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Post by Fuyona Mori on May 6, 2011 0:26:25 GMT -5
The school bells rang and children poured their bodies out of the doors of the elementary schools. Many kids pilled in cars, others walked home together or jumped onto a bike, but one odd looking girl stood inside the doors, waiting for the crowd to lessen before she opened the door slowly, slipping outside and sat on the bottom step, leaning her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands, as if she were waiting for something.
Her friends knew otherwise though. They begged her to come with them, catch a ride with them but she’d merely force a smile and shake her head, leaving it on her heads as she boredly looked off into the distance at two leaves dancing around each other. Truth was…she was waiting for someone…or something.
As the crowd disappeared, and she was the last person to be left on the school grounds she took out a music player and popped a ear phone into her left ear then took out a pencil and a piece of homework, working hard on it as she waited for someone she knew would never come back. But still…she worked with a smile as she tapped her foot off beat.
“Where is my godmother? Here to save me from my Cinderella story, I need a knight to sweep me from the broken slippers.” She sung softly, her small voice way off tune…she had no musical talent, it was clear but it still didn’t dampen her, she enjoyed music.
People who walked by daily knew this girl well and would wave at her, secretly pitying her as they walked on their way. Others would offer her a cookie or drink and being a small child she’d eagerly take the item and gulp it down like a hungry wolf, truthfully, sometimes she did feel like a hungry wolf.
It didn’t take her long to finish her math homework as she pulled out some English. For 10 and a half months she did this, aimlessly waited for a once-upon-a-time person. Even during the summer, she’d walk out here right when school would normally end and she’d wait until sun down then begin walking home. She never told people why and her parents didn’t bother to complain, with Fuyona-ko gone, Zak didn’t stay home as often and so they were left alone to bicker and hit each other instead of dealing with the children.
The sun began to lower, not enough to darken the sky but it almost touched the horizon. Fi stood up and placed everything but her music player in her bag and then she stretched. She stuck her arms high in the air, her shirt rising above her bellybutton a little, feeling the wind blow over her belly she yelped and threw her arms down, pushing her shirt down and looking around, hoping no one would notice the bruises and carpet rash she had on her stomach. The wind stung the open wound and she wrapped her hands around it a little, whimpering in annoyance as she threw her bag onto her shoulder and start slowly walking to the park. Not wanting to return home.
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Post by Autumn Kaijin on May 6, 2011 0:59:42 GMT -5
Autumn had left to go look for the little girl only because Clyde promised to go with her. As she had explained to him, she had been gone so long she was afraid she wasn't needed or was forgotten. She had been silent as they walked towards the school. It was already early evening and she didn't know why she thought Fi would be hanging around here this late in the day.
Her head was down a bit and she was in silent, fretful thought. She couldn't get past a scared feeling in her chest. She glances over at Clyde for a moment and she smiles nervously. As they passed the walkway for the school she glanced a bit ahead and saw a familiar mess of brown hair walking away, and a bit of familiar reiatsu.
For a moment, her breath caught in her chest, and her feet froze, "Fi!" She calls out loud enough for the girl to hear. If it wasn't Fi then it was likely they didn't even hear the spirit call out. And Clyde beside her would appear to be standing alone on the sidewalk. She watches the girl ahead of her for any sign that she heard her, "Please don't hate me.." She said this in a near whisper.
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Post by Clyde on May 6, 2011 1:07:38 GMT -5
Clyde did not imagine the two would be leaving so soon to meet with this girl, but the sooner the better, he thought. The arrancar were bringing disaster down everywhere since they invaded, and ensuring this girl was safe was a priority to Autumn...so it was a priority to him. He was beginning to hold Autumn in high regard, she was special to him so he made sure he could help in any way, shape or form. he was here to be her support
When she smiled nervously at him he gave a reassuring smile back, trying his best to keep their eye contact as she glanced at him. It still got him anxious but he held back his light blushing as best as he could. "It'll be fine, trust me." His smile was one of confidence, it was like he knew that this girl would welcome Autumn back and that there was not a doubt in his mind that the two would be happy from their reunion.
