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(Canticle of Hope) Ch. 5: Closer to Home (NSFW)

Tenshi

Supernova
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Location
In the Moonwood, chasing unicorns.
Over the next three days, the night's were quiet. Euterpe and the black squirrel Orpheus took the girl's out every night to patrol in dark places and train them in the use of their powers, but the green men still haunted the night they found no sign.

At sunrise the next day, Ryoko woke in Isabella's bed, snuggled up to her kohai and any other girl's who'd stayed with them the night before. She gave her friends a snuggle, then a yawn and a stretch, and looked around. She gave a sniff, then smiled, “I think your mom's here, Isa-chan. I smell breakfast. Think she made enough for us?”

* * *​

What's everyone's morning like?
 
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The days had been quiet for the young warrior and the nights quieter. Since her outburst she had decided it was best to keep her distance for now. Choosing to hone the skills of the warrior inside her in solitude. As the morning sun broke through the blinds of her bedroom, the sleeping beauty rose from her bed. Stretching she glanced over at the time and smiled. It only took her a few minutes to get ready for the day ahead of her. Tying the laces of her trainers she stepped into the threshold of her home.

"Perfect Day for a run. Mum, dad i will see you when i get home tonight." Waving over her shoulder she set out. Feeling the crisp morning air through the thin fabric of her running outfit seemed to invigorate her.
 
The young girl sit quietly in the back of the car, the white cable of a pair of earbuds trailing from her fluffy ears to the tablet in her lap. As far as the two men in the front seats are concerned, she isn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to their conversation. They don’t realise quite how good her hearing has gotten.

“-all those language lessons, and now this? It’s too much, is all I’m saying. We’re pushing her too hard.”

“She can handle it.” The passenger doesn’t look up from his book, drawing an irritated glance from the driver.

“Well, sure, but that doesn’t mean she should have to. She’s our daughter, Také, not just some experiment!”

That gets a reaction out of the passenger. He closes his book with a sharp ‘snap’, and glances sideways. “Seriously, Kenji? Is that what you think this about?”

“I… no, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” The driver bites his lip, turns regretfully towards his partner. “I just meant that-”

“Kenji, look out!”

The warning comes too late. Tires and brakes squeal; steel crunches on steel. The scent of blood fills the air.

Someone, she isn’t sure who, shouts her name.

“HITOMI!”


---

The kitsune started awake, beads of sweat lining her forehead as she sat bolt upright on her futon. She took a few slow, unsteady breaths to calm herself, in through the nose and out through the mouth, as her heart’s pounding slowly faded in her ears. It was still dark; the only sound in the apartment was the steady ‘tick tick tick’ing of the clock in the lounge.

“... damn it.”

Hitomi reached out to grope blindly in the darkness, her hand gliding over a picture frame at her side before settling on her glasses. Three figures smile out of the frame, barely illuminated by the light of her charging phone: one tall man, bespectacled and somewhat stern looking; another, shorter man, laughing widely; and a young, white-haired kitsune, riding on his shoulders.

Hitomi pushed her glasses onto her face, pulled back her hair, and then slipped from bed and quietly padded her way across the room.

---

When the sun finally rose, an hour or two later, it found Hitomi sitting up on the roof of her apartment building. The kitsune was still mostly dressed in her pyjamas, covered in a paint-stained smock, with her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail that swayed gently in the morning breeze. A easel stood nearby, with fresh paint still drying on the surface of the canvas. On it, a single, solitary star shone brightly, warm and welcoming against the night sky; but, in the centre, there was a single, almost accidental spot of darkness.

Hitomi loved this time of morning. The sun cast such beautiful colours across the sky as night gave way to day, and the city slowly came to life. Apart from a few early birds, already headed for work, and a solitary runner out enjoying the morning air below, the kitsune could almost feel like she was the only person in the world.

But, of course, she wasn’t. Hitomi’s bracelet dangled from her wrist, jangling softly as she moved. On a whim, the kitsune reached for her phone, and stood to snap a picture of the morning sunrise to share with her friends.

That was a nice thought. ‘Friends’. Hitomi smiled, and hummed softly to herself as she sent the photo, then set to work cleaning up her paints.
 
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Hitomi found Orpheus--the little black squirrel who'd guided her in understanding her powers--curled up in a happy ball on the table next to her paints as the sun rose. "I'm glad you're making friends," he said softly.

Orpheus looked out over the city, thoughtful and concerned. "It's not like a mandrake devil to stay dormant this long. You've put a substantial dent in her forces. She'll be trying something dramatic in retaliation."
 
