Post by gemstone on Mar 9, 2016 2:05:48 GMT
The girl awoke and stretched out on the couch before she rose to her feet. She heard noise coming from the Priests small kitchen and went to investigate. She found the old man busy attempting to cook something like breakfast. She drew closer and settled in the plain and simply looking little table and chairs. She watched him make and burn a little scrambled eggs on toast with some bacon. He set it down before her with a little smile then sat down himself with a cup of coffee.
“We need a name for you my dear. Something that won’t make you stand out like a thorn and yet will get some interest.” He mused as he sipped at his coffee. “I had a Japanese mother, she had a love for names and people.” He frowned as he stared at the young girl while she delicately tasted her breakfast. He suddenly rambled off a long and odd Japanese word before adding afterwards, “I required a message sent, thus I sent my messenger.” He nodded his head slightly before speaking quietly. “Tsuki for short I think, Tsuki Sakura.” He leaned back in his chair. “My mother’s last name was Sakura, she came from a very unique family.” He thought on the history of his mother’s very traditional family for a long moment. “In fact maybe I should take you to Japan one of these days. I think you would enjoy it immensely, especially when their cherry tree’s are in full blossom. That is something beautiful to witness.” He rose to his feet and poured himself another coffee as he continued talking. “I also think you should go to school, you’ll make friends and its best that the parish think I am giving you as much assistance as possible. In fact, carrying such a name I can claim you are a niece visiting from Japan.” He had just had a lightbulb moment and turned around to face her. “Yes that is perfect.”
The girl had finished her plate and brought it up to the sink. She looked over at the Priest and smiled in a gentle manner. “It is perfect.” She mimicked him carefully before rinsing her plate. “What is school?”
“Uh, that is where our young folk go to learn things. It prepares them for the world when they go out and get a job.” The Priest watched her curiously. “It is also where our young folk learn to make friends, and those friends tend to stick with us throughout our lives.” He smiled before sipping at his coffee. “We’ll take you down to the local High school and get you registered, then I think we’ll go to the mall and get you some clothes. We can’t have you wearing second hand clothes all the time.”
Thus the day was planned out. The old Priest visited the school first and met the principle. He introduced Tsuki as his niece and this was accepted by the woman who didn’t really question a Priest having a relative. They were given a book list, subject list and told the rules of what to wear and what not to wear. The old Priest then took Tsuki to the mall, where they went to several various stores looking for clothes to the girl’s liking. She seemed to have a penchance for jeans, t-shirts and sweat shirts. The Priest was greatly relieved by this, she would remain completely under the radar of any stupid hormonal boys at the school. They then went to get her school books and stationary. When they returned to the little church, the Priest proceeded to turn the basement below his small quarters into a small bedroom fit for Tsuki to live in. She assisted him in the process as she was not shy of giving assistance nor of hard work.
School was most interesting for Tsuki. The Priest was a little worried in how she would communicate with the other children but he felt confident she would manage to blend in well enough. Tsuki had little trouble, she stayed quiet mostly for the first couple of days. Simply observing and focusing on getting the schedule down for her classes so that she would not be late and would know what to bring. By the fourth day, Tsuki felt at home, she had a nice routine going. She got up early, had breakfast, prepped for school, then walked to school, attended all her classes before heading home again. She assisted the Priest with any after school chores he came up with for her to do, she did her homework, she then would settle in for private time where she read or browsed the internet before she would go to sleep at 10 pm on the dot every night. The Priest was most pleased with how easy the new arrival had settled in and blended with the local population. It was like she had never arrived via a crater at all. It almost felt as if she really was his actual niece from Japan.
One particular day Tsuki had arrived at school. She had attended most of her morning classes and it was currently lunch time. She liked to sit beneath some tree’s by the oval and eat her lunch. From this position she had a decent view of all comings and goings in and around the oval. Due to this position she noticed a group of kids being bullied by four older young men. She rose to her feet and slowly meandered over, by the time she had reached the kids, one had been shoved to the ground and was being told to lick the older boys shoes.
“Is there something going on here?” she asked curiously.
“Beat it Jap. Unless you want to lick my shoes for him.” Came the snapped response.
