195/Ghosts of Summer Break

Ghosts of Summer Break
Date of Scene:	02 August 2023
Location:	Administrative Office
Synopsis:	Himeko visits Kyouka's office during what it supposed to be summer break.
Cast of Characters:	Pyrite, Kyouka Inai

---

Pyrite has posed:
    This is likely going to be an akward meeting. Perhaps less awkward if it had taken place more recently when this girl was more child-like of mind and simplistic in her behavior, but that body has been buried, so here we are. Himeko is a ten-year old with long black hair and brown eyes that almost seem to be red (or might just plain be dark red), wearing the Radiant Heart Academy uniform in a black-and-red variation, skipping and humming as she makes her way towards the Administrative Office on campus, and begins searching for someone who looks like a counselor once she is inside. She isn't entirely sure what a counselor is supposed to look like, but this is apparently the place to find one.

    The concept that the office might be empty due to summer break, or that a counselor might not be in right now, or that they may be occupied with their work or another student, or having one of those sordid office romances with the savior of all office workers -- coffee -- that Himeko keeps hearing about are all far outside her expectations at the moment. No, she is here to see a counselor, because this is where one finds counselors, and that is just how it works.

    Her logic is infallible.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    The administrative offices are more than just for guidance couneslors- it's also where the infirmary is, as well as the headmistress' office, the other teachers' faculty room and break room, etc. But most of that is currently empty, due to it being the aforementioned summer break. However, someone searching for a guidance counselor might have more luck than someone searching for, say, an english teacher. Because one happens to be in residence. Kyouka Inai might not be the first name that comes to mind when thinking of faculty likely to work over break, but the truth of the matter is that guidance counseloring isn't actually really her job, anyway. It's a convenient cover.

    Which might be why she senses Himeko coming long before the girl actually finds her. When Himeko does, presumably, open the door to her office, she will be greeted by the sight of Kyouka leaning back in her padded office chair, the swivel tilted so that she's leaning at a diagonal, her feet up on the corner of the desk and crossed at the ankle. She's thumbing through a pamphlet, something the school gave out about safety or something, but her grey eyes are fixed on the door, her expression schooled into a neutrality that seems unnatural to her. As if she knows it's about to open before it actually does.

Pyrite has posed:
    Hm! A member of administration with her feet on her desk, leaning back in her chair, staring at the door, before Himeko even enters! This seems completely normal and legit to her! Without even a question in her head about it, the pale-skinned girl waltzes in, shuts the door behind her, and stands in front of the desk with her arms behind her back. Of note, her footfalls are utterly silent. Almost like she isn't even touching the ground. Then she waits. After a few seconds, she lets out an, "Ah!" as she seems to realize or remember something. "I am here for an appoinment." Then she finds the nearest piece of furniture that is unoccupied and sits herself down on it.

    And that's just how it is, apparently!

    Himeko decides to mirror the lady across the desk from her, leaning back and trying to put her legs up on the desk but they're too short and she isn't sure the chair tilts that far, so she eventually gives up regardless of what else is going on in the meanwhile.

    The very image of a threatening monster, truly.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka's ash-grey eyes track Himeko as she enters. If she's at all tense, it's hard to notice with the laconic posture she has adopted, but at the very least she does not raise her hackles or make any harsh demands. She just watches with, perhaps, an air of slight curiosity as Himeko crosses the office to stand before her desk and announce that she had arrived for an appointment. Never mind that school is not in session, and you can't currently make any appointments.

    The green stuffed armchairs in front of the desk do make a comfortable seat, but they do not tilt at all, and so any attempts to lean back in them is surely fruitless. Kyouka makes no comment on the effort, instead tilting her head to the side as she regards the girl. "S'at so? Didn't think I had anything today.." She muses, her tone introspective. "Then again, time does have a habit of getting away from me." A faint, lopsided smile. "So tell me what I can do for you, miss...?" The 'please state your name for the record' is unsaid, but clearly implied.

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko plants her feet back on the ground--well, back on the air, but the >appearance< of the ground, and sits up, with her hands in her lap. She tilts her head in confusion. "Himeko." she supplies. Then she tilts her head the other way. "Is this not an appointment?" Drat. She must have misunderstood what that word meant. It was always in the context of going to see someone that she heard it, so she just assumed that's what it referred to. "A meeting then. You can supply me with a meeting, please." Having overcome the unexpected obstacle thrown in her path so early in her adventure, she seems inordinately pleased with herself as she just sits there and waits to find out what happens next.

