Ark 20 Episode 45: Connection Through a Bite

Suzume: :: She had been working a couple of weeks now for Nadine at the book store and getting into the groove of things. As Suzume made her walk to the store after school as she had every day now since Nadine had hired her. She had been feeling very drained for the past couple of days, and all through school that day she hadn't felt well at all. She thought maybe she was coming down with the flu or something. She pushed open the door to Once Upon a Time, in District 2 the bell ringing as she stepped through.:: "Hey, kid how was school?" ::Nadine asked, she was up on a ladder putting books up on a high shelf. Suzume didn't really understand why, no one would be able to look at them up there unless they used the ladder and they definitely weren't going to bother doing that to buy them. Suzume had come to the conclusion that the store was more of a personal library for Nadine, instead of an actual store. She was only willing to sell certain items in the store and when she didn't want someone to find a book she really wanted to keep she would put them up on the highest shelves.::   :It was school I guess..."   ::Nadine came down from the ladder.:: "Suzu are you feeling alright, you look kind of pale." :: The older woman put the palm of her hand on Suzume's forehead feeling to see if she was running a temp. Suzume gave an awkward smile, it was a very motherly move on Nadine's part something she hadn't expected from her.:: "Well... I've just been feeling a little under the weather... I'll be fine." :: Nadine took her hand from Suzume's head.:: "Well you don't feel warm, are you sure you don't want to go home? It's not like I can't run the place by myself if you're not well."   ::Suzume shook her head.:: "No I'm fine, and I really want to work... its more of a stress relief for me to come here than it is an actual job."   ::Nadine smiled really big.:: "Well I'm glad you like it here, I felt the same way when I worked at the library. Anyway, if you don't mind I got a shipment in this morning and I'd really like to set up a display here on the end cap of this aisle. You think you can get it looking nice for me. Don't stress over it too much, just use your imagination and make it look how you think it should. I know you wont make it look dumb, but don't forget that if someone comes in that it's more important to help them than it is to get this finished today."   ::Suzume nodded.:: "Sure, I think I can manage that."   ::Nadine patted her on the shoulder, and headed to her office leaving Suzume out front in the store to organize the display.::

Akiko:  Bringing the collar of her jacket up closer to her neck, Akiko walked down the sidewalk towards her apartment. School was becoming a very monotonous part of her life, with everything that has been happening she just could not find school interesting anymore. Instead of focusing on her studies Akiko spent most of her time reading and trying to grasp a better knowledge of her abilities. She was flying through her unread books, they were the only thing that seemed to quiet the growling of the beast inside of her. –Maybe the beast enjoys a well written book as well- As Akiko thought to herself she could feel the beast inside of her brush its fur against her arm. –Yep, definitely must love a good book now and then- Brushing her hair out of her face she peers up at an interesting sign across the street. “Once Upon a Time, I do need the latest book in the Mercy Thompson series.”  She laughs to herself, here she was talking about buying the latest book in a shape shifting series and she was one of those creatures that she always read about. Looking both ways, she stepped into the road and made her way towards the small bookstore. Opening up the door, a small chime sounded, probably to alert the employees that someone walked into the store. When strolling into the building, Akiko slipped off her gloves and shoved them into her pockets. She left her hands in her pockets as she sauntered over to the shelves holding the fantasy books. Akiko was very focused on looking through the different authors, looking for anything by Patricia Briggs, J. R. Ward, and Terry Spear. –I might have to sneak over to the romance section and look for some more Cherise Sinclair books.-  Every girl needed a guilty pleasure here and there.

