Jack Pine
Well-Known Member
- RP Date
- September 25, 2019 (YE41)
- RP Location
- Sirris VI - Obsidian City - Sanctuary Park
NDC territory - Sanctum star system - Sirris VI - Obsidian city
Park - 1200 hours
It was getting colder as winter approached on the rather verdant and still very alien world. The inhabitants of this young nation prepared for their second winter on their new world. However, some of them had other things on their minds, like Ichika Itatski. As a few others waited for similar reasons, today had an extra one as she stood with her daughter Kioko. The neko girl was due to ship out today, destined for star army training like her sisters before, but the doting and worry wort that was her mother made her wait. "It's almost time, I wanted you to meet someone before you left. I thought it would be important for you to get to talk to him.", Ichika said looking back from the main gate in the distance, seen down the main street, and back to her daughter.
She was standing beside her mother, rigid and straight like a soldier should. It was the time she both feared and looked forward to: the time to join the Star Army training. She was keeping the fear properly in check, nothing showing on her pale face, only a slight fidgeting in her hands betraying the presence of emotions. The time she could prove herself, the time to not just be the little Kioko, the youngest of the family, was looming on the horizon; she could show she was as good as her sisters, if not better. Her mother's words drove her back to reality, her eyes focusing back on her; as strange as it was, by comparison she feared talking to him more than joining the army. Ichika had never talked about him much, in fact she hadn't mentioned him at all even now, but Kioko had guessed such "him" could only be her father, there wasn't another explanation she could think of. He had never been there through her growth, just a far-away ghost father of sort, but now... now such ghost was becoming real, as real as flesh and blood could be. She nodded slowly "Yes, Mother." her voice was steady, she tried it to be. Was he going to recognize her? Was he going to ignore her? Was he... she breathed pushing thoughts away. "Calm." she told herself as she too looked down the main street.
A chime sounded from the gate in the distance as the large blast doors that once sealed starship hangars, and now acted as the gates to pass through the city's armored wall, opened. Two rows of armed vehicles, rolled into the city, adorned with the military's insignias. Tanks followed by APCs laden with troops and mechanized heavy suits of power armor trundling along as they slowly progressed into the city. The soldiers whose faces could be seen, were weary from battle, but happy to be home. As they began to pass, Ichika looked to each one, checking ID tags digitally as she did until settling on one towards the rear with a small smile. "Kioko, I never told you this, and I hope you forgive me some day for it. I never actually told your father of your birth, a habit I've seemed to fail to shake, even when your sisters were born. Please do not hate him for lacking in presence, but it's complicated, as we were never together as a couple. Your father is a man driven by duty, and a fine soldier, no doubt like I know you'll be."
Kioko watched in silence as the troops started marching in: vehicles, power armors, troops. She had seen all of it before one way or another but it still kind of awed her. She waited in silence half a step beside her mother as she checked on each trooper and she knew he had found him when that small smile appeared. Her eyes darting to try pinpoint him as well. However, she didn't fully expected such a confession: her eyes widened a little and to her mother her surprise was clear. Did that... changed everything? She had always guessed he didn't care for her or he was just to busy with being a soldier to talk to them. It felt... not something a good father should do but... if he did it because of his duty, he could be somewhat forgiven, couldn't he? However, such revelation threw all her mental constructs in disarray. "Why you never did?" she asked softly, as she tried to organize her own feelings: did she feel hurt by her mother's conduct? Would his presence had made things different? The absence of emotions was kind of broke now and her mother could see her dauther was in a moment of turnoil as everything piled up inside her mind. For once, the praise for which she died for, went mostly unnoticed. So he wasn't going to recognize her and come running to hug her as she had seen other soldiers do after a long time away... She shut her eyes, where her calm had gone now that she most needed it... she was soldier, she had to be calm and calculative... but she couldn't get to it...
A gentle hand was rested on the young neko's shoulder, "Please understand honey, that sometimes we let things like duty get in the way, and I felt that having two parents both enlisted. Would be a terrible burden on the other if one of us passed. I never wanted to leave that weight on his shoulders when he already carries so much, but I realize now that was never fair to you. He's a good man, and I promise he will love you. So will your older brother, he's actually with him now."
When she felt that hand resting on her shoulder Kioko's first reaction was to try shrug it off, she was feeling a little without control at that point but then, she knew her mother was, from a certain point of view, not wrong. Her ears flicked at the mention of how much he already carried. Her more analytical side was now curious to know, to get a better picture to think on while her emotional side was just writhing in an emotional struggle. If meeting her father was already a tough matter, when an older brother came in the picture, it felt her like a blow "O-Older brother?!" her eyes grew noticibly wide. Having to cope with two achieved sisters was already hard enough on her and now... now she had just found out she had a brother... a bigger brother... for a moment she wished she could just.... disappear.
As the men approached, Ichika waved and called out their names, both turning to see the nekos standing there. Both left the column to give a small jog as they crossed over to them, helmets tucked under there arms. Both looked identical save for the older of the two carried scars, and the younger was almost a younger duplicate of the first. "Oh hey Miss Itatski, the operation was a success mor- urk!", The younger one who must have been the brother was given a hard pat on his armored back.