She regarded the young man and narrowed purple eyes. She leaned down and grabbed the young boy by the scruff of his shirt, and helped him return to an upright position. “No one will be licking your boots any time soon.”
“Who said you could make him stop?” The blonde haired bully got in her face. “You know what bitch, you should go back to Japan where you came from. You got no right interfering in here. This is our school, not yours. You don’t belong here.”
Tsuki shifted slightly so that her body was now shielding the others from the taller bullies. She offered a cool smile as she lifted her chin stubbornly. “I said he could stop. It is not necessary for him to grovel. You are not king, and he is not your servant. “She balled up hands at her sides unconsciously as she finished off quietly. “You are nothing more than an overgrown weak bully. I suggest you go and find someone your own size to pick on rather than being pathetic and picking on children younger than yourself.”
The blonde bully screwed his face up in frustration, he pulled a fist back but a sharp hiss from one of his friends warned him that a teacher was nearby. He lowered his hand but breathed out threatening. “We’ll get you worm, just you wait. When you’re all alone, with no one to help, we’ll be coming for you.” He jabbed a finger at her chest menacingly before backing away and retreating as the teacher was now walking over to them.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes Miss Grayson. Thanks to the new girl, she stopped Greg from beating on Tim.”
The Teacher turned and looked at Tsuki, she smiled lightly at the new girl. “Thank you Miss Sakura. Tim and his friends I am sure are most thankful for your assistance today. I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship for all of you.” She then walked off to yell out at some other kids misbehaving.
Tim pushed a pair of glasses up his nose and looked at the new girl before smiling slightly. “Thanks for the help.” He stuck out a hand. “I’m Tim.” He motioned to an overly large girl wearing a red hat. “That is Lucy and that..” he nodded at a skinny looking boy wearing a green lantern t-shirt…”Is Patrick.” He motioned for her to join them as they had been sitting on some bleachers. “Join us.”
From that day on Tsuki had a nice little group of friends to hang out with. She noticed they were pushed around, laughed at and treated like rubbish by a lot of the children at the High School. The three however soldiered on as best they could. They carved out for themselves a little kingdom to call their own within the high school grounds. They learned where to go, what places to avoid and what place was the best safe haven from bullies and the football team. The library was the ultimate safe haven, she found that many students who didn’t ‘fit in’ would congregate here. It saddened her a little, humans could be so cruel and they started at school. It seemed that those who felt powerful went on acting like that when they grew up, became adults and continued bullying anyone who was deemed weak and inferior to them. Just when she thought there might not be any hope for the human race, she would witness the fun, laughter and antics that Tim and his friends got up to. Those kids who were seemed worthless were like little jewels in the sand. The kids that studied hard, and focused on a goal got somewhere in their adulthood. She didn’t like the clique groups. The girls that would get together with only those who were like them, they were mean to anyone else who was different or considered not matching their interests. The boys were much the same, everyone had a clique if you really looked at it seriously. Tsuki due to her choice of friends though, didn’t feel the tension, the anger, the sudden fights that occurred amongst the clique groups. Tim and his friends would have it easy going all the way through their school years. They had a good strong friendship that was based of each other’s personalities. Not what one wore, how one dressed or how popular one was, it was all about how well their characters, traits and interests melded together.
Tsuki received a message one day while in a particular class. It was from one of the cheerleaders, who had called out ‘Good luck’ after delivering it. Tsuki read it, and sighed softly. It was a reminder that the bullies were out to get her, and they’d be paying her a visit tonight. She had to wonder where their tactical advantage was in warning her of their imminent visit of wrath? Some bullies were so arrogant they thought to intimidate their prey before striking. She was weary for the rest of the day but the bullies were no where to be seen during school hours. She sensed that they would attack when she was off school grounds, that way the teachers would be powerless to stop them. That was an interesting strategy. She shared the note with her friends and they were all afraid for her. Tim wanted her to go and stay with Lucy for the night, but she refused. Tsuki was not afraid, that was the key against bullies. She was also curious as to just what the four tall boys would attempt. Would they become physically violent, hurl insults or try some kind of vandalism. She would find out soon enough.