Excitedly, Autumn called out a little girl walking a little on ahead of them. If the girl could actually see Autumn, she would no doubt hear her as well. Clyde was happy, he had never seen Autumn this excited about anything. He felt it was good for the spirit. Being alongside her, he simply placed his hands behind his head in a playful matter and waited to see if this was indeed Fi.
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Post by Fuyona Mori on May 6, 2011 16:54:13 GMT -5
Fi sighed, maybe Zak was right. Autumn was just an imaginary friend, but what happened? If she could control Autumn how was she carried home on those tired days? How was she comforted...
Zak said her mind was making a mother figure since they didn't have parents. But parents is plural, why wasn't there a father?
Suddenly someone yelled out her name. Maybe one of the passer-byers was going to give her another cookie! Excitedly she looked back but as soon as her eyes made contact with who called her, she froze. Her eyes were wide and her bag fell with a hard thud, her pencils rolling out. Her mouth opened slightly agape as she starred at the woman before her.
She felt as if her stomach had just crawled into her throat and her heart had stopped beating. She wondered if this was real. Was she really there? She wanted to reach out and grab her, feel her skin and hug her, know she was really real but her body wouldn't move.
Finally, the tears slide down her red cheeks. She didn't realize she was crying until they tickled her small nose. As soon as she reached up to wipe the tears away her feet broke into a run as she literally tackled Autumn in a hug, her crying going from silent into loud sobs.
She wanted badly to ask her why she left, she wanted to hit her, yell at her but all she needed to do was hug her, her sobs choked her slightly, causing her to cough a little, sounding like a little mouse squeaking. "Autumn..." She whimpered, her voice shaking almost as much as her arms.
She hadn't even noticed the other boy. All she knew was months of waiting paid off, her Autumn was back home.
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Post by Autumn Kaijin on May 6, 2011 18:12:34 GMT -5
At first Autumn was afraid Fi would run away after seeing her. The way she stood there frozen ached Autumn's heart. But the girl was running toward her now and she could see the tears rolling down her face Autumn knelt down hugged her tight, rubbing her back and she shook with sobs.
"It's ok.. I'm here now. I'm here for good. I'm not going to leave you again."She spoke quietly, soothing the young girl.
After a few minutes of just holding her he released the girl, looking into her brown eyes. She was still knelt down and had her hands on the girl's small upper arms. Autumn smiles a little bit, "Fi, I'm so sorry I left you. But I'm never leaving again. I promise." She said this looking straight into her eyes.
Then she looks up at Clyde, "This is Clyde, someone special like you who can see me, and he's promised to protect you as well."
"Clyde, this is Fi."
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Post by Clyde on May 6, 2011 18:44:21 GMT -5
The boy politely stepped aside as the two embraced each other and remained silent as they welcomed each other back into their lives. It was quite heartwarming, the boy had to admit, and he could not help but smile at their reunion. Autumn truly cared for this little girl, it was endearing and showed a side of her that Clyde knew was always there even if she did not show it normally. Just knowing it was there made Clyde feel content to be around the spirit.
His head tilted a bit towards the two as Autumn introduced Clyde to this young girl. The boy wondered if Fi had calmed down by then and if introducing him at that moment would work out if she was still crying. However, with a playful wave he accepted the introduction and said, "Hello Fi, it's nice to meet you." The boy didn't appear to be much older than Autumn, who both in appearance looked to be about 19, and he radiated a calm and playful demeanor. He made sure not to do or say much more as he had never interacting with such a young child and to be honest he was a bit at a loss as to what to say, so he would wait to see how she would react to him first before he would speak more freely.
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Post by Fuyona Mori on May 6, 2011 20:47:04 GMT -5
Fi starred at Autumn with a small, loving grin as she promised never to live. She couldn't believe how relaxing it felt to hug and be around Autumn. She bit her lip to end the sobbing as she turned her eyes to look at the man.
