Her Mysterious Smile

[Nayt]

Etsu couldn't convince Rebbecca to see the moral side of things, it seemed, and she wasn't willing go try to tempt the woman into seeing reason right now. After all, the last time she tried to convince an adult-- a caretaker in particular --of something she at the time felt to be important . . .

"I wir-rr not r-ret him do hentai things to me," Etsu said frankly.

She did not care if Eld was their son. She did not care about that now or how it mattered before. She did not care how much it would matter in the future, either. She would not allow him to do perverse things to her, and if he ever started to convince her that maybe it would be okay, she would promptly abuse him enough that he would no longer be interested in him. It was very tempting to do that early on, too.

It was for the best. Really.

"I wir-rr hit him if I must," she added.

This condition was the only thing she required to be comfortable in Eld's room. If she was not allowed to hit him for doing perverse things, she would much rather sleep outside.

[Zach Kaiser]

Rebbecca nodded. "I doubt that will necessary; Eld isn't the kind of boy to touch a girl without permission." Well, intentionally. Sometimes her son could be a bit of a klutz around girls, it seemed.

She gave Etsu a sly grin. "Actually, Eld's kind of a wimp when it comes to girls. You could probably boss him around if you wanted to. He might complain, but he'd put up with it."

******

"I'm not sure if I'll really be able to do anything for her, but I suppose I can try to be nice to her."

Urikuse nodded. "That's all we can ask. Anyway, let's see if the girls are done talking yet..."

[Nayt]

Etsu was almost tempted to say I wir-rr, but she could not bring herself to do it. Not right now. Not right here. Not to her Aunt, at least. Rebbecca was Eld's mother, she could always tell Eld that Etsu intended to use Eld for a servant if she needed one or something.

Not that she intended to, of course! But it would be nice. Eld was young. He was energetic. If Etsu particularly needed something done and he was willing to go do it, then so be it. She couldn't be faulted for asking (demanding) that something be done . . . right? No, of course not. It was Eld's fault for being so gullible and willing to do something that he was so brazenly demanded of.

What exactly could she ask (demand) of him, though? If he really had a weak spot for girls . . .

Wait, that's how he lured girls into doing perverse things with him, right? Yes, of course. That was exactly it. He lured them into a false sense of security. He got them to thinking that he was a good and sincere person by doing various little tasks-- then he pounced. Well, to some extent, at least.

"He wour-rd be very user-ress," Etsu declared aloud.

Yes, definitely. Eld wouldn't comply with her demands nearly as well as necessary. She'd be much better off just doing things on her own, right?

"He is weak and he is unskir-rred," she said frankly, "I wir-rr be better by myser-rf."

[Zach Kaiser]

Rebbecca couldn't help but laugh. Etsu was already biased against Eld in the way only a kid could be, immediately assuming the absolute worst about him in any context. Of course, she did hope she warmed up to him a bit, but in meantime she couldn't help but find it funny.

Ah, poor kid. I'll have to make it up to him somehow in the future.

Hearing the door open behind her, Rebbecca turned to see Urikuse poking his head out of their room. A silent exchange passed between them, and he emerged from the room with Eld in tow.

The young Tsukimono looked at Etsu and, swallowing his pride, began to speak. "Etsu...I'm sorry for getting mad. I guess I can understand why you'd be suspicious of me. But I promise I won't do anything to you." He bowed formally, hoping she'd understand, at least a little, that he really meant her no harm.

[Nayt]

When Eld was back in the room, Etsu was particularly insistent on sitting with her back straight and eyes shut, as prim and proper as she'd been taught for years. Her teachers would have actually been proud of her at this moment, rather than disappointed in her for making one of the other girls cry . . .

Etsu even folded her hands in her lap.

"I wir-rr forgive you," she said. But there was a stipulation. Etsu paused to think on it. She could only name one thing she wanted for now. "If you get a gr-rass of water for me."

Might as well see if he's that willing to go out of his way for a girl, right? Then, maybe she'd have to make it clear to him that she would not suffer through any of his manipulative hijinks. That she might request that he do certain things for her at times, but he would not have the opportunity to use this as a means of coercing her into doing perverse or lewd things with him. That would not stand.

For now, though, she simply wanted something to drink.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld resisted the urge to point out he hadn't done anything to warrant needing forgiveness. Instead, he stood there confused for a moment. She'd been downright venomous to him up to this point, but now she being...well, if not nice, then at least cordial. But if simply getting her a glass of water was all it took to get on her good side, why not?

"Okay, sure," he replied. With their small living space, their kitchen was within full sight of Etsu. She'd be able to see him find a clean glass and pour the water in.