Suzume: ::Akiko was sure to find all manner of book on the shelves she was looking through. Nadine kept the store stocked with all sorts of genre's and authors. Well at least the one's she deemed worthy of putting in her store. Nadine, tended to stay away from allot of the trendy books. She really had a dislike for the Pale Moonlight series (basically Twilight xD lol) However if it was an author who was well known for writing really good books, she probably had some of their books in the store somewhere. Suzume heard the ringing of the door, however there wasn't the sound of someone saying hello. Suzume stopped what she was doing with the display to find whomever entered. She looked down each aisle of books, shelves almost up to the ceiling of the store. She came across the fantasy section to find Akiko... Suzume felt that slight pang jealousy hit when she made eye contact with the girl. It seemed to her that Akiko had been seeing more of her boyfriend recently than she had. However Suzume had never been the type to be rude to someone right off the bat. But as she thought about it... she had been a little rude to the girl when Kin had introduced them at school. She also had not really made an effort to get to know her either. Now here she was in the store, Suzume internal sighed and figured she should do her job. Clearing her throat, she stood in the aisle with Akiko.:: "Is there something I can help you with?" ::She asked politely.::

 

Akiko:  As Akiko was scanning the rows for J.R.Ward, she could hear someone shuffling around the book store. Taking a deep breath in, the scent of the person slinked into her nose. She was familiar with the scent that invaded her senses, she had smelled it before. As the scent processed in her mind, Suzume turned the corner. Akiko stared straight at her, unsure of how this was going to all play out. She still remembers watching how close Kin and Suzume were at the presentation at school. Listening to her question Akiko looked down at the Patricia Briggs book that rested in her hands. “Oh, hello Suzume,  I don’t know if you remember me but I am Akiko from school. Umm Kin introduced us after the presentation on the first day of school.”  She out stretched her hand towards Suzume, wanting to be as warm as possible to her. “ Well, I am looking for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. “ Akiko stared at the rows of books, thinking to herself. –Oh man, I had to pick the same book store that Kin’s girlfriend works at. Did she know what he was? What if she didn’t? What if she did? Does she know what I am? Maybe I could try to sneak the subject in. - Akiko looked back at Suzume and smiled sweetly at her. ‘Well I am also looking for some folklore books and am not quite sure where to find those.”  Looking down at the shorter girl, Akiko realized just how much she wanted to be friends with her. She remembered how nervous she was when she first met Suzume; she had no idea what to talk about with the other girl.

Suzume:  ::The girl seemed pretty nervous about something. But when she asked where a certain series was, Suzume could only assume that Nadine had it somewhere on the higher shelves not in eyesight.:: "Hold on let me check something out?"
 * Suzume, left the girl in the aisle for a moment went to get the wheeled

ladder that Nadine was using before and pushed it over to where Akiko was.:: "Nadine likes to put books she really likes up on the higher shelves. I know what you're thinking if she wanted someone to buy it why the heck would she put it up there. And I don't know how to answer that, cause... Nadine's one of those... special type of people. You know the ones that kind of live in their own reality and don't realize that the real world is going on around them." ::Suzume locked the wheels, and pushed the ladder against the shelf and began to step up the ladder.:: "Let's see.... J.R Ward..." ::She continued to climb her eyes scanning the shelves as she went up. She got up to the top and of course found the section that Nadine had set aside for J.R Ward. It was a fairly extensive section.:: "Here it is Black Dagger Brotherhood. Which one are you looking for cause it looks like she has the whole series?" ::Suzume said glancing down at Akiko, from what she could sense the girl seemed fairly nice. But she could smell Kin all over this girl, she wasn't sure what that meant... but it bothered her a little.::

Akiko:  Akiko stepped back out of the way as Suzume wheeled the ladder up to the rack that contained a huge stack of books resting at the top of the shelves. -How were the customers suppose to get to those books- Right as she thought it, Suzume answered her question. –Nadine must be the owner of the bookstore. “Well I know how I am with my books; I do not even let others borrow my books because I treasure them so much. We all have something that makes us different; some of us just know how to keep it hidden better.”  Watching as Suzume climbed higher on the ladder, Akiko felt sorry that she had caused Suzume to go through so much work looking for a book that she was only going to read for pleasure. “The book is called The King. It is the twelfth book in the Black Dagger series, reading the books allow me to escape reality and jump into something so unlike our world”   -But I guess now our world was just like the books I read. Kin was a Lycan and Jackie was something else. -  Akiko looked up at Suzume and smiled, but she could sense that she was assessing her for some reason. She wondered what kind of vibe she was putting off. “ So, what made you want to work at a bookstore? I think all of my paycheck would go right back into the bookstore.”  Akiko honestly wanted to get to know more about Suzume, she found her very fascinating.