    Someone may not have thought this through very well.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka does not appear overly alarmed, despite what must be a nearly overwhelming amount of Dark Energy in her proximity. Surely much more than she is used to dealing with on a regular basis. But her poker face is good, if not particularly stoic. And she remains reclined in her chair, toying with a pen she has picked up from her desk, rolling it back and forth across the backs of her fingers. "Himeko-san, then," She says, with another faint, lopsided smile. "I can supply you with a meeting, sure. I mean, ain't nothing particularly hard about that. It's my job to meet with students."

    She lifts her brows, leaning sideways with one elbow on the edge of the desk, to regard the girl as her pen rolls this way and that across her knuckles. "You are a student here, aren't you, Himeko-san?"

Pyrite has posed:
    Oh-hohoho~! She knows the answer to that question! Your riddles will not dissuade her, Gatekeeper! "Yes!" she chirps with her constant Mona Lisa smile a bit wider than usual. She pauses, then it finally dawns on her that she might be expected to engage more than this. Sorry, Riddlemaster, this is my first time. "I am Darien-onii-san's younger sister. He enrolled me because it was more convenient. The classes have become much easier since the teachers and also students stopped coming to the classroom." She pat-pat-pats her hands on her lap in an alternating pattern, giddy with more energy than she knows what to do with. Ever since she ate that youma at the mall, she has just been practically jumping with the need to do something with her increased power!

    And also to get more of it.

    "It was my understanding that normal children see counselors. I have not had a normal life, so Onii-san has been teaching me. However, he is also frequently busy and unable to spend time with me, so I am taking steps to educate myself on my own." Surely, if he finds out she went to see Kyouka Inai without supervision he will be very proud of her, and praise her, and pat her head!

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Those raised brows climb slightly higher upon Kyouka's brow as she hears the name "Darien-onii-san" leave the girl's mouth. Oh, she looks interested now- not that a dark energy being masquerading as a young girl entering her office and demanding an appointment isn't interesting on its own, but it becomes even more so when she suddenly finds herself staring at... a lever. A push here, and a prod there, and who knows what might happen?

    "Normal is overrated." She says, pulling her feet down from the corner of her desk and sitting upright in the chair, which squeaks as the back returns to its fully upright position. "People who have normal lives tend to do normal things with them.. and that's seldom interesting. Far better, in my opinion, to be strange, yet interesting." She smiles again, this time with a slightly predatory mien, as she leans her elbows on the desk.

    "Tell me more about Darien-onii-san, and what he's been teaching you."

Pyrite has posed:
    Predatory smiles? Oh, now Kyouka is speaking Himeko's language! She is very, very, very familiar with being a predator. She smiles even wider, sensing that this counselor's increased interest and engagement. She must have done something correctly! As expected of Himeko-chan! She is perplexed at the attempt to dissuade her from normality though. It goes counter to what she has been hearing for a month and change.

    "He has taught me about ducks." she begins soberly. "And how to read and write. I can speak much more clearly now than when he found me, and I know what a bathing suit is, and how to wear a school uniform, and also the nature of a Camera Flash..." she trails off on that one. "...Is still somewhat confusing, but the Usagi introduced me to the concept. She is also a good teacher." Himeko rattles off more things she has learned in quick succession. "He has taught me to be polite, and to not be impolite, and to not ask people if their wounds are fresh, and how to use an elevated surface to gain an improved vantage point, and also oration -- or was it speechcraft? -- maybe those are the same thing, and also to not hurt myself in front of others, and also to not hurt myself at all, and also not to take someone's cat from them because that will make them sad and that is undesirable, and also that living here at the campus is more convenient because he is living here too, and that way I do not have to stay alone anymore, and also I am allowed to have cats, and also there are more people to learn from, and I am supposed to be obtaining friends even if only the Usagi is a friend so far, and also the Takashi is my brother too but not really?" She breaks off her run-on paragraph to lean somewhat closer to Kyouka and lower her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Please do not tell Darien-onii-san, but I do not believe that he and the Takashi are related by blood."

