Description: Being on a wrecked, sinking ship at sea in the aftermath of a pirate invasion is rough. But what about those back on shore? The ones who can only stare out to the ocean and hope friends and loved ones will be coming back home alive from the explosion that lit up the horizon? Hotaru, bloody and beaten, is at long last back in Southtown. And it's there she is reminded that for as bad everything went, being truly missed goes a long way toward making up for it.
The entire event really is almost too strange to take in. It started a month ago, with Hotaru spending some days aboard the traveling arena that was the Suiryuu. It meant lessons were on pause for Kentou as the girl wasn't around much, only stopping by to say hello on occasion during brief periods of being on shore. She'd mention how different the matches were - the strange scenarios the contestants were engaged in. It was unlike any other tournament she had ever seen.
This went on for a couple of weeks as the early rounds of the People's Judgement took place. But as the rounds progressed, the girl came ashore less and less, stopping by the Kyokugen Dojo just long enough to pick up clothing but otherwise staying with the boat. Concerns about the intentions of the hosts haunted her thoughts and kept her from enjoying it like she had early on. And then there was the assault from Mad Gear that caused her to believe she needed to stay with the boat in case Sakura needed backup again. If something were to happen to her friend and she not be there to give her a hand... Well, best just to be safe.
And then came last week, when the young spectator wasn't anywhere to be found, along with anyone else aboard the Suiryuu. The boat didn't come back by the harbor like it had the previous weeks. Round Four of the tournament was about to get started but something had gone horribly wrong. Reports to those back on land would have been confused, fragmented, and garbled. Something about an attack. An invasion. Deep sea piracy at its worse. The struggle to survive against an impossible onslaught... a modern day David and Goliath right before her very eyes...
And now it's three days later. She had never thought when she went out on the boat late last week that she would be coming home on a submarine owned by none other than Rolento Schugerg, the mercenary leader that she had defeated in a remarkable upset Neo League match only a month prior. The vessel is only at the harbor long enough to get the now ex-Agents of Jinchuu off so that it can slip away to seas before being caught by authorities.
The line of passangers staggering out of the submarine and across the ramp to the harboer look like they've been through hell. Bruised, bandaged, cut up, dirty, shreaded clothing, many still soaked... Hotaru doesn't look much better as she finally steps onto the wooden dock. Sporting a black eye over her right eye, her vest shreaded and her pants and blouse also featuring a variety of rips, tears, blood stains, and dirt marks. Her shoulders are slouched, her steps slow. One of her hair ribbons was lost, leaving only one pig-tail in place while the rest of her hair hangs down loosely. She was too indifferent to tie it into a pony tail instead.
Padding across the dock, the girl stretches her arms out at her sides, breathing in deeply. Ah, the sea smell is still strong here, but it's mixed with something else - traces of Southtown, the city. Hotaru never thought she'd welcome the sight.
The past few weeks have been an emotional time for Kentou to say the least.
When Hotaru first came aboard to help her friend Sakura facilitate the tournament, Kentou was most excited! Every time Hotaru came back to shore, the boy was there on the dock waiting for her. Immediately rushing to her side and escorting her back home, badgering her about every last detail of every last match that took place on that impressive floating tournament. Every outlandish battle described only heightened Kentou's interest, completely enthralled with the stories.
As time went on, however, the youth became a bit more pensive about Hotaru's involvement. Gang attacks? Talk of strange folk interfering with the tournament? The youth never told Hotaru that she should consider perhaps rethinking if she should be helping out.. But one could see the concern plainly in his eyes, even if it was never spoken.
And when the Suiryuu didn't make Harbor on schedule? The boy waited there on the pier. Staring out to the ocean, sitting on the edge of the wooden dock with his legs slung over the side. Patiently hoping to see distant signs of a vessel that never came. As the next day or two rolled on, Kentou began trying to make calls to whatever numbers he had to get ahold of her. The news, the police, anyone and anything.
When spotty reports of an attack at sea made the boy fear the worst. Barely paying attention to his training, sleep-walking through work, spending every extra moment scouring news channels and reading newspapers. Hoping to catch some sign..