"Can it on that Kaine, I doubt Ichika wants to hear about the usual shit we do, she does the same remember.", Mark commented after he patted with a roll of the eyes before addressing the ladies, "What the boy means to say is nice it went well and everyone made it home. But more importantly, how are you doing today, and who's your friend here...miss?" He turned to the younger neko as he inquired her name, a small smile in greeting offered, if albeit tired from duty.
Ichika cleared her throat, "First of all, good, and it's good everyone did. Makes returning home that much more enjoyable, and I hear you and Jill are getting along well. And likewise Kaine, I hear you and miss Elisys will be tying the knot soon. Maybe you can invite your younger sister here to the wedding."
First instinct: run. Second instinct: run even faster. However, there was nowhere she could run. Her eyes were kind of wide as she watched the two men approach, one the younger version of the other. "S-so that's t-them..." she thought, trying to compose herself enough, she was going to be a soldier, she couldn't panic for a family reunion. Yet, she was pretty sure she didn't look that much emotionless and calm as she wished she would. He was her father... and her older brother... a brother... and a father... When the older man spoke to her, she felt like everyone was watching her, judging her, pinpointing her. With such a pale complexion it was practically impossible to hide the warming of her cheeks when it happened... and it did happen and not the soft kind. She opened her mouth to speak and just got through her first name that her mother cleared her throat, her eyes darted to her as she spoke before darting back to the two men. The time was now.
It was if time froze, a faint nervous chuckle emanating from Kaine, "Damn, I thought I was dodging bombshells out there." he mumbled with a small look of shock. Mark wasn't fairing much better, as he quickly looked to Ichika, then back to Kioko. "That n-ight? And you only now tell me?", Mark said rather calmly, "She's a full grown woman, and I haven't been a father in her life for even thirty seconds....Ichika, what the hell. Maybe I would have liked to know I have a daughter you know."
"Well now you do, and I didn't want to worry you. Besides, I only found out when you were in the hospital, I couldn't exactly see you while you were recovering. Yeah, looking back, maybe wasn't the best information to withold.", Ichika said in her defense as she pulled Kioko a bit closer to her side.
Mark looked to Kioko again with a pained look before dropping to his knees as if to ask for forgiveness, "I am so sorry Kioko, If I had known....You're already grown into a woman, and I'm only just learning your name. I-I don't know what your mother has told you about me, but I'm Mark Tazar,..your father."
Kioko could only watch as the two men became as shocked as her. Her eyes darting between her mother, always so calm even in such a moment and the two men now part of her family. She wanted to shrink away and just... not see, not think, but it wasn't a valid option. She was stiff, nearly thrembling into her mother's grasp. She was feeling like all her world was being shaken and turned around in a mad play.
When Mark dropped on his knees in front of her, she stared at him, registering his words syllable by syllable but unable to move, her mind in complete override. What should she say? That she was happy to see him? That her mother never told her much? That she didn't know what to say? Confusion reigned in her mind; she hadn't been prepared for this, there was nothing she could go back and use as an example. She had to do something, she knew that much, but what? What?! She didn't know. She hid into her mother's shoulder, pressing herself against the last thing she still thought she knew. The weight of the emotions crushing her down, her sight darkened by her mother's clothes blurring as few soft salty tears fells in the fabric. All her composure was lost to the emotions.
Ichika wasn't sure to say right now other to hold her daughter close, "K-kioko, it's alright baby. I k-know it's not easy, but give it time."
Mark seeing as she turned away and hid in her mother's arm, he slowly stood, looking as if he wanted to say more. But the words escaped him, wanting to console this girl who was his flesh and blood, instinct kicking in he never knew he had. As a man who saw little value in himself, and had only recently begun bringing meaning to his life, the girl before him was something he'd never dreamed he would ever have.
Kaine placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I for one, would like to get to know Kioko, as I imagine the old man here wants to find the words to say. This is a rather large shock for three of us here miss Itatski, but this is also a good thing. We've both been through hell and back, and have seen things we wish we hadn't, but having a sister brought in.....well it's one of those rare gems of a thing, that people like us rarely get, let alone cherish." Oddly being the most collected, Kaine was always the best at examining a situation, and finding the positive to focus on. "I know we just met, but I wouldn't mind a hug from a loved sister. I think one for the old man would be too."
She didn't have words, it was just too much and all her body language said so. But the tears, as a relief valve, were perfect in such a moment. Slowly they stopped and she just breathed, inhaling the familiar scent, trying to let it soothe her. Her ears twitched as he heard Kaine speaking, how coud he be so calm in such a moment? How could he sound all so resonable? That's how she should be, all calm and collected instead of an emotional mess like she was. But she couldn't do much: her relatively small world had just gained two new elements, elements of such an importance that they scrambled all the previous equilibrium. After the first shock, however, a little calm was coming back to her as she tried to rule the sea of emotions inside her. Slowly she peered from her mother's shoulder, her blue eyes peeking at the two men, trying to evaluate them, trying to get enough courage to move to the unknown they represented. She alone wasn't going to make the first step, that was clear.