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Syra made good time on her jog. She was still very sore from a few nights ago, but with rest and exercise, she was staying loose and feeling better. The morning breeze off of the Shirako river rustled her hair.

A soft hissing sound heralded a skateboard catching up to her. A girl pulled alongside, her age or a litlte older, with neon purple pigtails whipping in the breeze. She wore an open shirt and bandages binding her breasts tight against her chest. The girl threw her a grin. “Good morning for a jog?”
 
Syra slowed down too a reasonable pace as the skater girl caught up to her. Taking a few deep breaths of the fresh morning air, she held up one hand to give her time to respond.

"Its always a good day for jogging, its just each day presents a different challenge" pulling the cap off her sports bottle she sipped at the water. The cool refreshing liquid cascading across her tongue.

"Good day for skate boarding?"
 
"It is!" She caled, shooting past and hopping to skate up a wall and do a flip, landing on her feet, skateboard tucked under one arm. "Its a beautiful day. I love feeling the wind in my hair and the rising sun on my skin."

She pulled out a water bottle of her own and poped it open. "My name's Minako. What's yours?"
 
Syra stopped in her tracks resting her arms behind her head she inhaled deep breaths. The sparkling water of the river catching her gaze as she rested her aching muscles. Takiing another sip of the water she turned to face Minako eyeing her up suspiciously. Bowing her head in respect she introduced herself, "Kobayashi, Syra. Sorry if i seem i bit suspicious its just I ussually get to run undisturbed. You kinda threw me out of routine."

Syra straightened herself up smiling as she readjusted her clothes to cover some of the still visible bruises.
 
"You sound just like my aunt, you know," Hitomi pointed out, with a sly smile. Jin Chisato had been overjoyed to hear all about her niece's new friends; she'd even forgotten to scold Hitomi for staying out so late without warning her beforehand. Of course, Hitomi had had to leave out some of the details in her retelling, like how exactly they all met in the first place, or the kind of entertainment they'd gotten up to at Isabella-chan's house...

The kitsune's smile softened at the memory, but faded a moment later. She looked off to one side, set down her paints again, and crossed her arms under her chest. "I don't... I haven't let anyone get close to me in a long time," she said softly. "With the other girls, though... it's easier than with anyone else. And I wouldn't have met them if it wasn't for you, Sensei."

She glanced shyly down at Orpheus for a moment. While she didn't come right out and say it, her sense of gratitude towards the squirrel was clear, in her voice and in her eyes. She unfurled her arms, set her shoulders, and followed his gaze to join him in looking out over the city.

"This mandrake devil... is it a coincidence that we all became Inspired at the same time like this, just as it's attacking the city?" She asked, toying unconsciously with her bracelet. It was something she'd been wondering about: why them, and why now? "Or did you and Eurydice-san have a hand in that?"
 
Kye listened as the intercom once again reminded her it was time to get up via the disembodied voice of Hinata their housekeeper. She rolled up, tossing the nest of blankets aside. Yep, she had destroyed her sleeping mat again. Rolling her shoulders she stood, Hinata would be in here soon to straighten the blankets and mat.

Looking at her pixi cut, she smiled remembering the rat's nest her hair had been when it had been waist long. Then her memory overlapped the reflection with Euterpe, and she realized she liked her hair longer. Perhaps she would grow it out again. Then again, she liked waking up and not having to prevent herself from strangling as her hair had wrapped around her neck.

She let the camisole slip from her body and pool in front of the mirror as she pulled the screen from in front of her closet bar. Underclothes drawn forth from side shelves, shirt, pants, ooh, nice belt... when did I get this? She marveled at the belt and lined it up next to her ties and hats. Then she tried her belt on, draping a flare ended tie about her neck and letting it nestled in her cleavage as she balanced a fedora of like color on her head.

"Nice," turning she would notice that her camisole was on the floor and as she bent to pick it up, would laugh as she realized she needed a shirt, well, she needed everything.
She would get ready for the day, bidding the housekeeper in as she entered and began cleaning up.

Turning to the stereo system, she leaned against the speakers that were attached. They were designed to offer surround sound, and were studio quality. Her violin almost leaped from the wall as she stepped before the microphone. A flick of her wrist and the bow had tripped the switch to record. She stroked the bow across the strings and with a closing of her eyes she welcomed the day with an aria of renewal.