That night Tsuki got home safely, she went about and did her chores then sat and peeled the potatoes for the Priest who was preparing a nice roast chicken for them to eat that night. She looked up at a crack of thunder and smiled over at the Priest, he liked to comment that the rain was tears from heaven, the angels were crying for the souls of men. The priest intrigued her, he was caring, gentle and very thoughtful. She could see why his parish loved him. He was a man of his word, and strong in his belief, the vow he had taken and the robes he wore. They sat down to dinner, it was delicious. Roast chicken with matching roast vegetables, gravy and yummy sour cream to be dribbled over the potatoes to add taste. The old priest had out done himself again, and she loved him for it. After dinner she rose and proceeded to do the dishes, then put the scraps in the bin. The priest reminded her it was bin night so she emptied all the bins into the bin out the back, then proceeded to drag it down the driveway and out the front. She set it on the pavement out front before looking up as her skin tingled in warning.
On the other side of the street was a battered looking car and four men standing in the rain. They were armed with chains, knuckle dusters, base ball bat and a crowbar. The look on their faces was not nice, it was as if some monster from within had been unleashed. Tsuki immediately sensed these boys had dark souls, they would be fine tools and instruments for bad things in their lives. She stood silent and still as they slowly approached, brandishing their weapons in a intimidating manner.
“So little Jap, it’s time for your retribution.”
“Do you know what retribution means?” she quipped in response.
“Shut up bitch. You’re going down tonight. We don’t like Japs you see, we don’t like anyone from your country. So we gonna beat you into the ground and feed your bones to the birds. Whatcha gonna say to that?”
“I say try it.” She stated boldly and lifted her chin slightly.
“Look at that Paul, she got spunk.”
“No names!” hissed the ringleader. “We don’t say our names remember.” He grabbed at one of the four’s shirt and jerked him close. “Just in case she survives and talks.”
“What ever dude, lets get this over with. I’m getting freaking wet here.”
The blonde rolled his shoulders and grinned like a devil as he held up the crowbar. “Ever wanted to know what a crowbar felt like? Well little girl, yer gonna kiss it all sweet like.”
“Wait.” The red head to the right stopped the blonde and pointed at the crosses that hung around the girl’s throat. “Should get rid of those.” He said nervously.
“Why for?”
“Cause, I dun wanna seem to be beating on some kid that believes in god.”
“Will you cut it out! Not like God’s gonna come down here and save her! She’s just one! We can have some fun once she’s knocked out. Eh?”
The Red head still looked nervous before reaching out and ripping three chains with crosses from the girls neck. He looked at the Blonde headed young man who scowled. “What! I wanna feel fucking safe!”
“Sean I’mma gonna kill you one of these days.” Paul snarled under his breath then pointed at the final cross. “Might as well get that one too.”
Sean nodded and went to get it, but blue light hit his fingers when he touched the black cord that the final cross hung on. He yelped as if he had been zapped. “What the!”
Paul rolled his eyes before he swung the crossbar for the girl’s head. Only to feel it hit something solid, when he turned his head slightly to see what was blocking the full swing of his crossbar, he stared in astonishment that it had reached the girl’s forearm. She had flung it up to block herself from being hit and was glaring at him with righteous anger. She then stepped forward and hit his chest with a open palmed strike that sent him flying clean across the street and onto the bonnet of his car.
Tsuki lowerd her hand and then looked slowly at the other three, she raised a brow before asking quietly. “Does anyone else wish to try something?” Like all bullies, when the leader is taken out, the others will flee. Hence with Paul laying out cold on the bonnet of his car, the three others forgot about the evil task they had been about and ran over to it. They shoved Paul into the back seat, then drove off in a massive hurry. Tsuki sighed and tilted her head back, she let the rain spill down over her and run down her face. She then turned and walked back inside, she didn’t tell the Priest what had happened, she was unaware that he had witnessed the event. She went down to the basement and changed out of rain drenched clothes and prepared for her evening routine.