Ichika gave Kioko a pat on the shoulder, giving the girl as reassuring smile as well, "Kio, I know I'm not the best person to say this after hiding you from each other. But, family matters, and is important for you as a person. Now you're a grown woman, but you've still got growing to do, and a long life ahead of you. I want you to be happy, and I think letting your father would be a great way to grow, and being happy. Even adults don't always make the best decisions, but I think having family to support you in your decisions is worth the effort. Go to them, you're father loves you and will continue to just as I do." The woman was still calm, and her words had a sureness to them she had yet to display in the previous coversation, but it was there and strong now. So with a nod, she gave the younger neko a nudge.
Mark having had time to recover, looked almost as nervous as she did, but not in a bad way. In fact, it was clear there was a note of eagerness to it, and that he was wanting this. Kaine remained quiet, but he still had a small hopeful smile on his face.
Her ears and tail twitched at her mother's words, how could she always sound all so calm and sure and just totally right? She looked at her before shifting her blue gaze to the two men stading in front of them; at least she wasn't the only one nervous. Small consolation.
As she got nudge she took half a step forward, kind of an unwillingly step but still one closer to bridge the distance, both in space and in mind present between them. There was now no space to hide, no mother to hide behind anymore. She had told herself she wanted to be like her sisters and more. She had told herself she wanted to be a strong, self assured woman. Then why she was cowering like a child?
Slowly she took another step closer to Mark, to her father. So this was the man from which she shared part of her genetic material. It was totally awkward, but such was the moment as she oh so shy put her arms on his shoulders in what should have been an hug.
Mark wasn't much better, but he slowly pulled Kioko into the embrace of a hug. At first, he had no idea of what to say, only just holding her there in her arms. "Hey kiddo, I'm sorry I haven't been there....but I'll make it up to you. I won't be able to thank your mother enough for giving the gift of having you as a daughter. And I know we've only just met, but I love you, and I want to be there when you need me. I hope you can forgive me in time.", he finally managed to say, a few tears rolling down his cheek. He was an old war weary soldier, and never in his imagination, did he ever think he get to have children of his own. As awkard and unused to having a reason to cry, he was happy he did now.
She was stiff into his arms, she wasn't the kind to hug everything and everyone usually; he could feel her stiffness but still she didn't retract as he slowly pulled her into an hug. It felt different than the way her mother, or her sisters, hugged her. Slowly she rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling his new and so different scent. Her ears twitched lightly as he spoke and she relaxed just a little into his arms. She wasn't sure how to reply, if a reply was needed at all.
"Hope I can get one of those two, not everyday you get a new sister. Guess that means I get to be the protective older brother now." Kaine said as he waited to the side, Ichika giving an eyeroll at it as she stood and smiled. Turning back to the father and daughter embrace, and said, "I told you he'd love. See, everything turned out alright, and now you don't have just me to hug."
Kioko shot a glance at Kaine as he spoke but otherwise she waited for her father to release her before she stood back and giving a light shrug: what Ichika said was true even if she still felt awkward. She turned to Kaine "I can usually take care of myself." she pouted in a light way, not angry but to more like to remind her now older brother she wasn't that much of a child. He was so bold, why he didn't take the initiative and hugged his little sister first then?
"That may be so, but I'm always going to watch out for you when I can. That being said, I hope you'll do the same for me someday when I'm grey and old. But until then, let's get along, and get to know each other as a family.", Kaine said before stepping in wrapping his arms around her, having just been waiting for his turn. He was almost identical to Mark in everyway save for attitude and age. "Kinda sad you probably won't get to meet Elisys today, but she's at work still. She be practically squealing with joy though when I tell her she has a sister in law."
Her pout turned into a little smile "I guess I can do that." the way Kaine put himself made her feel at easy somewhat; she didn't feel the same with her sisters, like they loved her but she still felt the child of the house who still had to demostrate she was adult. She hugged him back, feeling a little more confortable than before and putting Just a little less stiffness than before. "Elisys?!" she asked with a fine that really was "More family coming in?!" with just the right mix of curiosity and panic.
The man gave a chuckle, "Yeah, I'm married. Elisys is my wife, she's also someone who saved me a long time ago. Things just kinda fell into place there, though we never had a full wedding, but we're planning one. I'll send you an invitation when we have a date picked out." He said this while still hugging the girl, only pulling back slightly to pull up the ring on a chain out of his suit.
"Ah..." now she felt a child, she really did as Kaine explained his soon to be married status, he really was a big brother. The way he had approached her made her guess he was closer to her than he really was. Marrying wasn't even in her longest term plans, it wasn't in a plan altogether; after all she hadn't grown in a family excessively tied to certain customs. "Okay, I look forward to it." she said with a little smile as she looked at the ring and then back to him. She had never been to a wedding before and she doubted she would get a wedding course during her upcoming training. Oh well. She had time, hadn't she?
Kaine gave the neko one last hug before finally letting go, a reassuring smile still on his face as the ring was tucked back into his suit. "I'm sure you must have a hella lot of questions for us. Naturally of course, and we'll answer any that you might have. Ask anything you want to know about us.", Mark said giving Kaine a small pat on the arm. He hadn't actually bothered to unkneel yet, maybe because he was to distracted to think of the fact he was, or was aware and just left it as a after thought. In either case, he suspected the girl wanted to know as much as possible about them.