Suzume:  ::Suzume listened to Akiko, talk about her love for books and she nodded.:: "Yeah Nadine's pretty cool once you get to know her well. Let's see, The King... hmmm. Ah, here it is." ::The book was just out of arms reach for Suzume, so she leaned over a little letting her hang from the top of the ladder. Unfortunately the ladder shook slightly, the motion actually made Suzume's head spin a little and she jerked back to put both her hands back onto the ladder. Her head thudded for a second or two, Suzume stood there atop the ladder and rubbed the bridge of her nose. After finally shaking off the dizzy spell a little she reached out again and managed to grab the book with the tips of her fingers.:: "Got it..." ::She began to come down slowly her head still a little swimmy.:: "I love books and reading honestly... but the reason I wanted to work here, was to relieve stress. Allots happened lately... and being here kind of helps me feel.... somewhat normal again." ::She handed Akiko the book.:: "Excuse me for a minute I need to grab my water bottle. As for the folklore books you were asking about, have a whole section to themselves, guess Nadine's into that sort of thing." ::She knew that there was something different about Akiko she could sense it.:: "It's right over there, I'll be there at the end cap setting up a display. The aisle is right next to it." ::Suzume started to head over to the end cap, she picked up the bottle then turned back to Akiko.:: "So... what kind of folklore are you looking for?"

Akiko:  Akiko watched as Suzume stretched out, trying to reach the book that she had wanted. As the ladder started to shake, she stuck out her foot slightly to rest it on the ladder. As the ladder steadied, she studies as Suzume gripped onto the ladder quickly, she appeared to be very dizzy by the motion of the ladder. She nodded as she agreed with Suzume’s reasoning for working at the book store. “It is good that you found a place you can come to, to feel normal and just relax.”  Akiko took the book from Suzume but did not take her eyes off of her. “Thank you again ,  I really appreciate you help with finding me this book. Maybe you should sit down for a little, you look a little shaken up.”  She could tell that something was going on internally with Suzume; now that she looked closely she did not look so well. “Take your time, I will head over to the section and see if I can find what I am looking for.”  Akiko followed her as they walked farther into the store; Akiko had no idea just how big the shop was. It had looked so tiny from outside. Akiko walked into the aisle that Suzume had said was the folklore section. She scanned over the spines of the books, reading the titles. “Well I am looking for some books about lycanthropy and possible a book about Oni’s.”  Akiko help up the book by Patricia Briggs. “I have become pretty interested in mythical creatures, must be the books that I am reading.”  She wanted to see if the two subjects would spark any interest in Suzume.

Suzume:  ::Suzume nodded to the girl, sitting on the edge of the table.:: "Yeah... I've been a little... off for the past couple of weeks. But I'm alright... Lycanthropy and Oni's... well let’s see." ::She pushed off the edge of the table and headed into the aisle. Suzume glanced over the spines of the book, not without side glancing at Akiko.:: "I imagine... with you spending so much time with Kin.... You'd be at least curious about those sorts of things." ::Even saying the sentence made Suzume anger start to stir. Surly, Akiko would be able to sense the increase in Suzume's chi. If not it would be obvious that the young woman was clenching her teeth as she looked over the spines of the books in front of her. Suzume would pull one book and then the another.:: "Here... I got both of those when I was wondering about that sort of thing myself. When I first.... nevermind." ::Suzume turned sharply and was about to just walk away in a huff. But it dawned her that this whole time that Kin had been working with Akiko... Kin had reassured her every thing was fine... that would include something like romance or... other things. Also she didn't really know Akiko's side of the story either. So instead of jumping to conclusions, Suzume stopped and took a breath, trying to drop her chi. She then turned back to Akiko.:: "Listen... I'm trying not to seem like a bitch... but Kin is my boyfriend after all. He really doesn't tell me much that goes on between you two. But I trust him, I think he just leaves things out cause he's afraid I'll worry about him. So... what is the thing between you two. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to I understand. Kin and I are... very close, and it just-" ::She sighed, she could almost feel the hint of tears burning her eyes but she managed to keep them at bay.:: "I just get... kind of jealous knowing, that you sometimes see him more than I do. A girl can't help but to assume things are going on.... even if they're not."