    She then leans back again, giving the counselor a knowing look.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    To her credit, Kyouka maintains her smile (predatory or not) for the entire duration of the sober recital of lessons learned. Her brows remain raised, as with intense interest, and that at least doesn't need to be faked. When the litany of education finally trickles to cessation upon the startling (to no one) revelation that Darien Shields and Takashi Agera are not actually brothers, she makes a soft sound in her throat, like a little 'mmm' that might be consideration or might be amusement, before shifting backwards slightly, flattening her hands on the desk. The pen is gone. Was it ever actually there?

    "Mr. Shields has an interesting educational style, but then again, I guess I'm not in a position to be overly critical of that sort of thing." She says, with a sardonic note in her voice. "But I'm glad you think of Usagi-chan as a friend. She's my friend too. I'd be fairly upset if any sort of harm were to come to her." She doesn't say this with the tone of a threat, but rather like a simple statement of fact, and she tilts her head as she does, her hair brushing her shoulder in a crimson fall. "I assume you feel the same way, if she's your friend. I'm curious though,"

    "Where were you living before he brought you onto campus? And.." A lowering of her chin, a faint narrowing of those grey eyes, sharp as daggers behind her laconic smile, "Aren't you friends with Darien's other friends? You know, the ones he spends time with at his job? What were their names again? I'm absolutely sure he told me, but my memory is just so bad. Sometimes it feels like I have more memories than any one person should have to sort through. It's easy to miss the details, huh?"

Pyrite has posed:
    Nodding along pleasantly, Himeko sees nothing wrong with anything Kyouka is saying, so divulges the truth without hesitation. "An abandoned place. There is a neighborhood that no one lives in now, and I was left there, where I stayed in a shrine and waited for someone to see me. Our parents are gone, so Darien-onii-san found me and now he is my Guardian. It is good he did this because I was becoming very hungry and did not know how to find more nourishment. I do not know what happened to our parents before..." Her eyes go distant and her expression changes to one of confusement, like she is suddenly lost and doesn't know where she is. "...Before." Before something that she still can't remember. Well, it can't be important if she can't remember it. Clarity returns to her eyes and pleasantness to her face. She can't even remember if she had parents to begin with! She would have to have, right? Otherwise Darien and her could not exist or be family or have spent this time together. This is how it works for normal children, and Himeko is trying very hard to be a normal children.

    "The Usagi seems to become hurt regularly. Perhaps she, as well, should be told not to hurt herself, because it distresses others, and that is undesirable. I am a children and I have hurt myself and it distressed Darien-onii-san, so I know that it is undesirable." She tilts her head a bit and looks upward at the ceiling for anything else in her head about Usagi. Feelings? What do feelings have to do with being friends?

    Finally, she comes to the question about Darien's friends. "I have met them. They do not like me and want me to go away and also be destroyed or disappeared. They have not said this to me, but I can tell. It makes me feel very welcome, as though I am back at home! Familiarity is important when fitting in at a new place. I have not been taught that, but I have determined it is so. I was unable to bring anything from my shrine, so their murderous intent alleviated some of my anxieties over new things. For example, did you know? There are many people."

    She just leaves that there without further elaboration. That's for Kyouka. She can have that.

    "It is okay." she says, leaning across the desk to try to pat Kyouka's hand, or at least the desk near it. She also does not elaborate on that at all. That comforting pat-pat is also for Kyouka. She can have that as well.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka absorbs all this information without any great change to her expression. That laconic smile remains, as does the intent study of eyes whose color now resembles steel more than ash. She does not interrupt the flow of words, nor does she try to supply any answers of her own to fill in the hesitations. Instead, she just waits. She doesn't even flinch when Himeko leans across the desk to pat her hand. The contact might crackle a little bit, as if something resists the touch of dark energy, but it's nothing more than a brief shock, like from static after shuffling your feet along a carpet.

    "It's important to me that Usagi-chan remains unhurt as well." She finally says, when Himeko falls silent, nodding her head in a sympathetic way. "And I have to say, even if murderous intent makes you feel welcome, I am not sure that I approve of Darien's friends wanting to destroy you either. It seems to me," She says, leaning her elbow on the desk and bending forward, as if in a conspiratorial confidence, "That you are making wonderful progress, and destroying you now would be a shame. Not when there's so much of value you could still bring to the people around you." Like, for example, a guidance counselor you are willing to tell any and everything that enters your mind. "I'd like to know more about Darien and his friends. For example, what sorts of things do they talk about, and what do they do for fun when they aren't at school?"