The old Priest slowly closed the front door to the church and locked it up. She looked so normal, she looked so human and yet it was very clear that she was not. He turned and made his way through the church, closing down shades and turning out lights. He left the candles burning before he left for his own little rooms to the back. He retired to the couch by the TV and reviewed in his mind all he had seen in regards to his new arrival. For the last few days everything had seemed normal again, but tonight he had been reminded that Tsuki was no ordinary visitor.
“We need a name for you my dear. Something that won’t make you stand out like a thorn and yet will get some interest.” He mused as he sipped at his coffee. “I had a Japanese mother, she had a love for names and people.” He frowned as he stared at the young girl while she delicately tasted her breakfast. He suddenly rambled off a long and odd Japanese word before adding afterwards, “I required a message sent, thus I sent my messenger.” He nodded his head slightly before speaking quietly. “Tsuki for short I think, Tsuki Sakura.” He leaned back in his chair. “My mother’s last name was Sakura, she came from a very unique family.” He thought on the history of his mother’s very traditional family for a long moment. “In fact maybe I should take you to Japan one of these days. I think you would enjoy it immensely, especially when their cherry tree’s are in full blossom. That is something beautiful to witness.” He rose to his feet and poured himself another coffee as he continued talking. “I also think you should go to school, you’ll make friends and its best that the parish think I am giving you as much assistance as possible. In fact, carrying such a name I can claim you are a niece visiting from Japan.” He had just had a lightbulb moment and turned around to face her. “Yes that is perfect.”
The girl had finished her plate and brought it up to the sink. She looked over at the Priest and smiled in a gentle manner. “It is perfect.” She mimicked him carefully before rinsing her plate. “What is school?”
“Uh, that is where our young folk go to learn things. It prepares them for the world when they go out and get a job.” The Priest watched her curiously. “It is also where our young folk learn to make friends, and those friends tend to stick with us throughout our lives.” He smiled before sipping at his coffee. “We’ll take you down to the local High school and get you registered, then I think we’ll go to the mall and get you some clothes. We can’t have you wearing second hand clothes all the time.”
Thus the day was planned out. The old Priest visited the school first and met the principle. He introduced Tsuki as his niece and this was accepted by the woman who didn’t really question a Priest having a relative. They were given a book list, subject list and told the rules of what to wear and what not to wear. The old Priest then took Tsuki to the mall, where they went to several various stores looking for clothes to the girl’s liking. She seemed to have a penchance for jeans, t-shirts and sweat shirts. The Priest was greatly relieved by this, she would remain completely under the radar of any stupid hormonal boys at the school. They then went to get her school books and stationary. When they returned to the little church, the Priest proceeded to turn the basement below his small quarters into a small bedroom fit for Tsuki to live in. She assisted him in the process as she was not shy of giving assistance nor of hard work.
School was most interesting for Tsuki. The Priest was a little worried in how she would communicate with the other children but he felt confident she would manage to blend in well enough. Tsuki had little trouble, she stayed quiet mostly for the first couple of days. Simply observing and focusing on getting the schedule down for her classes so that she would not be late and would know what to bring. By the fourth day, Tsuki felt at home, she had a nice routine going. She got up early, had breakfast, prepped for school, then walked to school, attended all her classes before heading home again. She assisted the Priest with any after school chores he came up with for her to do, she did her homework, she then would settle in for private time where she read or browsed the internet before she would go to sleep at 10 pm on the dot every night. The Priest was most pleased with how easy the new arrival had settled in and blended with the local population. It was like she had never arrived via a crater at all. It almost felt as if she really was his actual niece from Japan.
One particular day Tsuki had arrived at school. She had attended most of her morning classes and it was currently lunch time. She liked to sit beneath some tree’s by the oval and eat her lunch. From this position she had a decent view of all comings and goings in and around the oval. Due to this position she noticed a group of kids being bullied by four older young men. She rose to her feet and slowly meandered over, by the time she had reached the kids, one had been shoved to the ground and was being told to lick the older boys shoes.
“Is there something going on here?” she asked curiously.
“Beat it Jap. Unless you want to lick my shoes for him.” Came the snapped response.
She regarded the young man and narrowed purple eyes. She leaned down and grabbed the young boy by the scruff of his shirt, and helped him return to an upright position. “No one will be licking your boots any time soon.”