Kioko stood back as she was released feeling somewhat less panicked now. Her curiosity was indeed taking the place of her shock, her sharp mind getting analitical again: what they did in the military? Why they joined? And how did Mark met her mother? How Kaine met and was saved by Elysis? Why did Mark and her mother left each other? And why they talked so little? All such questions swirled in her mind as she tried to choose one. "How did you and mother met?" she ended up asking somewhat fearing the answer but being too curios now to stand back "And..." She glanced at her mother and let voice fade into silence.
"Well, I had hit a very difficult time months back. I was a depressive mess, and was looking for reasons to live more, or less. So I was sitting in the park just watching the park and thinking. Ichika was out on a run that day, and it started to rain, so I offered my coat and a ride home. Well, we got to talking and how our kids were both in the military. Next day, we both met up for a lunch date at a cafe, and well, one thing lead to another. We just kinda agreed in the end that the difference in branch and duty schedules would make anything after difficult, and that remaining friends would be best.", Mark admitteed as he retold how he and Kio's mother met, only having fondness in how he relayed the story.
Ichika nodded with that, agreeing in how it had been relayed, as well in how he described their reasons for not staying together. "Hmmm, very apt retelling, pretty much how everything happened and turned out. I know it may sound strange that we were only together for a day and a night, but it happens sometimes. Your oldest sister, also has gone through such, and that's how she got your niece Sachiko. Please forgive us for not being the most stable family Kio, but we're both here for you all the same, and love you just the same as if we were."
Kioko listened silently looking at Mark; her analitical mind was trying to evaluate the way he told the story while her emotional part simply melted for the fondness she perceived. The picture of a raining park, with him offering her mother the coat, it was the kind of scene that appeared in love films; it might have been cliché of sort but yet it was so lovely to think. She could see the reasoning behind the "one night stand" relathionship, military people never had it easy.
Her eyes drifted back to her mother as she picked up the conversation and she slowly nodded; only the twicth of her ears betrayed what was happening as she tried to fix her world again with the new data provided. And so her sister had a similar thing happening; well it was good to know some more details sometimes. She nodded as a little smile appeared to her lips, what was the point of holding a grudge on this? She could hold a grudge if she wanted to but she felt it was just going to be pointless and distracting if she wanted to point high. She now had a father, even if someone far away... somebodytoworry about, her cinical part said, but still someone she had missed for the first part of her life "I... understand." she said softly, or at least she hoped she did.
"I know it's strange we aren't together, and I am not the best dad, but I've survived a lot in my time in this world. You can ask Kaine, I've been through things most people shoulodn't even survive, and that carries a lot of weight when the others who were there with me didn't survive. For a long time, I felt alone and left behind, but your mother opened my eyes to those around me, and she also gave me you. It would be an understatement to say Ichika saved me." Mark gave a fond smile as he added this, placing a gentle hand on the neko's shoulder as he talked to her.
She knew she was in for some story and not a "easy" one. She was dead silent, eyes fixed on him, only her tail twitching from time to time as she listened intentively.
The military was her own choosen path but coming back from the dead was taken for granted in her life: you would die in the line of service but you knew you would be back to fight another day. That was the purpose and life of the Nekovalkyrja. Knowing that you could die without resurrrection was a scary prospect in the eyes of the young girl. It meant you could not come back and finish what you started.
She never interrupted him, her breath barely hearable as she let him flow.
How would she react if she saw a clone of herself standing in front of her? The same as her but yet different, with different thinking? A clone yet a self-identified person? She wasn't fully sure. She kind of hoped she didn't have to face such a dilemma.
And the way he met her mother was just so sweet... such a hardened man, burdened with his own history but still capable of such a sweet and selfless gesture as to offer a running woman his coat in a rainy day. The appearance of Ichika had been a ray of sun in the cloudy landscape of his life, a ray of sun that had been able to spark new life in the cold and void wasteland that was his insides.
She slowly nodded as he finally stopped retelling his story. She breathed as she tried to file everything in her mind; it made her reflect, think on her line of work, on what could happen, on how things could develop. She slowly took a step forward, hugging him softly. "Thank you." she whispered softly.
The embrace was likewise, returned wholeheartedly, giving the child he had only just met a hug worth all those he had missed out on being able to give. "I know this might be weird coming from a dad you barely know, but... Kioko, live happy, and do something you can be proud of. Me and your mother will be here, with a home whenever you need it, and we'll keep in touch. Plus, you have family enlisted along side you as I understand, so you've always got someone to call on, on either side of this sector. I know you'll do me proud."
She shivered at the hug, at the emotions she felt conveyed in it. She let it go for a long moment before she pulled back. She nodded "I will, Father." she said bowing, a shy, yet proud smile appearing on her lips. She was going to make him and her mother proud, to show her sisters she could be as good as they were... if not even better.
Mark and Itchaka waved at their daughter proudly as she departed, Mark having a subtle tear falling to the cheek, something few had known him ever to do. But this was one of the happiest days of the man's wayward life, even if only the briefest of encounters. Quietly he sent a prayer up to whatever god he hoped would take it, as the transport could be seen leaving the port in the distance a little while later.