Imagine Kentou's surprise as he's seated at the edge of the pier. Maintaining his nigh-eternal vigil as he leafs through yet another newspaper from the stack next to him. Mousy eyes blinking through his wind-tousled bangs to spy the outline of something massive sneaking through the waters. The submarine breaching the surface gets the boy to his feet, staring in surprise while looking to other dock workers on the pier whom seemed just as confused and puzzled as he is.
Newspaper completely forgotten as Kentou releases the papers to the waves beyond him, racing to the metal plank extending from the vessel as people begin to file forth. Survivors, it looks like.
At once the boy realizes this is what remains of the Suiryuu's crew and passengers. Instantly the boy zips through the lines, weaving in between stumbling and hurt individuals as he repeats a single name over and over, "Hotaru?!" Wide eyes examining each person in turn..
..Until finally the familiar teacher makes her way to the steel walkway.
"HOTARU!"
Decorum be damned, Kentou zips between a pair of survivors, all but shoving them aside as he -slams- against Hotaru's middle. Throwing his arms around her waist and hugs her tightly! "Y..Your alive!" The ecstatic youth's voice cracks just slightly, burying his face to her least injured shoulder.
Certainly the girl never wanted to have Kentou worry. But communications off the Suiryuu once the assault began were almost non-existant. The 'R' advance force saw to that by blanketing the boat with EMPs and taking out communications systems as almost the very first step. Even when the boat managed to crawl away from the Black Noah that towered over it, it wasn't without having lost over half of the ship, including the very systems that would have been needed to alert people back home as to what was happening. How the ninja managed to secure the aid of two submarine captains to get everyone off the boat is a mystery to Hotaru - but much of what transpired could be described that way.
Making Kentou worry was certainly never her intent. That he was worried, however, makes all the difference. She hears his voice at first - the youth calling out the name of his returned teacher stands out to her ears above all other noises of the disembarking passangers. Her feet had barely touched the dock when he shoved his way through the crowd, his size and determination getting him through where others might not be able to, in order to practically bowl the girl over with his exuberance.
But Hotaru's balance manages to weather the assault, the girl's arms coming up to wrap around the boy's shoulders, her expression warming with emotion, "It takes more than a bunch of pirates and a sinking boat to keep me down," she laughs lightly, taking steps to the side, gently guiding Kentou out of the flow of people just hoping to get off the submarine. Not everyone has such an eager welcome waiting for them, but the least she can do is make sure that their return to their lives are as minimally impeded as possible now.
One of her hands comes up to rest against the back of the braided boy's head and pats him a couple of times before finally both of her hands clasp against his shoulders and the girl backs him up a little, blue eyes taking a look over him, a tired smile inspecting the youth as to check on his own condition. After all, without her around to keep him out of trouble, who KNOWS what he's been through the last few days?
Unquestionably there were many things about Jinchuu that Hotaru did not intend. But happen, they did. A far more perilous journey than the girl had anticipated by a wide margin. If Kentou knew the full truth, all of his fears would be rightly justified knowing the measure of harm Hotaru was thrown into the way of. Even the unorthodox and unusual method of succor she has found speaks volumes of the travails she had been put under.
All of that doesn't matter quite so much now, as Hotaru is clearly back. A bit worse for wear, but not as damaged as the youth had feared. Overcome with relief, the boy commits to the embrace for several seconds into awkward territory as he's easily guided a bit to the side and away from the milling survivors. Some paying attention, but most quite happy to be back upon terra firma once more.
Kentou finally takes a step back as her hands guide his shoulders, eyes looking back up to her own as he notices fully how much damage she's taken. Gaze quickly looking up and down her shredded outfit as he urges, "W..what happened?" His light hands immediately touching the back of her own on his shoulders.
The youth seems mostly okay.. Although he does have a band aid on his cheek and several recently sewed up slashes on his wushu vest. Clearly he's been in several fights in the interim, but such matters and mostly-healed wounds are in another dimension of thought right now. His only concern is what happened to his master at sea..
A closer inspection reveals the stitches along one cheek and another set visible through an open tear in her blouse at the level of her stomach on her side. The black eye is courtesy of a very deliberate punch to her eyesocket by none other than Kurow Kirishima himself... even though she didn't even know that's who it was... She looks a little choked up after inspecting Kentou, as if just seeing her student again in front of her reminded her so very much how glad she is to be home once more.
