it's part of how we figure out how to be better, and how never to make those same mistakes again.
[ Falling quiet a moment, and then: ] Aria has my love, that's never going to change. But that doesn't mean I have to condone harmful behavior, or just sit idly by and watch collateral damage happen on my watch.
[ She trails off and thinks about two tiny children who'd spent the formative years of their lives cut off from others their age; fearful, in two very different ways, towards a man who she'd had the bad judgement to trust until it was too late.
She kills her finished cigarette, lights another. ]
She's in no position to do what she should be doing. But sadly, she's so convinced that she can take things all on her own that she can't even listen to the people who love her most. [ A glance slid over at Tohru at that; an almost helpless shrug and a shake of the head that is punctuated by the slightest bitter twist of the mouth. ]
My apologies, Fukuzawa-san, [ again, in Japanese. ] I guess my upset over this whole thing is coming a bit delayed. It's hard to see history repeat itself in a far more damaging way and have very little space to move in order to help fix it.
[And he is watching her the entire time, noticing everything, measuring everything, weighing possibilities, checking if there is any truth that must be peeled away from lies.
There are none. That last statement is also catching his attention.]
You have tried to stop her from a foolish course of action before?
[ Her brow twitches in answer -- Yes, and not alone -- before she looks over to The Assassin and gestures with a simple lift of the hand to welcome him into her head. ]
I'm not at my most objective right now. If I tell you, I acknowledge that having spoken to two of my blade mates has left me emotionally compromised. [ There's an unspoken thing here as well: how she and Hikaru have touched base often enough of late that her bias has swung heavily in the Blade King's favor. ]
Mostly because he has such a good heart. [ Taking another puff, noting as well, that the seats between them have been vacated and that no one seems keen on filling them.
Cisco rises from her seat, comes over and with a nod, asking for permission, she sets her things on the counter, finishes her cigarette and kills it. ] May I join you, Fukuzawa-san?
[He only nods, and turns briefly back to his food in order to finish it off.
Not much for words, this one, especially if he feels that he has talked too long, or too much. It's a little uncomfortable, knowing full well why he's letting just enough of his control go this time around.
The Blade King always did have a way of getting through to him.]
[ Joining Tohru now, but saying nothing as she lights up another cigarette, her gaze following the tendrils of smoke as they curl in mid-air.
She bows her head quietly.
Odd that she would remember how the flames from that night had been a color close enough to that of smoke. She hasn't thought of that night in years. ]
[ Worrying at her lower lip as she thinks on that unspoken question, before looking up and feeling utterly at a loss.
This is news to her, and she can't help but question Tohru's assessment -- but she also knows he wouldn't say something like this if it weren't true.
Softly now, just barely above a whisper: ] I honestly couldn't tell you.
I'm hardly Tala or Elias, Fukuzawa-san.
[ Nor Deirdra. Or Anton, or Kaizen, who called Hikaru brother with the weight of family beneath the syllables. She had come too late in the game, long after Mapayapa was an in-joke, and had been thankful for the opportunity all the same. ]
[ And she's looking right back as if trying to figure out if this is a test -- if this is something that she has to answer right.
When it finally sinks in though, that the look in the Assassin's gaze is merely questioning, Cisco's shoulders sag and she sinks a little into herself, gaze falling down to her hands.
It is time, she realizes, to open up and tell someone other than those who already know. ]
The twins weren't Vincenzo's. [ Her voice is soft, weighted, because the statement feels wrong on her lips. Because her children are Cen's, in every way that matters. Because Renae and Maggie would sooner rip out the throats ( whether literal or metaphorical, is entirely dependent on which child ) of those who might say otherwise. ] The man who made our family possible was someone I killed.
[ Huh. Strange how she can suddenly remember the way it had felt, looking down at her hands and seeing all that blood, warm and slick. He'd never managed to lay a hand on her. She'd been too quick, too angry, and he had refused to give her back her wedding ring. ]
[That catches his attention. Cisco's story was one that he had never bothered to learn about in detail, or look into even when he had the opportunity to in the past: he had figured it was not important.
He also has a feeling that somehow, this is connected to their discussion. This woman does not, after all, mince words or waste time. Not anymore, at least.
Listening quietly, and turning his body just a little more to show her that he is waiting on her. She can take as much time as she likes.]
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She would not be the only one who has been... ambivalent, since the Measuring. No one questioned the results. Plenty wondered about the reasons, the Measuring itself.]
You're not here for the ramen.
[Tohru Fukuzawa has never been one to beat around the bush unless he's trying to find a subtle, clean way of dispatching you.]
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[ She says it matter-of-factly as she blows gentle air into the soup on her spoon. ]
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There is nothing to peek into when your target is an open book.
[It's almost as if she's implying that he had to exert effort on that when he didn't. Going back to his ramen now.]
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[ She takes a sip, sets the spoon down.
She might never get another opportunity to do this. ]
Fukuzawa-san, [ a pause, ] thank you. For letting my son drive Hikaru home. [ Looking at him now, earnest. It's about seven years too late a thing to say, but she's a seventy-three year old Reynardi who's made it a point never to forget. ]
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Finishing the last bit of his bowl and setting his spoon down before turning to her. Quiet, assessing.
He turns away moments later, and reaches into his coat pocket for his cigarette case.]
It was what the Blade King wanted.
[He must be careful now, with what he calls
ToshizouHikaru Shinta. While some things cannot be changed, many others did the moment he had kissed his wife goodbye, and stepped into that arena.]no subject
But had you insisted, I think he would have waited for you to come by.
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Since he cannot word it, he's moving on to something else. Cisco started it, really.]
Thank you for feeding him last month.
[He had known of his
son'sleader's wanderings even before the latter had texted.'Sorry. I'll go back to Kibo soon.'