The housekeeper moved through the room righting the blankets and mat, collected the camisole and exited in silence. A knowing and agreeable nod to the time of the music bounced with her as she left the room.

As the music ended, Kye lifted her head, opening once again eyes that she had not noticed closed. She smiled and bowed to the rising sun, before grabbing her bookstrap, replacing her violin into its case and throwing the case over her shoulder. She bowed once again to the sun and danced from the room.
 
Emi took a few deep breaths and stirred by the smell of breakfast as she lay in the bed with Ryoko, Isabella and others that may have stayed the night "Good Morning all that breakfast smells wonderful" Emi rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and smiled. "Could I borrow some clothes as I was not really planning to stay the night and have nothing to go to school in today. she sheepishly rubbed her head as she sat up and had a faint blush on her face.
 
Isabella was glad that many of the girls have accepted her invitation and stayed over the night. She was really glad that she was even closer to Ryoko now that was out of the bag. She was truly in love with her and she knew she couldn't explain it but there was something about Ryoko that made Isabella feel at ease. She knew deep inside that she didn't wanted to hurt her, she had want to stop her so that her monstrous master could take her and bring her so they could be together.

She had many bad dreams that night remembering quite clearly what had happened and why she felt like her belly was full now, like she had a purpose but everytime her nightmare had awaken her, her friends were close to her and it had calmed her instantly letting her sleep again for a while.

She smelled the bacon and the food and that made her aware that her parents were back home. She got up and move to take a shower before the other girls awaken, she clean herself a little more then she should trying to remove as much filt as she could knowing that most of it was in her mind and not on her body anymore. Then she realize that she was pregnant and in a couples of months it will show and she won't be able to hide it to her parents. Her mother would shone her and even might get her out of the house. What should she do ?".

She was about to go down when she realize that Emi was talking to her. She look at her and smile "I have a lot of extra uniform, since i am dancing a lot at school i need more to be able to change between dancing class and the other classes." She open a huge walk-in in her room and the girls could seen that Isabella add a lots of clothes. From underwear to many uniforms and many more casual clothes that would be classified as quite revealing, "pics anything you need".

She let the girls look at her clothes and pics what they needed while she move down to the kitchen to greet her parents that were fully naked again like they use to when they are home. She smile looking at her mother perfectly tone body and at her muscular father frame and huge cock. her mother was surely more then happy to be with a strong American man like him.

She smile and sigh "Hi mom, hi dad, we have some company for breakfast this morning, i hope you don't mind ? I already warn them about you dressing code".
 
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Emi smiled and grinned " Thanks Isabella, I owe you one." She gathered up a uniform and made her way to the shower. After getting cleaned and dressed and packed up her belongings she carried the bags down stairs and set them by the door and then joined Isabella and her parents at the breakfast table. "Thank you for being such great hosts, I hope our stay was not much of an inconvenience for you." If offered Emi would make a plate of breakfast for her self and eat to be ready to get to school with her new friends.
 
"Oh these?" Syra half smiled and blushed at the prying question. Pulling her sleeve up to show the bruises she examined them herself trying to play off the seriousness of the injury. "Would you believe a little thing like me got them from a secret underground fighting ring?" She gave a playful smile as she shied just short of the truth.
 
The world outside was a new and wondrous place, the rhythm danced along the street, the same base threads yet new chorus each morning. Her step rolled forward, the darkness of the nights and troubles of bullies and pretty much anything lat to her as she danced and pranced down the street. Grace and child-like play in her eighteen year old body, she balanced on the curb, leaped to the top of the fence and slipped through the crowd her tail balancing her steps all the way.

'Left turn, your destination is 100m down on the left.' Remembering that she was going by Isabella's, Kye dances up to the doorstep, a slight blush coming to her cheeks as she remembers the activities of their tape and bondage session. Ringing the doorbell, Kye bounced on her toes as she waited for the answer, already stepping out of her boots pending the invite in.
 
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“Vary astute,” Orpheus replied, hopping up onto Hitomi's shoulder. “I'm a little bad about explaining some of these things since the gods ceased to interact openly with mortal affairs. There are specific things we aren't supposed to talk about, even with their champions. Eurydice is worse about it, but this is important, so I'll give it a shot.

“The amulets you and the other magic girls wear where created at the end of what was known to the ancient Hellens—the people now called Greeks--as the Mythic Era. This was a time of great literacy and prosperity in the Bronze Age. Magic was a well developed and understood field of study at the time. Scholars of arcane lore were capable of great feats, and warriors with a modicum of education or prosperity were able to supplement their prowess with minor incantations or talismans.