Park - 1200 hours
It was getting colder as winter approached on the rather verdant and still very alien world. The inhabitants of this young nation prepared for their second winter on their new world. However, some of them had other things on their minds, like Ichika Itatski. As a few others waited for similar reasons, today had an extra one as she stood with her daughter Kioko. The neko girl was due to ship out today, destined for star army training like her sisters before, but the doting and worry wort that was her mother made her wait. "It's almost time, I wanted you to meet someone before you left. I thought it would be important for you to get to talk to him.", Ichika said looking back from the main gate in the distance, seen down the main street, and back to her daughter.
She was standing beside her mother, rigid and straight like a soldier should. It was the time she both feared and looked forward to: the time to join the Star Army training. She was keeping the fear properly in check, nothing showing on her pale face, only a slight fidgeting in her hands betraying the presence of emotions. The time she could prove herself, the time to not just be the little Kioko, the youngest of the family, was looming on the horizon; she could show she was as good as her sisters, if not better. Her mother's words drove her back to reality, her eyes focusing back on her; as strange as it was, by comparison she feared talking to him more than joining the army. Ichika had never talked about him much, in fact she hadn't mentioned him at all even now, but Kioko had guessed such "him" could only be her father, there wasn't another explanation she could think of. He had never been there through her growth, just a far-away ghost father of sort, but now... now such ghost was becoming real, as real as flesh and blood could be. She nodded slowly "Yes, Mother." her voice was steady, she tried it to be. Was he going to recognize her? Was he going to ignore her? Was he... she breathed pushing thoughts away. "Calm." she told herself as she too looked down the main street.
A chime sounded from the gate in the distance as the large blast doors that once sealed starship hangars, and now acted as the gates to pass through the city's armored wall, opened. Two rows of armed vehicles, rolled into the city, adorned with the military's insignias. Tanks followed by APCs laden with troops and mechanized heavy suits of power armor trundling along as they slowly progressed into the city. The soldiers whose faces could be seen, were weary from battle, but happy to be home. As they began to pass, Ichika looked to each one, checking ID tags digitally as she did until settling on one towards the rear with a small smile. "Kioko, I never told you this, and I hope you forgive me some day for it. I never actually told your father of your birth, a habit I've seemed to fail to shake, even when your sisters were born. Please do not hate him for lacking in presence, but it's complicated, as we were never together as a couple. Your father is a man driven by duty, and a fine soldier, no doubt like I know you'll be."
Kioko watched in silence as the troops started marching in: vehicles, power armors, troops. She had seen all of it before one way or another but it still kind of awed her. She waited in silence half a step beside her mother as she checked on each trooper and she knew he had found him when that small smile appeared. Her eyes darting to try pinpoint him as well. However, she didn't fully expected such a confession: her eyes widened a little and to her mother her surprise was clear. Did that... changed everything? She had always guessed he didn't care for her or he was just to busy with being a soldier to talk to them. It felt... not something a good father should do but... if he did it because of his duty, he could be somewhat forgiven, couldn't he? However, such revelation threw all her mental constructs in disarray. "Why you never did?" she asked softly, as she tried to organize her own feelings: did she feel hurt by her mother's conduct? Would his presence had made things different? The absence of emotions was kind of broke now and her mother could see her dauther was in a moment of turnoil as everything piled up inside her mind. For once, the praise for which she died for, went mostly unnoticed. So he wasn't going to recognize her and come running to hug her as she had seen other soldiers do after a long time away... She shut her eyes, where her calm had gone now that she most needed it... she was soldier, she had to be calm and calculative... but she couldn't get to it...
A gentle hand was rested on the young neko's shoulder, "Please understand honey, that sometimes we let things like duty get in the way, and I felt that having two parents both enlisted. Would be a terrible burden on the other if one of us passed. I never wanted to leave that weight on his shoulders when he already carries so much, but I realize now that was never fair to you. He's a good man, and I promise he will love you. So will your older brother, he's actually with him now."
When she felt that hand resting on her shoulder Kioko's first reaction was to try shrug it off, she was feeling a little without control at that point but then, she knew her mother was, from a certain point of view, not wrong. Her ears flicked at the mention of how much he already carried. Her more analytical side was now curious to know, to get a better picture to think on while her emotional side was just writhing in an emotional struggle. If meeting her father was already a tough matter, when an older brother came in the picture, it felt her like a blow "O-Older brother?!" her eyes grew noticibly wide. Having to cope with two achieved sisters was already hard enough on her and now... now she had just found out she had a brother... a bigger brother... for a moment she wished she could just.... disappear.
As the men approached, Ichika waved and called out their names, both turning to see the nekos standing there. Both left the column to give a small jog as they crossed over to them, helmets tucked under there arms. Both looked identical save for the older of the two carried scars, and the younger was almost a younger duplicate of the first. "Oh hey Miss Itatski, the operation was a success mor- urk!", The younger one who must have been the brother was given a hard pat on his armored back.
