Uncle Toshiki's House

Mizumi came downstairs with a small dinner from Satoshi. She kept her patients for at least 24 hours before letting them go, but in Mizumi's defense, she'd keep Satoshi longer just because. Her dish of choice wasn't much, just something Uncle Toshiki did on the grill. He was getting more leg excercise recently, staying off the couch and what not.

She sat down next to the bed on a wooden stool, placing two plates on a metal tray at the bedside.

"Eat up, Satoshi. You might be feeling better, but you still need to get your fill. Your gonna have to be back in action in no time, mister."

She had her caring, protective attitude on moreso than her flirty one. This was probably because her caring and protectiveness was her true and absolute nature, the kind she grew up on and flourished when she took care of her cousin.... who still wasn't home.

"You know you don't have to sit on that stool." Satoshi took the plate and started eating a bit of it. Toshiki's cooking wasn't half-bad. It kind of reminded him of how his dad used to grill, though with a lot more seasoning. He wiped his tongue with his fork. Too much seasoning.

It did occur to him that he had been here all day, either snuggling Mizumi or sleeping. It was like a vacation, as he had thought of earlier. But...she was also right. It couldn't stay a vacation, much as they'd both like it to. Sooner or later, there was going to be another attack.

Satoshi stared at his gun, strapped once more to his leg.

"Satoshi, I need you to tell me something. And don't lie to me. I'll know if you lie to me."

Her eyes briefly glowed fuchsia to to drive home the soul resonance factor.

"Do you have.... multiple personality disorder by chance? Or sometimes think as if someone else is thinking for you? Maybe talking to another conscious?"

She listed off things she warranted as a threat last time she checked up on his main body functions. Soul resonance was hard to control so she couldn't always avoid snooping, even when she really wanted to. This was one of those times.

Mizumi even eyed the gun for a moment, believing that might have something to do with it.

A slight protest from Seph went ignored. Satoshi closed his eyes. This question was destined to be asked by someone else, eventually. And if he and Mizumi were to be lovers, she at least deserved the truth.

"Since I was I think...eight? Ten? I've been able to talk to my cards." His eyes opened once more, staring at his plate but still directly talking to his companion. "When I left home to become something bigger than I was, which at the time was a son of a farmer...I found out that I, along with some others, was tied to the planet Cray, and that it was my duty to protect or somethin'.

"Yukino and Haruka, they somehow ended up with the same fate as myself, along with a few others we've met along the way. We formed the Triad because we all shared similar qualities, not just because we shared in our sufferin' a loss at regionals. Together, we got people helpin' us to bring peace back to that planet."

Satoshi rubbed the back of his head. "Invaders keep comin', though. Not long ago, I helped 'em. That's what the mark is, if you were ever gonna ask about it." He raised his hand to show Mizumi his dual black rings, overlapping like an infinity sign on his hand. "Strange, though, the mark still gives me powers that let me take void energy like it's nothin' compared to anyone else in the world. And it lets me use this gun, which is an artifact from someone from another timeline from ours or somethin'. At least, that's what Angelica from Genesis told me."

He looked her in the eyes. "So, in short, I talk to spirits and stuff the same way my two best friends do. Will that do?" His own eyes narrowed a little. "Because I'd like to know what you did to Haruka in return, if you don't mind, sweetheart."

Mizumi sat there, listening intently until the question she didn't exactly expect to be asked, was asked. She put the fork on her plate, and set the plate down, breathing in and thinking for a moment. Her fingers tapped her thighs as she decided that she had to tell him eventually anyways. It was probably too early to put what she had in mind into action but...

"I..."

She sort of flipped her eyes the other direction, not being able to look Satoshi in the eyes. She knew it was going to be a bit painful to hear, at least to a degree.

"I'm not Haruka's cousin."

Shocker.

"When Sera brought him to me, it was the perfect opportunity to... reinvent him. But he was too strongwilled. I couldn't break through his determination to stay the way he was in order to protect...."