For the Hellens and many surrounding people this period ended in a confluence of tragedies.

Firstly, the gods of Olympus were beginning to feel taken for granted. Many mortals demanded miracles or talismans when they had once come as supplicants. Some anarchists, demigods, and warriors had even grown so powerful that they could challenge lesser gods and force the greater powers of Olympus to unleash their full wrath in order to put them down. As you may imagine—certainly many modern storytellers have—such conflicts can devastate the world for miles around. The best remembered example would be when a trio of powerful men endeavored to do by force of arms what I once nearly succeeded in doing with art and diplomacy. They descended into the Underworld and laid siege to the gates of Hadese realm—presumably to retrieve fallen loved ones

“Hades is a good man—honestly a good deal more dutiful and reasonable than most of the gods of Olympus. When Cerberus was sorely wounded, he responded as most men would upon seeing their dog limp up to them whimpering and covered in blood.

“Hades girded on his jeweled armor, mounted his chariot, and took to the field of battle. He drove the interlopers across the River Stix and back to the mortal world before unleashing his full strength.

“Once he was well clear of the fortifications that imprisoned the Titans, he unleashed a furry of fire and brimstone that destroyed the mortal invaders in a single blow—along with the a good 70% of the Isle of Crete and every living thing on it.”

Orpheus paused, then shook his head. “Maybe I'm getting off topic. History does not flow from the heart in the same was as music.

“This period ended in a series of wars among mortals when the gods went silent, pulling their support from their people on all sides of every conflict. In the aftermath the Hellens—just to focus on an area I know best—lost their arts and sciences, even their alphabet. Supernatural creatures that did not normally answer to the gods, or who would have but wanted no part in the agreement—began to prey upon people rendered defenseless in the aftermath of the war.

“The muses wooed Hephaestus to wind his aid in creating a talisman that would grant a portion of their power to a girl who could use it. Throughout the centuries, those talismans and others like them—along with a few secret societies who remembered or reclaimed the old magic--have been used to locate the monsters who defied the silence of the gods, destroy them, or seal them away.

“From the Greek perspective, Zeus eventually found out about his daughters defiance. He was angry for a time, but eventually praised his daughters for their carefully devising a way to protect humanity without violating the spirit of the agreement. I believe Ares made similar talismans in an attempt to protect he Amazons. Their culture eventfully fell, and memory of it can now only be found through the lens of patriarchal cultures. Many women today try to rediscover them—through both history and imagination. Their culture is lost, though, and I no more wish it to rise again than I do many cultures. Your world has taken many great leaps of improvement in the last century. The past should be learned from, maybe celebrated, but not recreated.”
 
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Isabella's father had done some fitness magazine shots around the turn of the century. Having a well paying job as a senior security officer for DNA hadn't softened him in the least, and the way his manhood responded so easily to her mother's presence attested that none of it was steroid based.

The nude man crossed to his daughter and bent down to kiss her on the forehead. "I'll get some shorts on, Isabella. Your friends might be more comfortable that way, but please do invite them to breakfast. Ryoko tells me you're a real boon to your study group despite being the youngest. You make me proud."

He moved up the stairs, giving a slight bow and an Ohaiyo as he passed the girls.

Ryoko blushed. "Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Mr. Donovan. Study group ran late last night. Thank you again for your hospitality."

"Any time, girls," he disapeared into his room.

Ryoko's cheeks flared further when he was passed and she straightened her uniform before catching Emi's hand and jogging downstairs. "Your father is such a stud, Isa-chan," she whsipered to the two other girls.
 
Isabella smiled to her father and was glad that both her parents were ok. Having her father praise made her heart beat faster but she was also afraid of making him less proud of her if he found out that she pregnant.

She smile to Ryoko and Emi and blush a little at Ryoko comment "Yes he is, mom love him deeply and me too. I don't know what i would do if i lose him one day. He always make me feel proud and strong, i love him very much".

She was about to go upstairs to wake up the other girls when she heard the door bell. She was wondering who it was that came so early in the morning. She got to the door and open it seeing Kye.

She smile to her friend and hug her instantly "Welcome Kye, i had missed you, how are you ? wanna eat breakfast with us ?".
 
