Unstuck Country, Chapter 7 part 4
Jun. 6th, 2012 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
estiroseHere's the final part of Chapter 7.
A flurry of questions followed. What was Wataru's favorite color? Where did he like to visit? Where would he like to visit? What he'd been listening to lately? Wataru had answered along the lines of "white", "the park", "Everywhere", and something classical that Taiga didn't quite remember.
Some of them showed that the woman, or at least one of her assistants, had done some research. "Why do you like to play the violin?"
"Because it's part of who I am." Wataru seemed to have realized that smiling at the woman was a really good idea. "I can't remember a time when I haven't, really. I feel like they've been part of my life forever."
"Have you ever thought about playing professionally?" she asked.
Wataru shook his head. "Not really. My father was really good, and... I'm not that good."
She nodded, and thankfully stayed off the topic of Wataru's Human father. "What's your favorite kind of Human to hunt?"
"I... don't hunt." To his credit, Wataru ducked his head a little, like in the old days. "Up until recently, I thought I was full Human. Mom always wanted me to believe I was. I'm not really sure about hunting Humans."
"Well, of course not! You aren't to blame for what your mother did." Muraka-san shook her head. "This isn't going to go into the published interview, but are you going to learn soon?"
"I'm going to teach him." Taiga said before Wataru could answer. "There's a lot of things to unlearn." He neglected to mention what needed to be unlearned.
"Of course! I can't imagine how it would be to be raised by someone who got that confused...." She sighed. "Have you found any friends?"
"Nii-san just introduced me to some of Mio-san's friends," Wataru said hesitantly, and Taiga knew he was trying to think of a way to bring up the topic of alternate food sources. "Before that, I had a few Human friends, and Nii-san and I were friends before we knew that we were brothers."
"That's amazing," she breathed. "So, what do you think of the Fangire so far, Wataru-sama?"
"So far, everybody I've met is very nice," Wataru said, with only a touch of the shyness that Taiga missed so much. "I think that Fangire should have a food source other than Humans, even if it's just as a backup." His brother shot him a look that said that he wished it would be so much more, and that he'd be hearing about it when they got home.
"While what we feed on and who we hunt is an important part of Fangire culture that shouldn't be done away with," Taiga said, "I know that we must modernize and change a little if we're to remain superior to Humans. I think making sure we have an alternate food source in case Human Life Energy becomes poisonous to us for some reason is a good idea."
"I'd never thought about it that way," Muraka-san said, with more enthusiasm than she probably needed. "Well, that certainly is something to ponder." She smiled widely. "So, do you always wear scarves like that, Wataru-san?"
He knew that Wataru knew that she'd deliberately changed the subject. It wasn't exactly something that most Fangire would probably be comfortable broaching. He and Wataru might be killed before Masao was born, just as Wataru had been born sixteen or seventeen months after his own father had died.
Wataru started eagerly going on about oblong scarves and lengths and things Taiga had never known about that item of clothing - probably far more than the interviewer needed for her sound bites.
The interview concluded with an enthusiastic question about Wataru's favorite phase of the moon, and soon, Muraka-san and Wataru were bowing at each other. "Go out to the hall," Taiga said, confident that Wataru was relatively safe in the building. "I think I'd like to talk to Muraka-san for a moment." The interviewer had questions in her eyes, and Taiga didn't blame her. One did not get an interview partially with the King every day.
"Um, how much of that is safe to publish?" she squeaked, losing her facade for a moment.
"Most of it," Taiga told her. "Leave out the part about not using Humans as a food source and just present it as a proposal for an alternate energy source. Wataru still thinks human a lot. The proposal is genuine, but I'd also like to show people why crossbreeds like Wataru are not a good idea, even without Queen, unless they're raised properly Fangire."
She nodded her head rapidly. "I can understand that. I'll... make sure that's not included in the final pages. I hope your brother learns to be Fangire, my King, though it sounds like he's at least had a start."
"Oh, I'll make sure of that. And I have help." Taiga smiled at her.
Muraka-san smiled too, the mask of the genki interviewer slipping right back on. Taiga had no doubt she knew more than she was saying, but as long as she published what she needed to publish, and not anything more, they would get along fine.
He headed back, collecting Wataru before heading back to the car. He couldn't wait to get a new motorcycle, where he wasn't dependent on someone else driving that he didn't completely trust.
Taiga hated relying on his foster father, his mostly clueless, arrogant foster father, but at least the Humans weren't trying to kill him. In fact, Shima would support any effort to bring Fangire away from eating Humans.
"Let's go home," he told the driver after the two of them got in to the car. It wouldn't hurt Wataru to stay at his place, and he had more room than Wataru, besides.
He didn't feel comfortable talking about the whole day until they got to the privacy of his apartment. Which might not be so private, if some of his opponents were sneaky, but he'd learn to spot things like that.
Taiga was sure this wasn't the life Bishop had planned for him. No, that had involved King and Queen merrily doing their duties and getting along, having children, and otherwise living their lives as Checkmate Four. It hadn't counted on Mio being in love before she ever met Taiga, much less in love with Taiga's little brother.
Nobody had planned for Wataru. Not Bishop, not Shima, not anybody else. Wataru had stepped into Taiga's life and Taiga had let him in, and he couldn't imagine pushing him out, ever again. But on the other hand, Wataru never made things easy, with his strong beliefs, even with armed opposition. Nobody would ever accuse Wataru of lacking will or not being stubborn.