She bit her lip, lowering her head. She was holding on to a thread trying to explain herself. It was tense and actually a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

"In order to protect you and Yukino. He was so intertwined with your fates I couldn't break him, not even a little. So I had to replace memories here and there with those of myself. So when he woke up, he would remember me. Not that any of his memories of me ever existed. That is... why he keeps forgetting things. He's having lapses in judgement due to having false memories inserted manually."

She looked at him to get a glimpse of Satoshi's impression of all this.

"With my influence, my soul resonance bound to him, he listens to me. Hangs onto my words like a machine doll because his body has no other option. I didn't want to hurt Haruka... I had someone else in mind."

She leaned against the wall next to the bed, curling her legs up to her chest and pressing her forehead into her knees, hiding essentially. She was crafty and devious, but she was delicate, and she knows when she's done wrong.

Satoshi moved his lips in a bit of a half-circle, taking this all in. Well...that was certainly unexpected. Truthfully, it did bug him a bit that Mizumi, this girl that he had liked, this girl he had essentially spent the day kissing and cuddling, messed with his friend's memories. Hell, he didn't even know if she had messed with him; that much wasn't exactly clear, and perhaps it was what Seph was trying to warn him about in the first place.

But if what she said was true, it was impossible for her to do much more than allow for her existence. In fact...

It sounded as though she was as alone as he was whenever he left.

Whereas anyone else would've thrown a fit, left her to suffer...Satoshi instead placed a gentle hand on Mizumi's leg, stroking it softly. He could've said anything to her that was akin to "good riddance," or "how dare you," but all that came to mind was...

"Do you understand why he feels that way now? Now that you've spent a little time with us?"

"I can see why he'd want to protect you, sure. I want to protect you too..."

She gulped, looking up slightly from her cradled position.

"I don't know about Yukino... even after reviewing his memories, she seemed to make the poor boy suffer more than I thought. Locked him up once... left him for over a year with no contact whatsoever. When he was having near-death experiences in his hotel room, she never checked on him once. She was fighting at the tournament."

Mizumi looked, almost dead, when she stared over to Satoshi.

"I don't care why he wants to protect her. She doesn't deserve somebody as wonderful as that boy. You know how hard Haruka works... why don't we just take her out of the picture? I'm sure that Karin girl, the one in his dreams would be better for him. She takes care of him so well, y'know?"

Mizumi dug her head back into her knees.

Satoshi pushed himself off the bed and picked up the balled-up Mizumi in a princess carry, though the look on his face remained a bit serious. "Haruka...tried to date someone else once. Yukino's sister, actually. Hana, her name was." The serious look gave way to a chuckle and small smile. "They were the weirdest couple, I swear. But it didn't really last for a few different reasons, and one of them was just...how devoted Yukino and Haruka are to each other."

He sat down with her sprawled across his lap, still holding her. "Trust me, I think that in the long run, the three of us being so close together is probably worse for us individually because of how responsible we feel for one another. But it is what it is." He stroked her hair softly, leaning in to place a kiss on her lips once more, followed by a grin.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it..." she muttered, letting him kiss her once more. This was the only person felt defenselessness was okay with. She felt relaxed, even a bit more than normal. She ended up using her arms as wrap around Satoshi's neck to not fall off of his lap.

Her thoughts raced rapidly, then disappeared altogether as she usually had to when touching somebody else. Her morals still stood to not invade other's privacy unless she felt it was necessary.

"It doesn't sit well with me. I don't want Haruka to be unhappy... just like when I found him the snow those months ago."

Her smile disappeared again, but not to a frown. More to a place of thought.

Her hands around his neck felt nice.

"The way I see it, it's hard for them to be happy because of the way things are right now. Doing something about the reapers, over time, will probably make things better for them. Probably."

His smile returned to a grin...this time, much more devious, as he gave her a small tickle under her legs. "Hey, hey, you didn't do anything to me, now, did you?~"

She shook her head no, letting her hair sort of drag across Satoshi's chest.