Akiko:  Akiko stalked behind Suzume, spying on what books she was pulling out as she spoke. Right after mentioning Kin, Akiko’s senses were hit by a waft of an unnatural presence. As her eyes focused on Suzume’s she got the answer to her earlier questions. Suzume did know about Kin and she was obviously something else. Akiko stepped back, giving her some room she was still unsure of what Suzume was capable of. The books were shoved into Akiko’s hands, she could sense that Suzume was upset and she wanted to make things right between them. Her eyes softened as Suzume turned around to look at her. Akiko’s beast rose within her, the creature was whimpering in her head. –Settle down, we can take care of this but I need your help. -  Taking a deep breath in, Akiko wanted to make sure that she chose her words carefully. She made sure that she looked behind her, trying to see if anyone else was in the store. When she looked back at Suzume, her eyes were glowing a bright red. “Well it appears that there is no way around this. I know that Kin and I are spending a lot of time together but that is only because he is teaching me to control the beast that I was given. Kin is the one that bit me and made me into a Lycan.”  Using her heightened ability of smell, Akiko leaned towards Suzume and took in a sniff. “Smells like Kin did something to you as well, but it is different. I cannot quite put my finger on it.”  Akiko stepped back and leaned a hip against the end cap. She looked down at her feet, and then back up at Suzume, her eyes returned back to their ice blue color. “And to reassure you, there is nothing inappropriate going on between Kin and I, and he was always honest about having a girlfriend. He is just helping me through a very strange and rough time in my life.”

Suzume:  ::Suzume sighed.:: "Yes... he bit me... but it was an accident, and... its a little different in my case. But why.... did he bite you?" ::Suzume was all kinds of confused, she had always thought that Kin feared passing his curse on to someone else. But Akiko was telling the truth, Suzume could tell. She leaned back against the shelf, slid down and sat on the floor in front of the tall book case.:: "Here give me those books and I'll try to help you as much as I can about it. Ask.. away."

Akiko:  Akiko slid down and sat down beside her. “My life has not be the greatest,  I think Kin could see that. I think he could also see that I could be something more, something stronger. I have always wanted to help this city but never had the strength. I now have the strength, I can now help make a difference.”  Akiko could feel her beast inside puff up. –Yes, yes you made me a better person.-  The beast huffed and settled back down. Akiko handed Suzume back the books. “Well, I have been in my half form but Kin had something about shifting fully and being out of control. How do I stay in control?”   Akiko looks down at her lap, she lays her hands on the floor.

Suzume:    ::Suzume started to turn the pages of the book.:: "It's seems like an extreme way to want to make a difference. It just seems so odd to me that he would do that, for the longest time Kin was fearful of the Oni and what it could do to the people he cared for. In a way he still does... but... since his sister died... he's been different. As for me being turned... well I wasn't exactly turned per say. Like I said it was different in my case, certain circumstances were in play... and now I'm... a onihoruda"   ::She didn't want to go into detail, especially since she wasn't exactly sure if she was pregnant yet. But Suzume had to admit it was nice to have someone to talk about these sort of things with. Sian understood, being an onihoruda herself. But... Sian often times tried to mother Suzume and many times she didn't want to talk about things with her because she would become worried. Epically when it came to romantic things between her and Kin.:: "I don't think any of these books have anything about staying in control... for a while Kin was unable to stay in control either. There were a couple of instances when...I had to step in and try to stop him. It used to be I could always manage to snap him out of it, if he got to the point were he might hurt someone. But now... he doesn't worry about taking a life any more. It... can be very frightening... sometimes. I understand his want and need to protect the innocent... but it's hard for me to understand.... why he would drop himself down to the level of many of the people he's trying to protect the innocent from." ::She looked at Akiko.:: "What do you think... do you think that it's right to kill someone if they've done something wrong?" :: Suzume shook her head and sighed.:: "When... Kin and I went to try to save my mother from the slave camps... Kin killed allot of slavers, and released many of the prisoners. One of them was my own grandfather.... a man I didn't even know because of the way he treated my mother. He was a yakuza... not the greatest person in the world. I'm sure he'd hurt and killed people it happens in that world. But when I think about it.... even though he treated my mother horribly... would my mother... have wanted him dead...? No.... even after all that, I don't think my mother would want that.."