"The arena boat got attacked in the middle of the night," she starts to speak up. "There were helicopters and black clothed men with guns, swords, explosives... They pour over the boat, beating up everyone who resisted... They wanted the Suiryuu. There was something about that watercraft they really wanted. I'm almost possitive it had to do with the sigils I told you about before... the ones that reacted to energy manipulation."
Hotaru pauses, shaking her head slowly, glancing toward the slow, weary parade of passangers. One hand on his shoulder slips down toward his upper back as the girl turns to the side. "Come, let's walk a little." she states, moving along the pier away from the crowd.
"Everyone had to fight to slow them down," she continues. "There was a giant aircraft carrier. It had a big red flag with a single large letter R in the middle of it. I'm not sure what it meant or who they were with. I fought them a few times myself," she continues, smiling weakly. Most of her fighting involved getting stabbed, punched, kicked, blasted, socked in the face, and retreating further inward. But in the end it must have been enough to buy the time necessary for what was to come eventually.
"Did you see the explosion?" she asks abruptly. "I heard it was visible all the way here in Southtown. A gigantic outburst of chi the likes the world has never seen. It... it consumed most of the Suiryuu but it dealt a deciding blow to the invaders." Hotaru shakes her head, glancing to the side, out toward the ocean, wondering what it would have been like to see something like that in the horizon.
"I didn't see it myself. I was unconscious at the time." She sounds a little disappointed. The crowning moment of the entire, unbelievable fight, and she was lying broken in a cot, being tended for after a savage beating from the Bernstein heir. "When I woke up, the upper decks of the boat were gone and we were sinking..."
%R The story begins to play out precisely as Kentou had feared. Pirates invaded the ship--Armed and determined pirates. The boy's head slowly shakes as the story begins to unfold. A little dumbstruck as he feels her hand shift to his back.. Moments later nodding in understanding as the boy is dimly aware that the chill evening and staring survivors isn't exactly the best place to continue this reunion, "Of.. Of course.." The boy stammers. Moving to her side and prepared to support her if she is unable to move painlessly..
The boy continues to nod moments later, trying to grasp the totality of this drama as it sounds like it played out like a war as opposed to some tournament.
As far as the explosion goes.. The boy halts in mid-step, wide eyes immediately looking up to his teacher as he stammers, "That was.. that was..?" Yes.. There was reports of a massive flash of light on the horizon. Unexplained phenomena, the media has called it up till now. The boy thought he saw.. something in the distance. He was indoors at the time, able only to catch the fading reflection of.. something.. on the overcast clouds above. It was all over the news of course but, little was said of what it could be.
Kentou only shakes his head after a moment, stunned at the magnitude of it all as he begins his pace once more.. determined to fuss over his returned sensei and see her home, "S..sinking? .. Man.. How did you even.. how did.." Eyes turning back towards the Submarine behind them, staring at the vessel a moment, wondering what the connection is there. It doesn't seem like any Japanese rescue craft he's ever seen.. No police, no military, no ambulances..?
After several steps along the pier Hotaru has begun to perspire and her gait slows down. The slightly more pale complexion might betray just how much pain the girl really is in. Only capable of keeping up appearances for so long, the sight of home was refreshing at first, but right now she's starting to show signs of the ordeal she's been through. No rest except for the hours she spent unconscious after a brutal stabbing or crushing beating... It's no surprise she's really quite weak.
"Yeah," she states, confirming his surprise as to what the infamous flash in the horizon was. "They did it on purpose, those crazy ninjas. They blew up the boat to take down some monster that was leading the whole thing. I don't know the details only that... well, from people I talked to, most expressed the feeling that that was the kind of power it would take to bring down the pirate leader."
She shakes her head, her hand coming up to push her unrestrained hair back over her shoulder as she looks back at Kentou with a strained smile. He's there to support her and finally the girl takes him up on it, the hand that had been resting against his near shoulder moving over to rest against his far shoulder as she takes to leaning against him a bit. "S-sorry," she stammers apologetically. "Guess I'm a little worse for wear than I thought. I can't wait to get a nice bath after all this..." She laughs lightly before wincing, the expression of mirth only causing more pain it seems. "Ironic, would think I'd be sick of water by now..."