"Can it on that Kaine, I doubt Ichika wants to hear about the usual shit we do, she does the same remember.", Mark commented after he patted with a roll of the eyes before addressing the ladies, "What the boy means to say is nice it went well and everyone made it home. But more importantly, how are you doing today, and who's your friend here...miss?" He turned to the younger neko as he inquired her name, a small smile in greeting offered, if albeit tired from duty.
Ichika cleared her throat, "First of all, good, and it's good everyone did. Makes returning home that much more enjoyable, and I hear you and Jill are getting along well. And likewise Kaine, I hear you and miss Elisys will be tying the knot soon. Maybe you can invite your younger sister here to the wedding."
First instinct: run. Second instinct: run even faster. However, there was nowhere she could run. Her eyes were kind of wide as she watched the two men approach, one the younger version of the other. "S-so that's t-them..." she thought, trying to compose herself enough, she was going to be a soldier, she couldn't panic for a family reunion. Yet, she was pretty sure she didn't look that much emotionless and calm as she wished she would. He was her father... and her older brother... a brother... and a father... When the older man spoke to her, she felt like everyone was watching her, judging her, pinpointing her. With such a pale complexion it was practically impossible to hide the warming of her cheeks when it happened... and it did happen and not the soft kind. She opened her mouth to speak and just got through her first name that her mother cleared her throat, her eyes darted to her as she spoke before darting back to the two men. The time was now.
It was if time froze, a faint nervous chuckle emanating from Kaine, "Damn, I thought I was dodging bombshells out there." he mumbled with a small look of shock. Mark wasn't fairing much better, as he quickly looked to Ichika, then back to Kioko. "That n-ight? And you only now tell me?", Mark said rather calmly, "She's a full grown woman, and I haven't been a father in her life for even thirty seconds....Ichika, what the hell. Maybe I would have liked to know I have a daughter you know."
"Well now you do, and I didn't want to worry you. Besides, I only found out when you were in the hospital, I couldn't exactly see you while you were recovering. Yeah, looking back, maybe wasn't the best information to withold.", Ichika said in her defense as she pulled Kioko a bit closer to her side.
Mark looked to Kioko again with a pained look before dropping to his knees as if to ask for forgiveness, "I am so sorry Kioko, If I had known....You're already grown into a woman, and I'm only just learning your name. I-I don't know what your mother has told you about me, but I'm Mark Tazar,..your father."
Kioko could only watch as the two men became as shocked as her. Her eyes darting between her mother, always so calm even in such a moment and the two men now part of her family. She wanted to shrink away and just... not see, not think, but it wasn't a valid option. She was stiff, nearly thrembling into her mother's grasp. She was feeling like all her world was being shaken and turned around in a mad play.
When Mark dropped on his knees in front of her, she stared at him, registering his words syllable by syllable but unable to move, her mind in complete override. What should she say? That she was happy to see him? That her mother never told her much? That she didn't know what to say? Confusion reigned in her mind; she hadn't been prepared for this, there was nothing she could go back and use as an example. She had to do something, she knew that much, but what? What?! She didn't know. She hid into her mother's shoulder, pressing herself against the last thing she still thought she knew. The weight of the emotions crushing her down, her sight darkened by her mother's clothes blurring as few soft salty tears fells in the fabric. All her composure was lost to the emotions.
Ichika wasn't sure to say right now other to hold her daughter close, "K-kioko, it's alright baby. I k-know it's not easy, but give it time."
Mark seeing as she turned away and hid in her mother's arm, he slowly stood, looking as if he wanted to say more. But the words escaped him, wanting to console this girl who was his flesh and blood, instinct kicking in he never knew he had. As a man who saw little value in himself, and had only recently begun bringing meaning to his life, the girl before him was something he'd never dreamed he would ever have.
Kaine placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I for one, would like to get to know Kioko, as I imagine the old man here wants to find the words to say. This is a rather large shock for three of us here miss Itatski, but this is also a good thing. We've both been through hell and back, and have seen things we wish we hadn't, but having a sister brought in.....well it's one of those rare gems of a thing, that people like us rarely get, let alone cherish." Oddly being the most collected, Kaine was always the best at examining a situation, and finding the positive to focus on. "I know we just met, but I wouldn't mind a hug from a loved sister. I think one for the old man would be too."
She didn't have words, it was just too much and all her body language said so. But the tears, as a relief valve, were perfect in such a moment. Slowly they stopped and she just breathed, inhaling the familiar scent, trying to let it soothe her. Her ears twitched as he heard Kaine speaking, how coud he be so calm in such a moment? How could he sound all so resonable? That's how she should be, all calm and collected instead of an emotional mess like she was. But she couldn't do much: her relatively small world had just gained two new elements, elements of such an importance that they scrambled all the previous equilibrium. After the first shock, however, a little calm was coming back to her as she tried to rule the sea of emotions inside her. Slowly she peered from her mother's shoulder, her blue eyes peeking at the two men, trying to evaluate them, trying to get enough courage to move to the unknown they represented. She alone wasn't going to make the first step, that was clear.