“Who said you could make him stop?” The blonde haired bully got in her face. “You know what bitch, you should go back to Japan where you came from. You got no right interfering in here. This is our school, not yours. You don’t belong here.”
Tsuki shifted slightly so that her body was now shielding the others from the taller bullies. She offered a cool smile as she lifted her chin stubbornly. “I said he could stop. It is not necessary for him to grovel. You are not king, and he is not your servant. “She balled up hands at her sides unconsciously as she finished off quietly. “You are nothing more than an overgrown weak bully. I suggest you go and find someone your own size to pick on rather than being pathetic and picking on children younger than yourself.”
The blonde bully screwed his face up in frustration, he pulled a fist back but a sharp hiss from one of his friends warned him that a teacher was nearby. He lowered his hand but breathed out threatening. “We’ll get you worm, just you wait. When you’re all alone, with no one to help, we’ll be coming for you.” He jabbed a finger at her chest menacingly before backing away and retreating as the teacher was now walking over to them.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes Miss Grayson. Thanks to the new girl, she stopped Greg from beating on Tim.”
The Teacher turned and looked at Tsuki, she smiled lightly at the new girl. “Thank you Miss Sakura. Tim and his friends I am sure are most thankful for your assistance today. I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship for all of you.” She then walked off to yell out at some other kids misbehaving.
Tim pushed a pair of glasses up his nose and looked at the new girl before smiling slightly. “Thanks for the help.” He stuck out a hand. “I’m Tim.” He motioned to an overly large girl wearing a red hat. “That is Lucy and that..” he nodded at a skinny looking boy wearing a green lantern t-shirt…”Is Patrick.” He motioned for her to join them as they had been sitting on some bleachers. “Join us.”
From that day on Tsuki had a nice little group of friends to hang out with. She noticed they were pushed around, laughed at and treated like rubbish by a lot of the children at the High School. The three however soldiered on as best they could. They carved out for themselves a little kingdom to call their own within the high school grounds. They learned where to go, what places to avoid and what place was the best safe haven from bullies and the football team. The library was the ultimate safe haven, she found that many students who didn’t ‘fit in’ would congregate here. It saddened her a little, humans could be so cruel and they started at school. It seemed that those who felt powerful went on acting like that when they grew up, became adults and continued bullying anyone who was deemed weak and inferior to them. Just when she thought there might not be any hope for the human race, she would witness the fun, laughter and antics that Tim and his friends got up to. Those kids who were seemed worthless were like little jewels in the sand. The kids that studied hard, and focused on a goal got somewhere in their adulthood. She didn’t like the clique groups. The girls that would get together with only those who were like them, they were mean to anyone else who was different or considered not matching their interests. The boys were much the same, everyone had a clique if you really looked at it seriously. Tsuki due to her choice of friends though, didn’t feel the tension, the anger, the sudden fights that occurred amongst the clique groups. Tim and his friends would have it easy going all the way through their school years. They had a good strong friendship that was based of each other’s personalities. Not what one wore, how one dressed or how popular one was, it was all about how well their characters, traits and interests melded together.
Tsuki received a message one day while in a particular class. It was from one of the cheerleaders, who had called out ‘Good luck’ after delivering it. Tsuki read it, and sighed softly. It was a reminder that the bullies were out to get her, and they’d be paying her a visit tonight. She had to wonder where their tactical advantage was in warning her of their imminent visit of wrath? Some bullies were so arrogant they thought to intimidate their prey before striking. She was weary for the rest of the day but the bullies were no where to be seen during school hours. She sensed that they would attack when she was off school grounds, that way the teachers would be powerless to stop them. That was an interesting strategy. She shared the note with her friends and they were all afraid for her. Tim wanted her to go and stay with Lucy for the night, but she refused. Tsuki was not afraid, that was the key against bullies. She was also curious as to just what the four tall boys would attempt. Would they become physically violent, hurl insults or try some kind of vandalism. She would find out soon enough.