"I have my morals, y'know. I try really hard to not to snoop on people's thoughts when I do that sort of thing. Haruka was the exception is all."

She drew a small circle on Satoshi's cheek, then poked it. Just a tendency. It might be because the whole feeling of being with a person like this is setting her on edge in the first place, and having to explain what she had done to that person, who is also a friend of the person she manipulated... well that isn't really fun.

"You aren't... upset?"

She was half-wondering mindlessly, half actually curious what he was thinking.

"I'd be more upset if you refused to tell me." He stroked Mizumi's hair, blowing a bit of air onto it to watch it float. "The fact that you're at least being honest with me...well...I like when people are honest. It's a family thing." Another kiss.

"So you can manipulate souls. Maybe there'll be a time where it'll be useful for the good of us, huh?" He didn't actually get it still, but Satoshi wanted to believe there was good in this person he was with right now...this person that was about to be his girlfriend.

Who was, rather. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Any word on where Haruka is?"

It was quiet today. Sera wasn't home again, Haruka was least seen on the news being dragged away by Yukino and a devious smile. Obviously things are going well for him. Mizumi is having one those days. Drinking her coffee at the dining room table, lights off, head in her hands. Her mood had been degrading as of recently due to the ramblings of soul resonance. She would randomly hear Toshiki's thoughts and because they would mix with her own it caused headaches of massive proportions.

The kind that painkillers don't really do enough for, these days.

"Guh... can it be nighttime so I can sleep already?"

It was one of those days.

Her phone rang as she downed a third cup of coffee. Her mood hadn't gotten all that much better until she flipped open her phone to see the man that got around to sending something to her. She had been worried sick since the Reaper's attacked and now he was asking to cuddle?!

....

She wanted to cuddle.

"Where are you, I'll be over ASAP.

-Mizumiiin xx"

Mizumi already ran up the stairs to her bedroom and started getting into comfy clothes. Comfier than what she was wearing now.

Mizumi's face became bright red as she read the text. Quite literally a nosebleed in the works was coming up. She shook her head, tossing her phone for a moment as she tore through her closet for something to wear that looked good but wasn't a dress. She decided on a thin blue tank-top and a pair of black cloth shorts. Due to her weird fear of feet, she put on a pair of ankle socks and slid down the stairs texting back.

"Better hope Toshiki doesn't see you coming through the front door like that. He carries that camera around like a maniac.

-Mizumiiin xx"

She grinned a bit sending that. It was as if this relationship was already in motion and... normal. Like, there wasn't some malevolent force or anything wrong with being in it.

Mizumi felt normal. She felt good. Yosh.

Satoshi had thrown on his t-shirt on the way over,but it wasn't going to stay on. He had no plans to keep it on, but for now, it would at least deter Toshiki.

The door was open. He was expected. Good. He bounded down the stairs, tearing the shirt off as he reached the basement.

It took not even moments after hitting send for a shirtless Satoshi to come bounding down to the basement, where Mizumi was already laying on the bed waiting for him. It would be a crime to say she didn't look damn good today, considering all she did all day was pamper herself.

"Come here, boy. If you aren't on this bed in the next 10 seconds you're going to get an internal beating. I have work to do you know?"

She smirked, the purple glow in her eyes returning.

"Then you have work to do."

Ohman. Ohboy.

Satoshi smiled. "Then we'd better get right to it, shouldn't we?" He slipped into the bed and in the process...slipped out of his trunks.

---

At Genesis HQ, Angelica's aide, the Wisdom Keeper, Metis, collapsed, her nose bleeding. "Metis?!" Angelica ran over. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"T-the screen..." Metis was rather dazed, a smile crossing her face. What was making her smile so hard?---

Angelica looked up to see her Vanguard's now-naked body, and fell back herself with a nosebleed. Damn, he was built.

Mizumi climbed on his back, giving his tush a firm smack. Her nose started bleeding before she was even giving him the soul treatment so obviously this man was doing something right.