She follows his gaze toward the submarine and is quiet for a long moment. "You know what the weirdest thing was? Even during the invasion they insisted on the round four matches take place." She pauses, letting that sink in, before continuing. "And when it was all over and what little was left of the Suiryuu was beginning to fill with water? They insisted the Round Five matches had to take place and that no one could leave until a Champion was crowned..." She grunts, looking away from the submarine. "It's a good thing the round six finale didn't take long, or it would've been all over. We were rushed onto the rescue submarines as the last of the hull was starting to go under."
There's been a lot of lessons to learn aboard the boat. Who to trust. Who to not trust. How a strange mercenary leader - a woman she was terrified of before - came to be her most reliable source of information about what was going on... how Sakura was defending the very ninja that wouldn't left them off the boat until their tournament had concluded... Hotaru sighs softly. Definitely a lot to think about.
The voyaging mentor's pupil is there to lend a hand the moment she begins to slow. The youth's slender yet strong arms move in to support the girl, wordlessly moving to slip her arm about his shoulders to help her along.
As Hotaru confirms the nature of the explosion, Kentou can only frown. Eyes drifting to the ground as he tries to make sense of the senseless. Only shaking his head and admitting, "...Sinking the whole ship.. risking everyone aboard? ... Just to .."
Clearly, not all the monsters were ended in that explosion. As Hotaru tries to confirm such devastation was necessary, the boy only replies in a subdued yet clear voice, "No power is worth killing people over." Oh so easy for the boy to judge events he did not witness. All he knows is those 'crazy ninjas' nearly killed his master to save their stupid ship by blowing it up from some jerk? What in the world is worth that much pain? It only makes him angry just to THINK about it.. But now isn't the time for that sentiment. He won't allow that moment of fury to ruin this reunion as he vigorously shakes his head, looking back up to his master as she finally obliges his insistence on helping her, "It's okay, it's okay.. C'mon.. Just take it slowly.."
The boy's mind starts considering options, looking about the dockside and to the shops and cafes beyond, "Why don't we get you something to drink first? Sit down a moment then call a taxi so we can get you home?" Kentou rising to the occasion with a surprising amount of responsibility. But then.. Its not often where someone he really cares for is in jeopardy. Taking care of others is a new concept for the boy, but he doesn't so much as flinch at it now. Focusing only on what's most important.
"...Just.. crazy.." Kentou can only say as his master comments on the rounds taking place even as the ship sinks, "..I can't believe you'd even work for people like that.. they're just .. evil." No other way to describe it, really.
With the boy's support, Hotaru is able to resume heading forward again. She's quiet as he speaks of the costs paid by the sponsors of Jinchuu to keep the 'R' invasion at bay but she does speak up after he points out the cafe, a strained smile working its way into her expression, "That sounds good." Food has sort've been out of the question from the moment the assault started and right now she realizes she's famished.
"It might have been necessary to get rid of the pirate leader... It's hard to say what their intentions would have been were they to have taken the boat. They could've just thrown us all overboard, with or without life boats." she says with a patient tone. She can understand his urge to judge the actions of both sides of that confrontation, but there were difficult decisions to be made. Not everyone had a truce with 'R' to secure their safe passage after all.
She's able to make it to the cafe just fine, even though she realizes she feels a bit awkward in a public place given her condition. Ah well, she just got off a wrecked ship. What SHOULD she look like. At the first available table she sinks down into the chair, leaning forward against the surface of the table to support herself, wincing a little as some wound or other in her side is aggrivated. "But keeping us on the ship as it started to sink..." Hotaru has thought about that for a while now. "Part of me wants to hope that the submarines were nearby already, just in case, and forcing the tournament to run to its conclusion was merely a means of generating even more propaganda. But I guess we'll never know..."
As Hotaru is carefully eased to the cafe, Kentou wastes little time fussing over her. Gently settling her to the chair at the first available table, earning more than a few puzzled and shocked glances from patrons.