    Her smile is suddenly kind, as if understanding the limitations of being a normal children. "But I understand if you don't want to talk about that right now. I mean, this is just our first meeting. We can have more."

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko is absolutely thrilled at this much engagement. Usually people have other things to do, or their own things to say, or schedules to keep, or they don't understand her and look at her strangely, or any number of other factors. Very few have just sat and... Listened. Whatever Himeko is, she is also, ultimately, a child who has spent far too long alone and has many thoughts and feelings to share but has not had an opportunity to truly share them. Just receiving a sympathetic ear is more than enough for her to come out of her shell and blab until the other party falls asleep.

    Even Darien has his phone and his friends and his job and whatever else he does when he is away from her. And when she's with him, even though she can feel him becoming closer and closer to her, she can tell that he is resisting too. Something about synchronizing with her, and the deep emptiness that she represents, is undesirable to her older brother. A hesitation that acts as a barrier to true acceptance.

    She is working on wearing it down, so she and Darien can truly be together forever, but there's just >all these other people< getting in the way! That's it, right? Who wouldn't choose eternity if they could? Living and learning are interesting, but living things >die< and if she's not there to scoop them up when that happens then they... Don't stay with her. Well, they are siblings, so of course Darien will choose her eventually. She just has to wait.

    Himeko Soryuu is very, very good at waiting.

    She giggles at Kyouka's words. "It is fine. They may wish to destroy me, but that does not mean I will allow them to. I think it would be much more fun if we try to destroy each other. When it comes to killing things, you could say that I am, 'Kind of a big deal'. I can come back another time. I have been told that I am 'a bit much', so if you need a break that is okay, I understand." Her legs are kicking in the air as they dangle over the edge of the chair, going a mile a minute. She really just has so much energy to spend. Maybe she will go look for something to spend it on after this.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka's brows raise again when Himeko mentions how it would be a lot more fun for those who want to destroy her to engage in the game of trying to destroy each other. When the girl says she is 'kind of a big deal' in the realm of killing things, she actually laughs a little bit- not a laugh of disbelief, but one of appreciation if, perhaps, not in exactly the way that Himeko might interpret it. "Yeah? You know, I'm kind of a big deal when it comes to killing things as well. Certain things anyway." After a moment, she grimaces. "Well, maybe not anymore. But I used to be. I like to think I still have the knack, but y'know... old age is the one enemy we can't defeat, hmm?" Well, unless you're an immortal ghost, anyway.

    "You don't have to worry about me. I've also been called a 'bit much', in my time." Kyouka says, with another lopsided smile, showing just a bit too much of just-slightly-too-pointy canine tooth. "But, I don't think you've been killing many things around here, have you? I probably would have heard. Does Darien or Takashi or someone stop you from doing that?" Her tone genuinely curious, her expression only slightly devious.

Pyrite has posed:
    A little alarm bell is very belatedly going off in the back of Himeko's head. A very vague sense that maybe she is saying or doing something dangerous is dimly making its way to the forefront of her consciousness. She puts on the brakes a little, but remains totally honest. Lies aren't her forte, so to speak. "No. Just bad things. The video games at the tower all have my highscore, so Onii-san's friends are unhappy with me about it. Not the racing ones, those make no sense to me. But the ones where you kill enemies or other players? I am very good at that." She hesitates a little. The counselor has given no reason to distrust her so far. And she is friends with Usagi. And she praised Darien's teaching! And said that Himeko is making good progress!!

    A bit more quietly than her already-rather-quiet voice is prone to, she says, "I kill bad dreams. If Onii-san says it's okay, I eat the bad dreams. But I do not hurt people or animals. Just bad dreams. There are many bad dreams, and Onii-san said that defeating them will make me stronger."

    She tilts her head as she looks at Kyouka Inai with wide, naive, innocent eyes and absolute truth in her words. "I think something bad happened to me, but I can't remember what it was or when. So, sometimes bad dreams come out from... Somewhere. When I eat them, I remember a little bit more each time." It could be metaphor for conquering her trauma. Or it could be very literal. Maybe both.