Taiga could only hope that it wouldn't get Wataru killed.
A flurry of questions followed. What was Wataru's favorite color? Where did he like to visit? Where would he like to visit? What he'd been listening to lately? Wataru had answered along the lines of "white", "the park", "Everywhere", and something classical that Taiga didn't quite remember.
Some of them showed that the woman, or at least one of her assistants, had done some research. "Why do you like to play the violin?"
"Because it's part of who I am." Wataru seemed to have realized that smiling at the woman was a really good idea. "I can't remember a time when I haven't, really. I feel like they've been part of my life forever."
"Have you ever thought about playing professionally?" she asked.
Wataru shook his head. "Not really. My father was really good, and... I'm not that good."
She nodded, and thankfully stayed off the topic of Wataru's Human father. "What's your favorite kind of Human to hunt?"
"I... don't hunt." To his credit, Wataru ducked his head a little, like in the old days. "Up until recently, I thought I was full Human. Mom always wanted me to believe I was. I'm not really sure about hunting Humans."
"Well, of course not! You aren't to blame for what your mother did." Muraka-san shook her head. "This isn't going to go into the published interview, but are you going to learn soon?"
"I'm going to teach him." Taiga said before Wataru could answer. "There's a lot of things to unlearn." He neglected to mention what needed to be unlearned.
"Of course! I can't imagine how it would be to be raised by someone who got that confused...." She sighed. "Have you found any friends?"
"Nii-san just introduced me to some of Mio-san's friends," Wataru said hesitantly, and Taiga knew he was trying to think of a way to bring up the topic of alternate food sources. "Before that, I had a few Human friends, and Nii-san and I were friends before we knew that we were brothers."
"That's amazing," she breathed. "So, what do you think of the Fangire so far, Wataru-sama?"
"So far, everybody I've met is very nice," Wataru said, with only a touch of the shyness that Taiga missed so much. "I think that Fangire should have a food source other than Humans, even if it's just as a backup." His brother shot him a look that said that he wished it would be so much more, and that he'd be hearing about it when they got home.
"While what we feed on and who we hunt is an important part of Fangire culture that shouldn't be done away with," Taiga said, "I know that we must modernize and change a little if we're to remain superior to Humans. I think making sure we have an alternate food source in case Human Life Energy becomes poisonous to us for some reason is a good idea."
"I'd never thought about it that way," Muraka-san said, with more enthusiasm than she probably needed. "Well, that certainly is something to ponder." She smiled widely. "So, do you always wear scarves like that, Wataru-san?"
He knew that Wataru knew that she'd deliberately changed the subject. It wasn't exactly something that most Fangire would probably be comfortable broaching. He and Wataru might be killed before Masao was born, just as Wataru had been born sixteen or seventeen months after his own father had died.
Wataru started eagerly going on about oblong scarves and lengths and things Taiga had never known about that item of clothing - probably far more than the interviewer needed for her sound bites.
The interview concluded with an enthusiastic question about Wataru's favorite phase of the moon, and soon, Muraka-san and Wataru were bowing at each other. "Go out to the hall," Taiga said, confident that Wataru was relatively safe in the building. "I think I'd like to talk to Muraka-san for a moment." The interviewer had questions in her eyes, and Taiga didn't blame her. One did not get an interview partially with the King every day.
"Um, how much of that is safe to publish?" she squeaked, losing her facade for a moment.
"Most of it," Taiga told her. "Leave out the part about not using Humans as a food source and just present it as a proposal for an alternate energy source. Wataru still thinks human a lot. The proposal is genuine, but I'd also like to show people why crossbreeds like Wataru are not a good idea, even without Queen, unless they're raised properly Fangire."
She nodded her head rapidly. "I can understand that. I'll... make sure that's not included in the final pages. I hope your brother learns to be Fangire, my King, though it sounds like he's at least had a start."
"Oh, I'll make sure of that. And I have help." Taiga smiled at her.
Muraka-san smiled too, the mask of the genki interviewer slipping right back on. Taiga had no doubt she knew more than she was saying, but as long as she published what she needed to publish, and not anything more, they would get along fine.
He headed back, collecting Wataru before heading back to the car. He couldn't wait to get a new motorcycle, where he wasn't dependent on someone else driving that he didn't completely trust.
Taiga hated relying on his foster father, his mostly clueless, arrogant foster father, but at least the Humans weren't trying to kill him. In fact, Shima would support any effort to bring Fangire away from eating Humans.
"Let's go home," he told the driver after the two of them got in to the car. It wouldn't hurt Wataru to stay at his place, and he had more room than Wataru, besides.
He didn't feel comfortable talking about the whole day until they got to the privacy of his apartment. Which might not be so private, if some of his opponents were sneaky, but he'd learn to spot things like that.
Taiga was sure this wasn't the life Bishop had planned for him. No, that had involved King and Queen merrily doing their duties and getting along, having children, and otherwise living their lives as Checkmate Four. It hadn't counted on Mio being in love before she ever met Taiga, much less in love with Taiga's little brother.
Nobody had planned for Wataru. Not Bishop, not Shima, not anybody else. Wataru had stepped into Taiga's life and Taiga had let him in, and he couldn't imagine pushing him out, ever again. But on the other hand, Wataru never made things easy, with his strong beliefs, even with armed opposition. Nobody would ever accuse Wataru of lacking will or not being stubborn.
Taiga could only hope that it wouldn't get Wataru killed.
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Date: 2013-10-03 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-04 03:45 am (UTC)