Ichika gave Kioko a pat on the shoulder, giving the girl as reassuring smile as well, "Kio, I know I'm not the best person to say this after hiding you from each other. But, family matters, and is important for you as a person. Now you're a grown woman, but you've still got growing to do, and a long life ahead of you. I want you to be happy, and I think letting your father would be a great way to grow, and being happy. Even adults don't always make the best decisions, but I think having family to support you in your decisions is worth the effort. Go to them, you're father loves you and will continue to just as I do." The woman was still calm, and her words had a sureness to them she had yet to display in the previous coversation, but it was there and strong now. So with a nod, she gave the younger neko a nudge.
Mark having had time to recover, looked almost as nervous as she did, but not in a bad way. In fact, it was clear there was a note of eagerness to it, and that he was wanting this. Kaine remained quiet, but he still had a small hopeful smile on his face.
Her ears and tail twitched at her mother's words, how could she always sound all so calm and sure and just totally right? She looked at her before shifting her blue gaze to the two men stading in front of them; at least she wasn't the only one nervous. Small consolation.
As she got nudge she took half a step forward, kind of an unwillingly step but still one closer to bridge the distance, both in space and in mind present between them. There was now no space to hide, no mother to hide behind anymore. She had told herself she wanted to be like her sisters and more. She had told herself she wanted to be a strong, self assured woman. Then why she was cowering like a child?
Slowly she took another step closer to Mark, to her father. So this was the man from which she shared part of her genetic material. It was totally awkward, but such was the moment as she oh so shy put her arms on his shoulders in what should have been an hug.
Mark wasn't much better, but he slowly pulled Kioko into the embrace of a hug. At first, he had no idea of what to say, only just holding her there in her arms. "Hey kiddo, I'm sorry I haven't been there....but I'll make it up to you. I won't be able to thank your mother enough for giving the gift of having you as a daughter. And I know we've only just met, but I love you, and I want to be there when you need me. I hope you can forgive me in time.", he finally managed to say, a few tears rolling down his cheek. He was an old war weary soldier, and never in his imagination, did he ever think he get to have children of his own. As awkard and unused to having a reason to cry, he was happy he did now.
She was stiff into his arms, she wasn't the kind to hug everything and everyone usually; he could feel her stiffness but still she didn't retract as he slowly pulled her into an hug. It felt different than the way her mother, or her sisters, hugged her. Slowly she rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling his new and so different scent. Her ears twitched lightly as he spoke and she relaxed just a little into his arms. She wasn't sure how to reply, if a reply was needed at all.
"Hope I can get one of those two, not everyday you get a new sister. Guess that means I get to be the protective older brother now." Kaine said as he waited to the side, Ichika giving an eyeroll at it as she stood and smiled. Turning back to the father and daughter embrace, and said, "I told you he'd love. See, everything turned out alright, and now you don't have just me to hug."
Kioko shot a glance at Kaine as he spoke but otherwise she waited for her father to release her before she stood back and giving a light shrug: what Ichika said was true even if she still felt awkward. She turned to Kaine "I can usually take care of myself." she pouted in a light way, not angry but to more like to remind her now older brother she wasn't that much of a child. He was so bold, why he didn't take the initiative and hugged his little sister first then?
"That may be so, but I'm always going to watch out for you when I can. That being said, I hope you'll do the same for me someday when I'm grey and old. But until then, let's get along, and get to know each other as a family.", Kaine said before stepping in wrapping his arms around her, having just been waiting for his turn. He was almost identical to Mark in everyway save for attitude and age. "Kinda sad you probably won't get to meet Elisys today, but she's at work still. She be practically squealing with joy though when I tell her she has a sister in law."
Her pout turned into a little smile "I guess I can do that." the way Kaine put himself made her feel at easy somewhat; she didn't feel the same with her sisters, like they loved her but she still felt the child of the house who still had to demostrate she was adult. She hugged him back, feeling a little more confortable than before and putting Just a little less stiffness than before. "Elisys?!" she asked with a fine that really was "More family coming in?!" with just the right mix of curiosity and panic.
The man gave a chuckle, "Yeah, I'm married. Elisys is my wife, she's also someone who saved me a long time ago. Things just kinda fell into place there, though we never had a full wedding, but we're planning one. I'll send you an invitation when we have a date picked out." He said this while still hugging the girl, only pulling back slightly to pull up the ring on a chain out of his suit.
"Ah..." now she felt a child, she really did as Kaine explained his soon to be married status, he really was a big brother. The way he had approached her made her guess he was closer to her than he really was. Marrying wasn't even in her longest term plans, it wasn't in a plan altogether; after all she hadn't grown in a family excessively tied to certain customs. "Okay, I look forward to it." she said with a little smile as she looked at the ring and then back to him. She had never been to a wedding before and she doubted she would get a wedding course during her upcoming training. Oh well. She had time, hadn't she?
Kaine gave the neko one last hug before finally letting go, a reassuring smile still on his face as the ring was tucked back into his suit. "I'm sure you must have a hella lot of questions for us. Naturally of course, and we'll answer any that you might have. Ask anything you want to know about us.", Mark said giving Kaine a small pat on the arm. He hadn't actually bothered to unkneel yet, maybe because he was to distracted to think of the fact he was, or was aware and just left it as a after thought. In either case, he suspected the girl wanted to know as much as possible about them.