    Her thin smile spreads until it's a big grin across her face. "I also get stronger." She gestures at her still-kicking legs. "Could not even walk before. Had to take big steps over tall grass. Now, I can walk normally!" Her grin shrinks back down to a small smirk and then into a frown. A thought just occurred to her. "Hey... You are friends with Onii-san too, right?" She just realized, very belatedly, that Kyouka said she was friends with Usagi but not Himeko's brother.

    Is that what's alarming her?

    Or is it something else?

    Himeko searches Kyouka's steel-gray eyes the same way she searched the violet eyes of that shrine maiden at the dance, trying to find something to indicate whether or not this counselor is an Enemy.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka seems very interested in this part of Himeko's speech. Not the part about the video games- that's impressive, sure, but it's not what matters to her in this moment. The parts about eating bad dreams and getting stronger. The corner of her mouth tilts up just slightly when Himeko says she doesn't hurt people or animals. She might be a horrifying vortex of dark energy, but there's no law against eating bad dreams. Hell, that sounds like a service people would pay for. Whether or not Kyouka connects the idea of 'bad dreams' to youma is not readily apparent, but it's likely she at least gets the gist of the sentiment.

    When Himeko pauses and asks Kyouka if she is friends with Darien, a series of somewhat complicated emotions passes over the counselor's face, although she quickly schools it back to impassivity, then lets it slide into a smile again. "I don't know if he thinks that I am his friend. But I promise you that I am. I want what's best for that boy.. like I do for all of my students." The last feels a bit like a qualifying addition, although it's unclear why that might be. "But sometimes in order to do what's best for someone, you need to make them angry. I'm afraid I may have made Mr. Shields pretty angry with me."

    A little bit of a chagrined laugh, a hand raised to the back of her head. "Nothing strange about that, I guess. But for what it's worth, I have his best interests at heart."

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko listens quietly and observes. Learning from everything that Kyouka is saying and doing, from body language to expressions and posture, to voice tones, what is said... And what is left unsaid. She may not understand everything, but she is an impressionable child, even if she is other things too. She learns quickly, and she does so from the example others set for her. Her brow is furrowed and she gives a little-girl frown as she tries to comprehend that last bit. "Making someone angry... Can be what's best for them?" She squints as she looks upwards towards the ceiling. "You mean like not doing what I'm told to?"

    Her legs have stopped kicking. She pushes herself up onto her feet. She might be just barely tall enough to look over Kyouka's desk, but she puts her fingers on the edge of it and stares across at her. "Ne... You aren't going to do anything bad to us, are you, Counselor-sensei?" The shock from earlier when her hand made contact with something unseen between the two of them was a minor surprise for Himeko, a little jolt that had her fighting off the giggles behind her best smile. She shows no concern over a worse shock now.

    "Killing people isn't normal and neither is hurting people. They are undesirable. But you said that normal is boring, and I might have to do things that make others angry... If someone tries to separate me and Onii-san..." Her small smile returns. "...It's okay if I stop being normal, right? Even if it makes him angry?" Himeko's fingers curl, barely holding back the black mist that wants to come spilling out as though she's burning the desk with her touch. "Ne... I know a way to make sure Onii-san is angry, and also make us all closer friends."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka is very still as she watches Himeko on the other side of the desk. She's perfectly aware of the amount of magic the girl is barely containing- her senses don't allow her perfect information, she can't know the girl's abilities or the way her particular use of dark energy functions, but she's very aware of the type and the scale. She is not afraid- there is nothing of fear in her posture or her expression. Rather, there is watchfulness. And perhaps just a little bit of pity.

    She turns slowly to fully face the girl again, tilting her head. Whether or not Himeko has any sense of magic in others, she won't sense anything in particular from Inai-sensei at this moment. Bending very slightly, bringing herself closer to eye level with the much shorter girl, she smiles a small, sad little smile. "No, Himeko-chan.. you have it backwards. I didn't say that making someone angry is good for them. What I said is that sometimes, doing what's best for them makes them angry. Usually because they don't really understand why you're doing it."

    "I don't want to make your Onii-san angry. I think being angry is actually pretty bad for him. But I think that, in order to help him, I need to do somethings that might make him angry. I wish they wouldn't, but I can't control how he feels. And I have to do what is right. You understand that, don't you?"

    She leans a little bit closer, and the grey of her eyes might put steel to shame as she meets the red-eyed gaze of the small girl on the other side of her desk. "I would prefer you do not kill or hurt any people at my school, Himeko-chan. I would really like to be your friend." Her tone is quiet, gentle. Her eyes are adamantine. "And I think your Onii-san would be very cross with me indeed if I were to have a disagreement with you. But don't worry. I have no interest in separating you from him."