She smiled weakly, slightly confused. She had never seen Autumn with someone before. She pondered about who he was for a second as she looked back at Autumn and "Clyde". Autumn...and Clyde...Autumn and...
Much like the little child she was she turned to Autumn, so Clyde couldn't see her lips and she cupped her hands around her lips. In a 'whisper', it was more of a very loud, airy but understandable voice, she asked, "Is he your boyfriend?" She grinned slightly then looked back at Clyde, dropping her hands to her side.
Then she was confused, she blinked a few times and stepped towards him. She starred at him hard, studying him then reached out, tugging softly on his shirt. "Why are you lying to me?" She asked softly.
She of course, wasn't talking about what he said, but what his body was saying. She was a very observant little girl and could see that Clyde was treating her like a child, which made her feel very uncomfortable. She didn't like feeling uncomfortable.
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Post by Autumn Kaijin on May 6, 2011 21:29:10 GMT -5
Autumn smiles a little bit, laughing somewhat too, "No, no.. Clyde is not my boyfriend. We're a lot alike, and are helping each other out. He gave me a place to stay to make sure I was safe and didn't have to leave. He helped bring me back to you." She smiles softly up at Clyde. She keeps a hand resting lightly on Fi's back as she turns to Clyde.
Autumn shakes her head as Fi calls Clyde a liar. Autumn pulls her back a bit, "Don't be angry Fi, just think of it like the first time you met me, I didn't know how to treat you either. He might not have talked to such a strong little girl like you before. I'd like for you to get along."
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Post by Clyde on May 6, 2011 22:05:22 GMT -5
Clyde raised an eyebrow as the young little girl turned herself away from the boy and cupped her hands in front of Autumn as if to whisper something to her. However, she said it so loud it could hardly be called a whisper and caused the boy to trip forward a step from such open and blunt question about his relation towards Autumn.
Even as the ex-shinigami spirit denied her question, it still caused him to flush red slightly with embarrassment. However when Autumn talked about how the human boy had helped her, he nodded politely towards her in agreement. "That's right, we help each other out. Autumn is a good friend." He gave a bright smile back to the spirit with a light bow of his head.
Fi would reach over in between this moment of fluster for the boy and tug on the bottom of his shirt. To his surprise she called him a liar. He paused at first, tilting his head to her. Did he lie? He was not sure what she meant by that as he had not said much that could have been considered a lie.
Then he realized it must not have been what he was saying, but how he was acting; as he thought before, he was not sure how to treat her, he still wasn't sure. But Autumn wanted the two to get along, so the boy would try again. He knelt down towards her and looked her in the eyes; his own gray eyes showing both kindness and yet emptiness, like it was missing something. "I'm sorry Fi, I don't talk to many people...adults or otherwise. Sometimes it's hard for me to, well, speak from the heart." he said sincerely, lowering his head in apology.
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Post by Fuyona Mori on May 6, 2011 22:59:20 GMT -5
Fi couldn't help but giggle at Clyde's reaction. They had a lot in common, helped each other, he gave her a place to stay...sure sounded like a boyfriend to her. But what did she know about boyfriends? She was eight.
She smiled softly at Clyde as Autumn said he helped her. A friend of Autumn's was surely a good friend of Fi's. Fi tried to argue when Autumn pulled her away from Clyde a little. She blinked a little, her young mind quickly understood that sometimes it was hard to talk to people and that sometimes you had to hide things.
She slightly smiled and brightened as Autumn called her a strong little girl. She was, wasn't she? Her smile softened as she looked up at Autumn. Fi had missed her so much. She hadn't had someone compliment her in a long time or felt loved in an even longer time.
Fi beamed as he knelt down to eye level with her. He had beautiful eyes! She smiled at him and took two steps forward, wrapped her small, child arms around her neck in a hug as she closed her eyes.
"It's ok." She softly said. "I understand not being able to talk to people and feeling like you have to hide who you are." She said, having a hard time pronouncing 'understand' for some odd reason that she spent about two minutes trying to figure out after she let go of Clyde, giving him her friendly smile.