Her hands hit his back, instantly realizing something... DAMN HE'S BUILT.

She nearly pulled away, just to marvel at the Adonis of a man she was finally getting to toy with but she knew if she broke transmission early it would cause a lot of really bad problems. Namely, her mind breaking.

Her treatment was quick and flawless. She even placed a couple of kisses on the man's back on his neck, as she kept hand-contact for soul transmission. Due to the aphrodisiac effect of the resonance, it made every touch nearly three times as potent. Mizumi was the best partner to have for these kinds of arrangements.

"You really need to relax a bit more, y'know? I'm trying to avoid your memories as best I can but there is some... really tough stuff in here to handle. Why don't you take more time off?"

More time off? Come on, Mizumi. Now you're just being spoiled.

God, she was good. Satoshi squeezed his lover's hand. "As long as you're here with me for it...I'm needy, you know." He chuckled, then closed his eyes.

"Listen, Mizumi...you can pry into my memories, if you really want to. I trust you." This was probably a mistake, but at the same time...if something was wrong, he'd notice, wouldn't he? Anything to get Nebula Lord to leave them alone...

Mizumi took a bit more advantage of the situation. She moved her self to sit on Satoshi's back, leaning all the way forward. Her chest pressed against his back, her hair falling over her shoulder onto his skin. Looking through memories was in fact easier to do with more bodily contact. Once more, pressing her lips to Satoshi's neck, Mizumi opened her eyes.

What came before her was flashes of... darkness. Binding rings of destruction. Loneliness. There were memories of being left behind and misunderstandings never retold correctly. There was the hope of the Triad, and despair among them when they all fell to darkness. Satoshi faced a lonely path that not even Mizumi was prepared to see.

She pulled back, biting her lip. Exiting is memories for a only a moment, she whispered in his ear softly, the warmth of her breath falling slowly, "You don't need to worry, Satoshi. I promise."

Once more, Mizumi ventured through his memories, further pressing her body to his. While anybody who came in would probably lose their shit watching this, it was only erotic in the manner that it was meant to be. But in the end, they weren't doing anything really wrong yet.

I'll help you, Satoshi. Somehow.

A smile returned once more as better memories flooded into her head. The farther into the past she delved, the happier it seemed. Moments with the family. The farm. The meeting of Haruka and be-rivaling him, the friendship and crush he once too developed on Yukino. It was all cute and interesting things to her. Her mouth formed a crescent upon Satoshi's skin.

"I like these memories, Satoshi..."

Well that's a weird way to phrase it.

Satoshi couldn't exactly stay still during all of this. The touch was so pleasant...his own hands started to wander. They went as far back as they could, gently caressing Mizumi's legs and thighs, a light touch of her rear occasionally happening as he just stroked.

"I'm glad you like at least some of them...I'd like even more of those. Maybe even with you."

Wrapped together like this...He wondered if Haruka and Yukino shared this same sort of embrace last night. It's not like one of them was a deranged animal or anything.

Mizumi smiled a bit, feeling Satoshi's hands move around. At least he was getting comfortable in his time here. It was weird for Mizumi to be felt up even a little but she would probably get used to it in the days coming.

"I'd like more memories with you too... Hopefully I don't end up going anywhere, right?"

She was obviously joking, but for some reason she had this nagging feeling that she was out of place. Memories of a past she never lived was missing. It was as if her birth stemmed from a different place.

Her touch become a bit more forceful. Nearly deep tissue it seemed, and her breasts were basically squished between her and Satoshi's chest. God she really should have worn a bra today. Though she didn't really plan to leave the house, and Toshiki doesn't take a second glance at her during the day anyways so it sort of slipped her mind.

"H-Hey... Satoshi."

Her voice got a bit heavy.

"What's that?"

She found a... rather strange presence. Who was... Nebula Lord?

"Satoshi, what does the name Nebula Lord mean to you," she asked, moving her hands from his back to his shoulders and down his sides a few times.