Kye leaned into the hug, then stepped inside with the welcome. Feeling the diva come onto her, Kye threw her head back and strutted like a fashion designer in an over-the-top cartoon. "Of course you missed me dahling, but I must sleep in my own bed on occasion. What would the maid think? And you know how the help gossip! Oh," the act dropped immediately as she stepped further into the hall to see into the kitchen, Isabella's mother was still nude and moving through the preparations with grace, "I love what you have done with your hair." The unusual clothing (or lack thereof) choice obliviously missed by the tall blonde as she waved to the maternal figure. "Good morning Isabella's family," she cried as she directed half her voice up the stairs.

Seeing two more of her friends, she bounced on her tiptoes, a quiet squeal brightening her already joyful expression. "Emy, Ryoko, how are you this morning." Kye was never one to stand on ceremony.
 
Hitomi turned her head slightly to look to Orpheus from the corner of her eyes as he climbed onto her shoulder. Her expression was focused at first, giving no sign of what she was thinking as she listened intently to his explanation. However, as he began to speak of the Underworld and so casually referenced his own history there, her eyes widened and she couldn’t help but let out a small gasp. Her sensei… he was that Orpheus?

As he finished his story, Hitomi found that herself quite at a loss for words. She looked back out over the city once more as she tried to figure out what to say, the songs of distant birds filling the silence. The kitsune considered herself a little bit of a scientist; she’s studied far beyond what her schoolwork required, inspired in part by the legacy of one of her parents, and in part by a desire to understand how someone like herself had come to be. To learn now that things she’d dismissed as myths were true, that there was a whole secret side of the world she’d never really considered before now… the world suddenly felt very vast indeed.

“Incredible,” she murmured, at last. She looked back to Orpheus, her eyes shining beneath her glasses. “You lived through all that, Sensei? To think, that the Greek Gods and legends are true… I never would have imagined…”

The kitsune’s mind raced with questions, her curiosity ignited, but Orpheus had said that he couldn’t say much and she didn’t want to push him. She bit her lip, shook her head slightly, and settled on something practical.

“Do you… do you think that we’re ready? For whatever the mandrake's going to try?”
 
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At thirty-six, Isabella's mother was eight years younger than her husband. Not only did she not bother to go get dressed the way Eric had, she took off her apron and came into the dining room wearing nothing but an oven mitt, setting first a hot pad and then a skillet down on the dining table.

She moved over to Ryuko and leaned into the younger girl. Dark hair spilled over her face as her lips approached the other girl's ear. “Yes he is,” she whispered with a grin, then gave the younger girl a kiss on the cheek—or was that the corner of the lips?

Either way, Ryuko's blush intensified.

Isabella's mother stepped back and pulled off the over mitt. “You're all totally welcome here, girls.” her Japanese—despite the exotic accent—was quite fluent and fluid, though she was using forms of speech with her daughter and her daughters friends she should only be using casually with her own peers. “You're also all welcome to call me Hanisha. Please forgive me if I get an honorific tangled.”

She then kissed her daughter on the forehead. “Get a count of how many are eating, chutki,” she said, “and serve everyone a bowl of cereal. I'll divide up the omelets for everyone.”
 
Orpheus regarded Hitomi fondly. "Ready? No, not ready, but you're going to do just fine anyway. I have a great deal of faith in you all. Speaking fo which." he hopped down and looked at the phone, "I think some of the "study group" stayed at Isabella's home last night. Maybe you should get together with them and share what I've told you. And ask me some more questions, too. I'm sure there was something ridiculously obvious i failed too tell you because I thought it was ridiculously obvious."
 
Hitomi blushed faintly under Orpheus' praise, and nodded her understanding. "Right, that's a good idea." She tucked a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, then picked up her phone to take a quick look at the time. "I could probably catch them on their way to school, if I hurry. Actually, I should probably be getting ready myself..."

The kitsune nodded again, this time to herself, and tucked her phone away in her pyjamas' pocket. She bustled to finish putting away her paints, then slipped out of her smock and left it folded neatly by the easel, where her painting was still drying in the morning sun.

"Sorry, sensei, I'll have to head back inside and get ready for school. Meet you downstairs in a little while?"

---

Hitomi emerged from the main doors of the apartment building a short while later, dressed neatly in her school uniform and with her school satchel slung over her shoulder. Her hair was still faintly damp from a rather quick shower, and clung to the back of her shirt wherever it made contact. In her hand was a piece of buttered toast, which she munched on cheerfully as looked to see if Orpheus was joining her.

Either way, she set off walking on a path that would take her past Isabella's house and - eventually - to school. It was a bit of a walk, but it was a nice morning, and the kitsune had plenty to think about along the way.
 
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