She softly placed her hand in Autumn's and smiled widely up at her, her arms were a little sore from yesterday's fight but she wasn't going to let that stop her from enjoying her reunion with Autumn. "You brought Autumn back to me, so in my eyes...you're a hero. Thank you, Clyde." She smiled brightly. "And every hero has an amazing heart, and if Autumn likes you, your heart must be so much more amazing." She starred up at Clyde, encouraging to speak his emotions.
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Post by Autumn Kaijin on May 7, 2011 6:23:44 GMT -5
Autumn smiles at Clyde when he kneels down next to them and it only grew when Fi hugged him for a long time. She averts her eyes a little bit, attention grabbed by Fi's bag spilled on the sidewalk ahead of her. Her mind drifted a little bit. To the shinigami that were here or coming soon, to the Arrancar who wanted something from Clyde, to the Hollow that wandered the town... Was there any way that any of them could be safe? Clyde was right, Autumn couldn't hide forever, there was so much that she couldn't avoid. Trying to protect Fi or Clyde from the shadows would never work, just as protecting Fi from removing herself from her completely had only hurt them both. Autumn too was just starting to learn what caring actually meant, and that running might not fix anything.
She looks back to them when Fi takes her hand. She smiles again, gently squeezing Fi's hand before she speaks up, "And if that's true then you have an amazing heart too." Because of how happy she was that Fi was still safe, at least to a point, Autumn leans forward a little bit and kisses Fi's temple briefly. She didn't know what she would have done if Fi hadn't accepted her return. Autumn felt terrible for leaving her alone so long, but she hoped she could fix the damage she had done.
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Post by Clyde on May 7, 2011 17:05:24 GMT -5
Clyde did expect a hug from the little girl, but accepted it. Her innocence was something to behold, he thought, she could read the young man like a book it seemed just from his body language. It wasn't just intelligence, it was how she perceived him as well. Her words were kind, and even from such a young child it felt nice to hear them. "Thank you, Fi. How about you and I try and not hide ourselves from each other then? It would be like a game to see who lasts longer, haha." He promised as she playfully released her hold on his neck, he ruffled her hair lightly with his right hand.
His eyes seemed a bit somber however as something on the girl caught his attention, something about how she moved her arms...they looked hurt, tired. It was harder to see these things in a shinigami or hollow, as they had far greater endurance than humans. But to a fellow human such as Clyde who had trained with his own body extensively, it was easy to point out the signs of fatigue.
He looked at her carefully, it seemed wrong. But maybe she had a rough day of school or doing some sort of physical activity, he had no idea why she moved sluggishly like that it could have just been a bad day for her he thought. Raising from his kneeling position, he laughed playfully at her deeming him a hero rather quickly. "...If I really do have an amazing heart like you say, It would be you two who would be able to see it." He admitted with another light laugh, scratching the back of his head as he looked off towards the falling sunlight. He wanted to believe the young girl as she spoke so openly to him, so for now he would, simply enough. Maybe she was wrong when she called him a hero, heroes don't fail, but was working to change that with himself.
"So then Fi, Autumn, where are we off too?" He asked, placing his hands in his pockets as he looked across the empty roads. The exit to the school had died down completely by now, most people long gone from the area. "Are you hungry? You must have been waiting a long time here for us." He asked the younger human. Noticing the fatigue she seemed to have, food was probably the best thing to give her.
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Post by Fuyona Mori on May 10, 2011 19:40:52 GMT -5
Fi giggled a little at Autumn’s comment. She didn’t know if she had a good heart or not, she sure did try to have a kind heart but it wasn’t something one could judge about themselves, others had to judge it for you. Her eyes softly closed as Autumn kissed her temple, her goofy, childish grin faded into a small smile as she felt the familiar pang in her heart. It was a painful hit, but also a loving it. She believed she met Autumn for a reason, because she didn’t have the best mother she met Autumn, who helped her get over the fact her mother was mean. She also didn’t have the best father…she slowly looked up at Clyde, maybe she was given a new daddy as well as a mommy.