Akiko:  “It might seem a little extreme but I have become very happy with his decision. But there will have to come a time when I should have a talk with Kin and ask what exactly was going through his mind when he decided to turn me.”  Akiko thought about the words that Suzume was saying..Onihoruda. There was so much that she did not know, why had she not done the research when she was first turned. “Kin did tell me a little bit of what had happened at the parade and how he had killed a few people.”   Akiko found it sad to hear about how Kin would believe that it was alright to kill people even though they were not innocent. Though who was she to judge, she had killed those men that broke into her apartment. Not only did she kill them, but she had eaten their remains to hide the evidence. But then her mind went to the night that she found that murderer and refused to kill him. “ I have killed two men, and I have found a murderer but instead of killing him I put him behind bars. When it comes to me and my beast, we would rather lock up the evil in the world, instead of killing them. When we kill them, then we are stooping down to their level.”  She listened to Suzume’s story, Akiko had trouble thinking about what she would have done in that circumstance. Would she have killed all of the men or bring them to justice. –Bring them to justice, they could have paid for their crimes and the families would feel comfort in knowing that the evil was behind bars.- “Sometimes killing someone is not the right answer, even though it might seem like the easiest at the moment.”

Suzume:    ::Suzume gave a sigh of relief, it was obvious that the darkness of the curse had not completely took over Akiko. She still had sense of her own code of honor instead of adopting the attitude that Suzume as of late had seen Kin exhibit time and time again.:: "When I was turned... I was given a choice. My whole life I've shared with a descendant of my fathers. A line of the family that far in the past was mixed with the blood of Onis. So... instead of me taking on the curse... she sacrificed herself... for something very dear and beautiful. Something that the dark Oni blood would have destroyed if I she hadn't been there to take on the curse." ::Suzume sighed.:: "I'm glad you haven't given in completely... as of late. They're have been instances, where Kin has done something and I wonder.... what happened to the man I love? I was once able to pull him back from the brink, but now... I don't know how much longer. Till I loose him... completely."
 * Suzume down cast her eyes to the floor hoping that Akiko wouldn't see her

eyes tear up when she said those words. It hurt her to her very core to think... that some day. Kin might be taken completely over by the darkness, and she would loose him forever. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes.:: "Sorry... I'm sure you don't want to be all wrapped up in my problems... You have so many of your own."

Akiko:  Brushing her hair back behind her ear, Akiko listened carefully to the story that Suzume was sharing with her. She did not have much knowledge of Oni’s, but she was glad that one had sacrificed itself to protect Suzume from the darkness. Akiko did not want to assume what was so dear to Suzume that an Oni would sacrifice her life for it but she did have an idea on what it could be. “I do not think the beast inside of me wants to go dark. I don’t think what I have is an Oni but it is the wolf that makes me a lycan. When I hunted down a man, the wolf stopped me from killing him.- Akiko brought her knees up to her chest. “I was so angry at the man; I wanted to kill him…  But the wolf stopped me.”  Akiko was still very unsure about the creature that lurked deep down inside of her. Akiko watched Suzume closely; she could see that her eyes were red and puffy. Akiko put her hand on Suzume’s knee. “We can help him together. You, the one he loves, and me, the one he changed. Maybe we can bring him back to the way he was, if we truly desire it then we can do anything we put our minds to.”  Akiko truly believed that they could make a difference for Kin. He just needed the love from Suzume and the friendship from herself. “Kin made all of my problems disappear. I use to be scared just to walk the streets alone but now with the gift he has given me, I know I can protect myself. That is why he deserves you be helped, and so do you Suzume.”