The first waitress meandering onto the scene just pauses in mid-step as she adds in a disbelieving tone, "...Oh. My. God." Taking one look at the haggard and thrashed Hotaru with wide, stunned eyes.
Kentou immediately whirls about to face the girl, pointing urgently, "Can we get some water and a towel please?"
The waitress, hugging her serving tray, can only mutely nod after a moment. Stumbling backwards before rushing back into the kitchen. Certainly not something she sees every day!
The boy then carefully yanks a napkin from the dispenser on the table, carefully dabbing at any wounds that don't seem perfectly clean on the girl's face or shoulders. Remaining on his feet at her side as he listens to her explanation.
While Kentou isn't about to openly say it, the youth's expression speaks worlds of his opinion of this 'tournament'. Hard decisions had to be made, for sure and hindsight will always be 20/20, "..I sure hope whatever it was they wanted was worth it.." The boy mumbles under breath. A brooding tone as he leans down just enough to try and clean the wound at her side as much as he can. Carefully peeling back the ripped cloth to get a better look at the injury as he squints, "I swear.. there's gunna be like.. ten million lawsuits out of this.."
At the disturbance her appearance is causing, Hotaru sinks a little in her seat, silently sheepish as she isn't really sure how to explain herself for looking like she just tumbled out of a world war and into the cafe. But protective Kentou is taking charge and the exhausted girl is happy to let him do so, his concern for her bringing a faint smile to her lips in spite the way she feels at the moment. Such a good kid at heart. She hopes that years from now he'll continue to be just as upright. That as childhood naivete passes on it isn't replaced with mature cynicism or a skeptic's sour disposition...
"Yeah..." She agrees, sucking in her breath as he tends to the injury in her side. It looks to have been a stab wound of some kind. It had stitches, but they've come loose in all the commotion in getting off the sinking ship. "Whatever it is they wanted," she repeats tiredly. That very subject plagued her mind throughout the entire event. And even now she still doesn't know the answer.
"They had an army of little robots," she remarks out of the blue, perhaps just now thinking about the M0M0 assembly that kept everyone in place until the tournament had ended. "But those went down with the Suiryuu. It was all very weird." She exhales, leaning harder against the table against her arm now. "In any case, no one will be forgetting the Ryouhara any time soon. Maybe that was half the point."
The boy does as his heart tells him, for good or ill. As much as it does him credit, in times such as these, it can also be a liability. How many fights has he been thoroughly thrashed or manipulated because his goodwill deceived him? How many times have his feelings been confused to the point of rendering him useless? All things the youth will likely mention to his master soon enough, but those matters are trifling things. At least, until he is certain that Hotaru is just as alright as she says she is.
When Hotaru hisses at the gentle dab at her side, the boy frowns. This needs closer attention.. Moreso than a simple field dressing can give, "I think we really should stop by the Hospital.. You're really hurt here.." Kentou assesses firmly. Not wanting to let her wave this off as his mousy eyes lift up to meet her own with stubborn determination. While he cannot command her to do anything, the boy can certainly make his insistence known.
As the waitress hastens over to hand Kentou a glass of water and a towel, the boy rises up to accept them, nodding with a smile as he then kneels down at Hotaru's flank. Carefully pouring just a little bit of the water onto the towel itself before lifting the mostly full glass up to her to drink, "Here.."
As for the girl's final assessment, Kentou presses his lips firmly together. The 'Ryouhara' huh? "Risking lives just to make a bunch of toys and to make a 'name' for themselves?" Kentou asserts dourly, "..There's no honor in that." Carefully spoken as he very gently dabs a bit more forcefully at the wound, just to try and get any surface infection away. Of course.. such a gesture is futile at best, considering how old the wound is. She needs serious medicine here..
As he mentions going to the hospital the girl doesn't protest. He's right, as much as she wishes it wasn't the case. She feels like she should be getting some kind of frequent patron benefits to the hospital by now considering how often she ends up there. But she keeps such thoughts to herself, merely nodding slightly, "You're probably right," comes the quiet agreement. She doesn't look at the injuries he's tending. She can feel them well enough already without having to see just how nasty they look when actually being dressed.