That night Tsuki got home safely, she went about and did her chores then sat and peeled the potatoes for the Priest who was preparing a nice roast chicken for them to eat that night. She looked up at a crack of thunder and smiled over at the Priest, he liked to comment that the rain was tears from heaven, the angels were crying for the souls of men. The priest intrigued her, he was caring, gentle and very thoughtful. She could see why his parish loved him. He was a man of his word, and strong in his belief, the vow he had taken and the robes he wore. They sat down to dinner, it was delicious. Roast chicken with matching roast vegetables, gravy and yummy sour cream to be dribbled over the potatoes to add taste. The old priest had out done himself again, and she loved him for it. After dinner she rose and proceeded to do the dishes, then put the scraps in the bin. The priest reminded her it was bin night so she emptied all the bins into the bin out the back, then proceeded to drag it down the driveway and out the front. She set it on the pavement out front before looking up as her skin tingled in warning.
On the other side of the street was a battered looking car and four men standing in the rain. They were armed with chains, knuckle dusters, base ball bat and a crowbar. The look on their faces was not nice, it was as if some monster from within had been unleashed. Tsuki immediately sensed these boys had dark souls, they would be fine tools and instruments for bad things in their lives. She stood silent and still as they slowly approached, brandishing their weapons in a intimidating manner.
“So little Jap, it’s time for your retribution.”
“Do you know what retribution means?” she quipped in response.
“Shut up bitch. You’re going down tonight. We don’t like Japs you see, we don’t like anyone from your country. So we gonna beat you into the ground and feed your bones to the birds. Whatcha gonna say to that?”
“I say try it.” She stated boldly and lifted her chin slightly.
“Look at that Paul, she got spunk.”
“No names!” hissed the ringleader. “We don’t say our names remember.” He grabbed at one of the four’s shirt and jerked him close. “Just in case she survives and talks.”
“What ever dude, lets get this over with. I’m getting freaking wet here.”
The blonde rolled his shoulders and grinned like a devil as he held up the crowbar. “Ever wanted to know what a crowbar felt like? Well little girl, yer gonna kiss it all sweet like.”
“Wait.” The red head to the right stopped the blonde and pointed at the crosses that hung around the girl’s throat. “Should get rid of those.” He said nervously.
“Why for?”
“Cause, I dun wanna seem to be beating on some kid that believes in god.”
“Will you cut it out! Not like God’s gonna come down here and save her! She’s just one! We can have some fun once she’s knocked out. Eh?”
The Red head still looked nervous before reaching out and ripping three chains with crosses from the girls neck. He looked at the Blonde headed young man who scowled. “What! I wanna feel fucking safe!”
“Sean I’mma gonna kill you one of these days.” Paul snarled under his breath then pointed at the final cross. “Might as well get that one too.”
Sean nodded and went to get it, but blue light hit his fingers when he touched the black cord that the final cross hung on. He yelped as if he had been zapped. “What the!”
Paul rolled his eyes before he swung the crossbar for the girl’s head. Only to feel it hit something solid, when he turned his head slightly to see what was blocking the full swing of his crossbar, he stared in astonishment that it had reached the girl’s forearm. She had flung it up to block herself from being hit and was glaring at him with righteous anger. She then stepped forward and hit his chest with a open palmed strike that sent him flying clean across the street and onto the bonnet of his car.
Tsuki lowerd her hand and then looked slowly at the other three, she raised a brow before asking quietly. “Does anyone else wish to try something?” Like all bullies, when the leader is taken out, the others will flee. Hence with Paul laying out cold on the bonnet of his car, the three others forgot about the evil task they had been about and ran over to it. They shoved Paul into the back seat, then drove off in a massive hurry. Tsuki sighed and tilted her head back, she let the rain spill down over her and run down her face. She then turned and walked back inside, she didn’t tell the Priest what had happened, she was unaware that he had witnessed the event. She went down to the basement and changed out of rain drenched clothes and prepared for her evening routine.
The old Priest slowly closed the front door to the church and locked it up. She looked so normal, she looked so human and yet it was very clear that she was not. He turned and made his way through the church, closing down shades and turning out lights. He left the candles burning before he left for his own little rooms to the back. He retired to the couch by the TV and reviewed in his mind all he had seen in regards to his new arrival. For the last few days everything had seemed normal again, but tonight he had been reminded that Tsuki was no ordinary visitor.