Kioko stood back as she was released feeling somewhat less panicked now. Her curiosity was indeed taking the place of her shock, her sharp mind getting analitical again: what they did in the military? Why they joined? And how did Mark met her mother? How Kaine met and was saved by Elysis? Why did Mark and her mother left each other? And why they talked so little? All such questions swirled in her mind as she tried to choose one. "How did you and mother met?" she ended up asking somewhat fearing the answer but being too curios now to stand back "And..." She glanced at her mother and let voice fade into silence.
"Well, I had hit a very difficult time months back. I was a depressive mess, and was looking for reasons to live more, or less. So I was sitting in the park just watching the park and thinking. Ichika was out on a run that day, and it started to rain, so I offered my coat and a ride home. Well, we got to talking and how our kids were both in the military. Next day, we both met up for a lunch date at a cafe, and well, one thing lead to another. We just kinda agreed in the end that the difference in branch and duty schedules would make anything after difficult, and that remaining friends would be best.", Mark admitteed as he retold how he and Kio's mother met, only having fondness in how he relayed the story.
Ichika nodded with that, agreeing in how it had been relayed, as well in how he described their reasons for not staying together. "Hmmm, very apt retelling, pretty much how everything happened and turned out. I know it may sound strange that we were only together for a day and a night, but it happens sometimes. Your oldest sister, also has gone through such, and that's how she got your niece Sachiko. Please forgive us for not being the most stable family Kio, but we're both here for you all the same, and love you just the same as if we were."
Kioko listened silently looking at Mark; her analitical mind was trying to evaluate the way he told the story while her emotional part simply melted for the fondness she perceived. The picture of a raining park, with him offering her mother the coat, it was the kind of scene that appeared in love films; it might have been cliché of sort but yet it was so lovely to think. She could see the reasoning behind the "one night stand" relathionship, military people never had it easy.
Her eyes drifted back to her mother as she picked up the conversation and she slowly nodded; only the twicth of her ears betrayed what was happening as she tried to fix her world again with the new data provided. And so her sister had a similar thing happening; well it was good to know some more details sometimes. She nodded as a little smile appeared to her lips, what was the point of holding a grudge on this? She could hold a grudge if she wanted to but she felt it was just going to be pointless and distracting if she wanted to point high. She now had a father, even if someone far away... somebodytoworry about, her cinical part said, but still someone she had missed for the first part of her life "I... understand." she said softly, or at least she hoped she did.
"I know it's strange we aren't together, and I am not the best dad, but I've survived a lot in my time in this world. You can ask Kaine, I've been through things most people shoulodn't even survive, and that carries a lot of weight when the others who were there with me didn't survive. For a long time, I felt alone and left behind, but your mother opened my eyes to those around me, and she also gave me you. It would be an understatement to say Ichika saved me." Mark gave a fond smile as he added this, placing a gentle hand on the neko's shoulder as he talked to her.
She knew she was in for some story and not a "easy" one. She was dead silent, eyes fixed on him, only her tail twitching from time to time as she listened intentively.
The military was her own choosen path but coming back from the dead was taken for granted in her life: you would die in the line of service but you knew you would be back to fight another day. That was the purpose and life of the Nekovalkyrja. Knowing that you could die without resurrrection was a scary prospect in the eyes of the young girl. It meant you could not come back and finish what you started.
She never interrupted him, her breath barely hearable as she let him flow.
How would she react if she saw a clone of herself standing in front of her? The same as her but yet different, with different thinking? A clone yet a self-identified person? She wasn't fully sure. She kind of hoped she didn't have to face such a dilemma.
And the way he met her mother was just so sweet... such a hardened man, burdened with his own history but still capable of such a sweet and selfless gesture as to offer a running woman his coat in a rainy day. The appearance of Ichika had been a ray of sun in the cloudy landscape of his life, a ray of sun that had been able to spark new life in the cold and void wasteland that was his insides.
She slowly nodded as he finally stopped retelling his story. She breathed as she tried to file everything in her mind; it made her reflect, think on her line of work, on what could happen, on how things could develop. She slowly took a step forward, hugging him softly. "Thank you." she whispered softly.
The embrace was likewise, returned wholeheartedly, giving the child he had only just met a hug worth all those he had missed out on being able to give. "I know this might be weird coming from a dad you barely know, but... Kioko, live happy, and do something you can be proud of. Me and your mother will be here, with a home whenever you need it, and we'll keep in touch. Plus, you have family enlisted along side you as I understand, so you've always got someone to call on, on either side of this sector. I know you'll do me proud."
She shivered at the hug, at the emotions she felt conveyed in it. She let it go for a long moment before she pulled back. She nodded "I will, Father." she said bowing, a shy, yet proud smile appearing on her lips. She was going to make him and her mother proud, to show her sisters she could be as good as they were... if not even better.
Mark and Itchaka waved at their daughter proudly as she departed, Mark having a subtle tear falling to the cheek, something few had known him ever to do. But this was one of the happiest days of the man's wayward life, even if only the briefest of encounters. Quietly he sent a prayer up to whatever god he hoped would take it, as the transport could be seen leaving the port in the distance a little while later.