Perhaps aware that her earlier hiss only worried him more, the girl is deathly silent as he dabs at the wound further, keeping her hand clenched into a white knuckled fist that she hides from his view, her jaw set as she does her darndest to avoid stressing him further. But as he comments on the Ryouhara, she merely nods slightly, "There is no honor to be found among those who call themselves ninja." she states solemnly, quite convinced of that point.
She glances to the side to regard him thoughtfully, something weighing heavily on her mind that she seems torn in speaking about. But in the end she can't help but caution him, her smile saddened now. "The world you want to be a part of is a lot like that... This is hardly the first tournament that had ugly, ulterior motives behind them... Almost every major fighting world event in the last decade has had some dark secret." She blinks slowly, falling quiet as she allows that to sink in.
"Even the big organizations running the regular events this day and age have a sinister side to them... It's something to think about." And then she looks away, leaving that sombering thought for him to chew on. It is the path he hopes to follow after all, and she would be doing him a diservice were she to sugar coat it.
While getting hurt is part and parcel of their line of business, these wounds are a different order of magnitude entirely. For all the violence that Kentou inflicts upon his opponents, it is never to kill. Turning blades and weapons upon someone in anger is definitely not what he wants out of martial arts. But then, Hotaru hardly desired getting this hurt either. Rather, such pain was inflicted upon her, whether or not she was seeking it out.
While the boy no longer hears that tell-tale hiss, by the way her body tenses as he touches the wound.. He can tell he isn't doing any more good there. The stab is as clean as he can make it outside of using serious medication.
Offering a slow nod as Hotaru agrees with the assessment, the boy exhales thankfully. He was worried the girl would refuse for some reason or another. He then looks to the stairing waitress once more, quickly asking if she could make a call for a taxi and the girl quickly rushes off to do so. At least the boy will try to spare Hotaru the indignity of calling for an ambulance.
"Hnn.." The boy's experience with Ninja is only what volumes of comic books and video games tell him. Always weaving a fanciful tale of honorable warriors serving their masters with stealth and skill. As opposed to.. well.. monsters.
'Monsterous' is the only way he could begin to describe this entire affair.
However. Such thoughts are pushed to the side as Hotaru offers another observation. This one not quite so easily brushed off, as the youth turns his luminous gaze upwards to meet her own. A long, quiet moment passes before his eyes descend downwards yet again.. expression wilting a fraction. For once, Kentou has no immediate answer. It IS something to think about, something he's been weighing cautiously in his mind almost every day.
Is it all worth it, then? Why in the world would one want to be a fighter in today's world if it only brings pain and darkness? If evil people dominate tournaments and leagues then.. Why even bother?
A cutting, internal question that the boy lashes out against with a snap, "..It doesn't have to be that way.."
A somewhat angry retort not even slightly directed at Hotaru. Perhaps just the world in general.
"You're right." Hotaru answers, no doubt to be found in her voice. "It definitely doesn't have to be that way." She sighs a little, hand reaching out now from the table to rest against his shoulder as she looks at Kentou again. "In fact, it's not all that way. There are good people amongst the fighters in the world. I have met many friends and believe I will continue to meet many more in my experiences."
Now that he no longer needs access to her side, she turns on the seat to more fully face him, keeping that hand resting against his shoudler, fingers tightening a little as she gives him a supportive smile. "And you will too, I know it. With some more training, you should be ready to enter local events before long. The stakes tend to be more pure then. Exhibitions, charities... We'll find some things, you'll see." There's a certain emphasis on the word 'we', as if she wants to make sure he knows she isn't going to leave him to go at it alone when it comes time to take his training into real fights.
"And you'll make friends and meet other decent people. It's high time I started introducing you to my friends, in fact." Her hand slips off his shoulder to rest in her lap, her other hand taking the glass of water and lifting it to her mouth, the cool liquid refreshing, quenching the thirst born of having gone far too long without it.
The boy pauses in his endeavors as the hand touches his shoulder. Looking up then with a deep frown and clearly saddened eyes. No, none of this is how he imagined it. From the perspective of someone who adores fighters, the world seemed so simple. So obvious. All he's seen since he truly began associating with the very best has been pain and anguish..