He had not bothered responding.]
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I owe the Blade King, [ she takes her cue from him, refers to Hikaru by his title instead of his name, ] more than I can ever repay. But he was also one of my first friends after I feel through the cracks, a mentor in ways I hadn't realized. There is a lot in my life now that I wouldn't have, if he hadn't-- [ meddled ] --intervened in some way.
[ A family much larger than the one bound to her by blood. A purpose and a cause to fulfill. Someone to grow old with, children she loves. Friends, comrades at arms; lives she has touched. ]
I am glad that he has you at his back. [ More than as a father, but as one of the Searing Wind, she doesn't say.
It had been on her mind, there in the arena, whether it was wrong or right that she hadn't spoken up for Aria. Sitting beside Kalika, she had averted her gaze from her blade mate, stamping down any thought over whether this was a betrayal of their friendship, because what Aria was doing was damaging more than just that. ]
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[His voice is low and quiet at that point. Considering.]
I would have thought that your allegiances would stay solidly with your blade. That appears to be how the lot of you operate.
[As a pack whose Alpha happened to be Hikaru Shinta, in more ways than one.]
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What good is being loyal if you turn a blind eye to the mistakes that could harm the whole. [ She fishes for her tin, taps the ash out in its confines. ] We all make mistakes, it's part of how we figure out how to be better, and how never to make those same mistakes again.
[ Falling quiet a moment, and then: ] Aria has my love, that's never going to change. But that doesn't mean I have to condone harmful behavior, or just sit idly by and watch collateral damage happen on my watch.
[ She trails off and thinks about two tiny children who'd spent the formative years of their lives cut off from others their age; fearful, in two very different ways, towards a man who she'd had the bad judgement to trust until it was too late.
She kills her finished cigarette, lights another. ]
She's in no position to do what she should be doing. But sadly, she's so convinced that she can take things all on her own that she can't even listen to the people who love her most. [ A glance slid over at Tohru at that; an almost helpless shrug and a shake of the head that is punctuated by the slightest bitter twist of the mouth. ]
My apologies, Fukuzawa-san, [ again, in Japanese. ] I guess my upset over this whole thing is coming a bit delayed. It's hard to see history repeat itself in a far more damaging way and have very little space to move in order to help fix it.
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There are none. That last statement is also catching his attention.]
You have tried to stop her from a foolish course of action before?
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I'm not at my most objective right now. If I tell you, I acknowledge that having spoken to two of my blade mates has left me emotionally compromised. [ There's an unspoken thing here as well: how she and Hikaru have touched base often enough of late that her bias has swung heavily in the Blade King's favor. ]
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[And then he's simply reaching into her mind, sifting through the memories, and --
-- interesting.
By the time he's done, he's withdrawing just so, with both eyebrows lifted.]
That has convinced me only further that what I did was right.
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[ Frank and unapologetic about it; tapping out the ash from her stick. ]
She can't protect him if she can't even-- [ lips pressing together now, and looking away. ] She can't protect him the way she is now.
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[He used to fault the man for it until he had come to understand why. Now they have... how does one put it? An understanding.]
Nevertheless, Hikaru was not pleased with me.
[Was that a slip? Perhaps.]
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And because she's a mother who has some understanding of that. ]
Only because he's got-- [ a sigh, Oh, Hikaru, ] --something of a blind spot where it concerns her.
[ Is that mild disapproval? Maybe. ]
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[Mild, trying not too sound too disapproving. Why do you think he works so hard to watch over this one?
(He knows, too well, that is is one of those blind spots in his own right.)]
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Cisco rises from her seat, comes over and with a nod, asking for permission, she sets her things on the counter, finishes her cigarette and kills it. ] May I join you, Fukuzawa-san?
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Not much for words, this one, especially if he feels that he has talked too long, or too much. It's a little uncomfortable, knowing full well why he's letting just enough of his control go this time around.
The Blade King always did have a way of getting through to him.]
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She bows her head quietly.
Odd that she would remember how the flames from that night had been a color close enough to that of smoke. She hasn't thought of that night in years. ]
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He calls you a friend. He says it with a different weight from how he regards most of your other blade mates.
[Why?
That question is not spoken out loud, but it is there.]
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This is news to her, and she can't help but question Tohru's assessment -- but she also knows he wouldn't say something like this if it weren't true.
Softly now, just barely above a whisper: ] I honestly couldn't tell you.
I'm hardly Tala or Elias, Fukuzawa-san.
[ Nor Deirdra. Or Anton, or Kaizen, who called Hikaru brother with the weight of family beneath the syllables. She had come too late in the game, long after Mapayapa was an in-joke, and had been thankful for the opportunity all the same. ]
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[Watching her now. It's less of an assessing look, and more... curious.]
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When it finally sinks in though, that the look in the Assassin's gaze is merely questioning, Cisco's shoulders sag and she sinks a little into herself, gaze falling down to her hands.
It is time, she realizes, to open up and tell someone other than those who already know. ]
The twins weren't Vincenzo's. [ Her voice is soft, weighted, because the statement feels wrong on her lips. Because her children are Cen's, in every way that matters. Because Renae and Maggie would sooner rip out the throats ( whether literal or metaphorical, is entirely dependent on which child ) of those who might say otherwise. ] The man who made our family possible was someone I killed.
[ Huh. Strange how she can suddenly remember the way it had felt, looking down at her hands and seeing all that blood, warm and slick. He'd never managed to lay a hand on her. She'd been too quick, too angry, and he had refused to give her back her wedding ring. ]
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He also has a feeling that somehow, this is connected to their discussion. This woman does not, after all, mince words or waste time. Not anymore, at least.
Listening quietly, and turning his body just a little more to show her that he is waiting on her. She can take as much time as she likes.]
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