"Here you go." He returned to her and handed her the glass. Maybe mother said something to calm her down?

[Nayt]

Etsu watched Eld turn and head to the kitchen with one eye open, almost as if she weren't interested in what he was doing just now but was also curious if he was going to spit in her drink or something. She would certainly have to make him pay for such an insult, after all. But he didn't. He was downright respectful in the way he poured her a glass of water and returned with it in hand.

Maybe you are not useless after all.

Well . . . she could at least get him to bring her water every so often. And if he was any decent at cooking, maybe she could get him to do that, too.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Etsu said in a very formal way-- but she did not bow to Eld, and barely acknowledged him at all, in fact-- almost as if she were someone of higher class dealing with someone of lower class. Truth be told, no socio-economic status could ever be so reversed; Eld's family was regal compared to Etsu's. Etsu's "father" was a poor man. A weak man. A relatively useless man. Without her mother around, this made the family unit poor and undesirable from any angle.

Eld didn't need to know that, though.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was stunned again as she thanked him downright politely for the glass, even if she hardly looked at him. He still got the impression she didn't like him, but...if she could at least be cordial, then maybe this could work out.

"I'll...uh...go clean my room and get it ready."

He wasn't really sure what else to say at this juncture; maybe more would come to him later, but for now not being under fire from a girl he just met was good enough. From there he retreated to his room.

Rebbecca smiled at Etsu; even if it wasn't sincere, if she could at least remain polite she'd have no problem getting along with Eld. When Urikuse tapped her on the shoulder, she glanced at him before standing up. "We should be getting back to our rounds. Is there anything you want to ask, or that we can get you before we go, Etsu-chan?"

[Nayt]

It actually felt kind of gratifying. Etsu was sure she would try out more in depth requests later. She simply hoped Eld would not dilute himself into thinking that just because he'd get her a glass of water on command that she was suddenly going to start liking him. She kept up the prim-and-proper routine until Eld was gone. She didn't even touch her water until Eld was gone-- and only then, she did little more than raise it to her lips for one sip. Etsu relaxed shortly thereafter, set the glass down, and looked to Rebbecca.

Etsu half shut her eyes. She did have a question, yes. It was a loaded question, though-- one she hadn't asked just yet, but now seemed like as good of a time as any.

"How r-rong wir-rr I be here?" Etsu asked, her voice much more quiet than her personal standard.

The tone of her voice and the look on her face-- it all spoke of sincere sadness. To Rebbecca, who likely knew the whole story, it might have been obvious what Etsu was thinking of right now.

[Zach Kaiser]

Both the Tsukimonos' hearts went out for the young girl. It was all too easy to forget that despite her stoic demeanor Etsu was still just a fourteen year old girl, and even if she didn't get alone with her father she still loved him and probably missed him.

If only she was more willing to show it, Urikuse lamented. Despite the fact that she seemed to address Rebbecca, he was the one who answered--being the one who'd visited her father.

He wanted to tell her something encouraging, but he'd always felt it would be belittle his family to not be honest. "I don't know; hopefully not long." It all depended on her father, really--while they hoped to teach Etsu some social grace while she was here, it was her father that truly needed the most help. He needed to be able to take of a child, regardless of that child's temperament, and treat her fairly regardless of his own mood (or hers)...and right now he just wasn't capable of that.

As hard as it was for him to even think, Kiyoshi was just not fit to raise a child in his current state. Urikuse could only hope there were people with him who could support him as they were trying to support Etsu.

"But even if it ends up being awhile, you'll be able to visit regularly, okay?" Rebbecca added. Etsu needed to know that being her didn't mean she was completely separated from her father, and the rest of her family.

When Urikuse gave her a questioning glance, she turned from Etsu and mouthed "Eld can take her."

[Nayt]

As Etsu looked at Urikuse, there was a sign of emotion on her face. It wasn't how she half-shut her eyes this time; there was much more to it than that. She furrowed her brow and looked up at her uncle with a pleading expression, a brief plea for him to somehow go back in time and fix everything and make it so nothing had to become uncomfortable and painful. So her mother would be home again and all that mess with her father . . .

Her father . . .

Etsu's thoughts were all but broken. That pleading expression of hers was cut short, lasting less than a second, as she suddenly thought better of it.

I'm angry with him.

She tried to believe it.

I hate him.

She wanted to believe it.

". . . Kiyoshi-sama is not my fa . . ." Etsu whispered, but though she wanted to say it so badly, it felt like there was suddenly a knot in the back of her throat, and while it was there, she couldn't breath or speak or any of it. She felt a painful sting on the left side of her face, followed by a warm droplet of moisture making its way down to the bottom of her chin.