As Clyde spoke of playing a game Fi brightened greatly. She’d enjoy that. Then he spoke of them only seeing his heart. She frowned a little. She wasn’t going to argue with him, in her eyes he was a hero. He brought Autumn home. She wondered if Clyde had any idea how greatly Fi thought of Autumn. Autumn was the only person who loved Fi, showed Fi what it was like to be cared about. Fi wasn’t scared when she was around Autumn.
When he asked if she was hungry pure fear shot through her, easily seen through her eyes. A chill slightly went up her spine as she thought about not returning home, but her eyes quickly softened and she looked up at Clyde with a wide smile. She hadn’t eaten for a while, she had run out of money in her food account yesterday and Zak wasn’t home to cook dinner. But she had cookies and milk last night, so she was good. Well…kinda…
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and giggled a little as it growled at her. She knew Zak wouldn’t be home to cook for her tonight, she knew her parents would be passed out by the time she got home so it’d be all good. They wouldn’t notice how late it was, not like they would care anyways. She leaned over and grabbed Clyde’s hand gently, barely touching him, as if asking if it was ok if she held his hand. She couldn’t help but giggle again as her stomach rumbled louder.
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Post by Autumn Kaijin on May 16, 2011 13:41:56 GMT -5
Autumn listened to Clyde speak, staying quiet for the most part. She was glad that they seemed to be getting along, or at least didn't hate each other. She nods her head, agreeing that they should leave. Clyde mentioned food and she heard the girl's stomach rumble, "Food sounds like a good idea. She seems hungry." She gently pat Fi on the head as she took Clyde's hand.
"Since I don't need to eat I'm not sure where around here would be best to do that." She moves over to Fi's spilled bag and starts collecting it's contents.
(OOC: Sorry for Shortness and Delay)
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Post by Clyde on May 18, 2011 14:03:15 GMT -5
Clyde accepted the hand as she placed it in his, lightly holding onto it as Autumn went on to collect the young girls spilled objects. When her stomach rumbled at his question he laughed somewhat to himself as she couldn't really hide away her hunger. "I''ll take that as a yes, Fi." With a confident look in his eyes he brought his attention towards the sidewalk and looked down it quite a distance, as if thinking for a moment. "I know a few places we can get food, the shopping district has a some places to eat that are still open at this time like this pretty good sushi restaurant, and I have some money on me." Bending himself down to the girls level he asked politely, "Do you like Sushi, Fi? Or would prefer something else?"
"Where ever we're going, we're gonna eat lots of food, right?" He playfully asked her, patting her head with his free hand lightly. Fi seemed pretty sweet and intelligent for her age, and even the young boy could understand why Autumn enjoyed her company so much. Fi could see the both of them in a way most adults and spirits could not. It was the same reason why Autumn and Clyde enjoyed each others company. And with the way Autumn cared for Fi, the boy needed to make sure that the three of them could stick together.
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Post by Fuyona Mori on May 29, 2011 10:41:32 GMT -5
Fi smiled widely as Autumn patted her head. She turned her head slightly to see Autumn picking up her things. Fi stared at little at Autumn. She had changed…Fi couldn’t put a finger on it but something about Autumn was different. She’d have to figure it out later, she couldn’t think with an empty stomach.
Fi smiled at Clyde as he spoke to her. “I don’t care, Sushi is good for me.” She said, her stomach rumbling a little as she thought of sushi. She giggled slightly, trying to hide her stomach that was yelling at her.
Suddenly her mind drifted. Zac…He was at a friend’s house but wouldn’t eat. She knew him too well, the only time he ate was at school and when he had to cook for Fi. She pursed her lips, slightly thinking about him, she had to figure out how to take some food to him. Maybe eat half of hers, the other half go to him? She didn’t know, it wasn’t something she needed to worry about right now. She looked up at Clyde and smiled lightly.
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