..No. No that's not true. That's just despair talking.%TAfter all, if it was not for all of this.. He'd have never met Hotaru. Or Yurika. Or Frei. Brighter points and acquaintances in his life. Dreams are never quite as rosy to pursue as one initially expects.. and the boy is finding this out the hard way.
The youth remains kneeling as Hotaru turns to him fully, his dour expression slowly softening with every word as Hotaru speaks her heart.
Kentou nods eagerly at the first statement, those words ring perfectly true to him, echoing his own thoughts with uncanny similarity. And to her second statement, the boy's disheartened expression dissolves away beneath Futaba's benediction. Those things are most certainly what he wishes to demonstrate his skill for. Charity. Sport. Honor. He'll stand for the weak and fight to help others wherever he can, but those were never his ultimate goals. These words are much more along the lines of his dream.. And he can't help but feel relief that Hotaru, herself, likewise feels much the same way.
"Y..yes Sensei.. I.. I would be honored!" Kentou finally states, bowing his head with the first measure of excitement he's felt in weeks. Darkness comes and goes, but what is most important is to cling to the bright points in life. To the people who truly make it all worthwhile.
And as Hotaru takes a moment to drink, the boy finally adds, "..Hotaru I.. I'm really glad you're home.." Cheeks coloring as his eyes drift away, "..I rea..really missed you.." He isn't TOO proud to admit. "..And I'm really glad you're okay.." He finally, verbally affirms.
As much as as she would have preferred it to have never come to this at all... when it comes down to it, it feels good to be missed. Maybe it's exhaustion, or maybe it's the pain finally getting to her, or maybe it's a young student's emotions touching her heart in ways that nothing else ever could... her eyes water as she lowers the glass back to the table, keeping focused on Kentou.
She's slow to react until she finally brings her arm up to rub it across her eyes, cheeks reddening at the show of emotion - a release after so many days of being pent up inside her. Fear, terror, dread, pain, loss... so many things to bottle up... so many memories of what happened during those frightening hours out at sea. "I'm sorry it happened this way. So sorry for what I must have put you through the last little while. I don't wish that you were there, considering everything that happened. But I am sorry that you had to be here to worry all the same."
She exhales slowly, glancing to the side at the sight of the taxi pulling up to the curb. Just need to stay awake a little longer, she tells herself. Make it to the hospital, there'll be time to rest there. "I'll be all right. Training starts again any day now." she assures with a grin as her hands press down against the table to help herself get up to her feet. "I hope you haven't been slacking!" she states, laughing lightly, well aware that there's certainly been extenuating circumstances to say the least.
She looks the boy over thoughtfully, a strange expression on her face for a long moment. She had always wondered, growing up, what having a younger brother might be like. Now she doesn't have to wonder any more. Her hand reaches out to pat him once on the head, the contemplative look fading away to be replaced by her ready, often present, quiet smile. "It's good to be home."
Always apologies with her! Especially when Hotaru has nothing to apologize for. Rather, the ones who really need to apologize are the ones least likely to.
Kentou's gaze drifts away a moment as his mentor is clearly touched by his words, unable to withstand the emotion as its invoked. Regardless of the fact he was the one who summoned it forth. For everything she's been through, she's the last person who needs to say she's sorry about anything. "..Its.. its alright.. It's alright.." Kentou just murmurs quietly.
Words spoken as much in reply to her remorse, as it is to assure her that everything is, indeed, now alright. The horrors of that voyage are behind her now, and she's back where she's safe and cared for.
Reminding the girl that yes.. There are people here who do care for her now.
"S..Slacking?!" The boy stammers with half-feigned surprise, "H..Hey now! Ah.." Cheeks again flustering for entirely different reasons as he waves his hands briskly, "..Lets.. uh.. lets focus on one thing at a time here!" Grinning after a fashion as he hears the taxi pull up to the curb as well.
The boy's head bounces slightly beneath the pat, bangs jostling with the motion as he offers as pleased sound in return, "..C'mon now.. Lets get you looked at.. okay?"
Letting the sentiment linger, as Kentou focuses back on the more responsible details. Like.. oh.. getting that stab wound looked at by professionals.
After all.. what else is family for?
Log created on 23:58:32 11/05/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 08:20:58 11/07/2007.