Etsu tried to say something again, but found words difficult to muster. She shut her eyes tight and shook her head quickly, stood from her chair, and started for Eld's room without a word. Though, she didn't get much further than five steps before she realized that she'd forgotten something: her glass of water. Etsu quickly turned, retraced her steps to her glass (intentionally avoiding eye contact), and hurriedly turned back for Eld's room again.

[Zach Kaiser]

No parent was perfect. Etsu's certainly weren't; her mother was irresponsible and selfish, a woman capable of only thinking of her own happiness. Kiyoshi was an insecure man with no resolve. And Urikuse didn't even know who her real father was; Kyoko never divulged the information to anyone. He might not even know he had a daughter.

And he, as well as Rebbecca, had committed themselves to a cause that they put in front of almost anything. It was a small miracle that Eld had quickly become responsible enough to police himself--or perhaps, rather, he'd become that because they were that way.

Even if they could have thought of something to say in the time it took Etsu to enter Eld's room, they just couldn't leave the clinic alone any more. With heavy hearts they were forced to return to their duties...

******

Fortunately, there was little Eld needed to do to clean his room; he was a very tidy person by nature, and he did not keep many possessions anyway. His one conceit was a couple of bookshelves packed full, and they weren't all textbooks by any stretch.

In fact, as much as he hated to admit it, his parents kind of had a point. Almost half his room was, in fact, bare--he liked having the space to stretch out, so he kept it free of obstructions.

Hearing someone come in, he turned around. It was Etsu, which was expected, but...

"Is...everything alright?" he asked, concerned. He had no real reason for thinking something was wrong; he didn't know her well enough to what was or wasn't unusual for her. It was just...gut feeling.

[Nayt]

Almost immediately as she entered Eld's room, Etsu shut the door behind her, but not to declare privacy with Eld. In fact, she didn't seem to notice him at all, even though he had specifically addressed her. She left herself go, to lean her back against the door and set her free hand upon it, clenching her fingers upon the wood as if she were trying to find an impossible grip on it to tear it from its hinges. She felt the stinging on the left side of her face again, and once more fought back the urge to wince. Just like last time, she barely even recognized the feeling of another tear gliding down her cheek. But that side of her face was covered by her bangs. The only hints of tears Eld might see would be the remnants of moisture on her jaw.

It took a second, but she finally addressed Eld. Firstly, she sniffed until she could breath out of her nose again. Secondly, she leered at him. This was decidedly different than her normal expression, that of stoicism and indifference. This time, she actually looked upset.

". . . what wour-rd be o-kay?" Etsu whispered.

Though her face displayed disapproval, her voice could barely elevate above a whisper. To her, it still felt like she had something caught in her throat, making it hard-- but no longer impossible --to speak.

"I must r-rive with a baka hentai," she said frankly, "For how r-rong I do not know. I wir-rr miss a r-rot of schoor-r. I wir-rr miss my . . ."

Etsu trailed off. Just what was she going to miss back home? It wasn't like she knew too many people. It wasn't like she enjoyed the company of others frequently, either. But she would miss something. She'd miss her f--

". . . friends," Etsu concluded. "I am not o-kay."

[Zach Kaiser]

Is she...crying? It was hard to tell, but her sniffling gave her away.

Whereas before Eld had reacted indignantly when she'd treated him with (he felt undeserved) venom, this time...was different. How could he blame her for being upset? It occurred to him rather suddenly that this was by no means her idea; she had not asked to be separated from her parents.

But here she was, living with family she hardly knew: an aunt and uncle whose profession meant they couldn't spend much time to give her support, and a cousin who at best she thought was a pervert and at worst feared would direct his perverted attentions to her.

"I...sorry."

He searched for something to say to cheer her up, but he wasn't sure anything could. At least, no words coming from his mouth would.

"If...you want to talk, we can talk...or...uh...if you'd rather be left alone, I'll go."

[Nayt]

What was that, sympathy? Was he showing her sympathy? Etsu didn't know what to think about that. She didn't want to think that it was sympathy or pity or anything of the like. She wanted to think he was really being sarcastic. Or that maybe he wanted to give her a false sense of security, during which time she'd undress to relax or something to that extent, and then he'd just so happen to walk in on "accident." Or maybe he'd try to peep in on her. That was a perverse thing to do.

Etsu wanted-- needed --a villain right now, and Eld was the only person that could fit that bill. She brushed off his kindness without a second thought.

"Hai," she said bluntly.

Yes what, though? She'd brushed aside his kindness, yes, but both options he presented her were mutually tempting. In the end, though, there was only one option.

"I wour-rd r-rike the room ar-rone."