    Slowly, she leans back, and her smile gets a little wider. "After all, you're being very helpful to me. And that makes us friends, too. Which, in fact, might make Darien a little bit angry too. But I think that's okay."

Pyrite has posed:
    Himeko is likewise not scared. She is very, very interested in this conversation. And a little bit giddy at the possibility that one of the levies upon her might become compromised in a way that she will be able to do more with her powers. Maybe then she can burn off some of this energy racing through her like lightning. She cares what Kyouka is saying, and her intent. She continues to watch wide-eyed, and listen carefully. Ah... She had it wrong then. There is no wording here that will weaken a binding. Well, that's fine. It might make her less connected to Onii-san, and she doesn't want that.

    Thoughtfully, emotionally neutral but not expressionless, she would much rather learn from this than wiggle out of a restriction on her actions. But she's a specter of death. Even devils will look for loopholes in the details, but a ghost is a memory. The definition of who and what she is strongly depends on how reinforced that role is, how much she is reminded of what is desired of her. Otherwise, she will just sort of... Revert. Ghosts may be memories, but they easily forget.

    The explanation does its job. Kyouka is recognized as a proxy for Darien. Himeko nods finally, and a more child-like smile appears on her face instead of the small, quiet, 'please use wording that will let me start killing everything that walks and breathes' Mona Lisa smirk. Her fingers relax, and she lets her hands slide off the desk and fall down at her sides. "Hm! That makes sense. It may be a result, but is not the intent... And anger is undesirable, so if it is possible to avoid it, then that should be considered..." Himeko nods firmly. "Hm. I understand."

    Everything is sunshine and rainbows and ghost kittens again. "A friend. Yes, that is desirable. Perhaps, if I have more friends, I can remember more. Would you like to meet my cat? I have no room mate in my dorm room yet. If Shiro likes you, then you can stay with me. This will definitely help Onii-san become better friends with you too." The things kids say.

    "Ah! I just remembered! You asked about the names of Darien-onii-san's friends. There is Kazuo and Koji and Usagi. I have not met Koji but I have heard of him. I do not know their full names. I am Himeko Soryuu. That is my full name. I think my name and Onii-san's are different because we were raised seperately, but I do not remember our parents at all. I just know that they are gone. Also, there is Takashi, and..." She struggles to remember. "Zaibatsu? Mas... Something. Massomething. And... Jason. Like the one with the mask in that one movie. You should see it, very interesting methods of killing, there is an entire series. But Jason in that kills people, not bad dreams or monsters or anything, so you should not emulate him. Anyway, Jason from the movie is not the Jason that is friends with Onii-san, so do not worry. I have seen no mask." She reaches over to pat-pat again, giggling at the shock if she makes contact. She is back on babble-mode, but seems to realize she has used up a lot of the counselor's time.

    "Counselor-sensei, I will request a meeting another time. You have been very helpful. I will remind Onii-san to not be angry for you and also that you wish to be his friend."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka seems to relax slightly when it seems her reasoned words have an effect- or at least, that her careful choice if them leads Himeko to the conclusion she was hoping for. Her smile gets a little easier, and her eyes soften once more as she tilts back in her chair, raising her arms to lace the fingers of both hands behind her head. Looking entirely relaxed again, though only a moment before she looked as though she were facing down a monster. Which of course, she was.

    "Yes, I know Kazuo-san, at least, and I've met Usagi and Takashi as well. Jason?" She muses on this for a moment, but shakes her head slightly. Filing the name away for another time, along with the others. "Thank you for coming to speak with me today, Himeko-chan." She says, her tone light and her smile friendly, if a little lopsided. "I've found it most interesting, and most helpful as well. I do hope you come back to speak with me another time."

    "And do tell Darien not to be angry with me. Tell him..." She pauses, seeming to think for a moment, then her smile gets even wider, showing her uncomfortably-pointy canines in a wolfish grin. "Tell him that he should do his best to respect his sisters, born or found. Tell him that for me, alright?"

    She waits for the girl to leave, then swivels her chair around to look out the window, her expression falling off into neutrality. "So much for summer break.." She mutters to herself, as she digs out a cigarette.