vatheon | dreaming away

Entry tags:

dreaming away

Who: Akechi Mitsuhide (

kagayakashi).
Where: Gracia's apartment.
When: Today, around noon.
Style: Prose!
Status: Closed.

~

It had been quite the battle.

Mitsuhide had taken it upon himself to clean up Tama's apartment while she slept. This had been no easy task to set himself, considering the state of it; her accident with the dishwasher weeks beforehand had done quite a lot of water damage to begin with, and he'd had to replace and repair a lot of things. That she had been living with that had been unbelievable!

All of her boxes had been thrown away, unsaveable as they were (he would never understand her desire to hoard so many). Mitsuhide had brought three new ones into the place because he knew full well his daughter would be distressed if there were none at all. No doubt she would fuss over the ones lost as it was, despite their condition.

Again, what was it with her and boxes?

At least he was done now. The place was spotless and tidy and Mitsuhide sat in Tama's kitchen sipping at his newly-made tea. He was daydreaming, and for good reason.

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She immediately brightened up upon seeing Mitsuhide walk through her door, but her smile faded just as fast as it appeared when she processed his words. Gracia groaned, allowing herself to be lifted up by her beloved Father. She felt her knees wobble the moment she stood on her own two feet. Sitting back down on her bed, she rubbed at the back of her calves while speaking.

"Ohh, oh no. I was asleep for a long time? Again? I hadn't even noticed..." She sighed, moving her arms out in slow circles. Stiff was right. Yet it wasn't all bad. Gracia cheerfully looked up at Mitsuhide as she attempted to stand back up again.

"And as I slept, Father watched over me?"

"Yes, my dear." Mitsuhide allowed himself a laugh then, though it was warm and quiet rather than full of amusement. "Both I and Lord Motochika made sure you were safe and well. You need to be more careful about touching the coral in future, however."

He looked her over; she certainly seemed in good health, aside from the stiffness. That would go away shortly, so it was no big worry.

"You will be hungry. It's a good job I have kept your apartment stocked up on food, isn't it?"

She continued to stretch and wiggle her arms and legs, eventually finding the stability to stand up without falling back down on the bed.

"Father is very caring, that's why he always comes to the apartment to give me food!" The redhead grinned, moving her neck in a counterclockwise direction as she spoke. Slowly but surely, Gracia was regaining the usual bounce in her step.

And speaking of food...

"I cooked something called a roarmilette once!" Omelette. A mispronunciation, but Mitsuhide should be used to it by now. She continued speaking, jumping around the room to get her blood pumping.

"You put other ingredients into beaten eggs, and then you fry it, and then you flip it over itself! And it didn't burn, or taste as bad as I thought it would!" Gracia stopped in front of her Father and clapped once, happy to have recalled such a proud moment in her kitchen-life.

"I want to eat that!" Because he had hit it right on the marker; not only was she stiff, Gracia was also extremely hungry. She hadn't asked him how long she was asleep exactly, but considering her record of two months...

The name confused him, but her description was enough for Mitsuhide to take a guess.

"Do you mean an omelette?" he asked. "If so, I think we have all the ingredients we need to make it. It's very filling, so I would be more than happy to make it for you."

Mitsuhdie hesitated for a moment, and reached down to embrace his Tama briefly. He was awkward about physical contact, but moments like this needed it. The samurai was more relieved than he looked to be about her waking up; despite knowing the cursed sleep was part and parcel of Vatheon life, it didn't stop him from worrying.

"Come and sit in the kitchen with me. I can fill you in on what has happened while you were asleep as I cook."

"O-Orimette. Mm, that's what I meant!"

Her response was effectively cut mid-sentence as soon as Mitsuhide embraced her. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his torso in response. Though he didn't linger, Gracia could feel that he had missed her just as much as she missed him. Of course, her dreams would always consist of her Father's smiling face, walking hand-in-hand with her and Motochika, but nothing compared to the real Mitsuhide. Nothing compared to the sound of his gentle heartbeat, or to the warmth and safety only he could give Gracia.

When her Father released his hold on her, her cheeks were already flushed from unspoken affection. She took his hand and tugged him towards her door.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Father. I wish I could control these things, but whenever I wake up, I don't feel sick or tired anyway!" Gracia smiled widely to reaffirm her words. "And no, I want to be up and about so I can help you! That egg dish is one of the foods that don't explode when I - "

And halfway through exiting her bedroom, Gracia stopped, her head slightly tilted to the side. She was staring at an empty corner of her bedroom. Silence.

Then, the inevitable.

"Father, what happened to the big crate I kept just right there? The one with the broken nails I was trying to remove from the lid?" Her attention turned towards Mitsuhide again, eyes wide with inquiry.

"That crate was harmful even before the water damage."

Mitsuhide sighed, and rubbed the side of his head. The conversation had come a lot more quickly than he expected!

"I had to throw most of your boxes away. The water damage was attracting rot and mildew, which would have affected the condition of your home and your health. I've had to replace and repair many of your things, Tama."

He stepped out into the hallway and headed into the (shiny, sparkling) kitchen, picking up his tea from the table as he did so.

"I got you a few new boxes. To this day I do not understand your attraction to them, but I will not deny you your simple delights."

Of course Gracia would notice the smallest changes to her very precise box formation. She had collected a good number of boxes and crates throughout her stay in Vatheon, and made sure to place them in strategic positions. What particular purpose this served, no one really knew.

Gracia looked rather surprised, sighing as she followed him out of the bedroom. She gave that particular corner of her room one last, longing gaze, before walked to the hallway.

"Father, it was not harmful! Nobody at the marketplace wanted to use it anymore for the same reason, but I knew it still had its value." She sighed with some disappointment, but knew that her Father only meant well when he threw it away.

The realization came in a flash, though. Suddenly, as Gracia's steps lead her towards a clean living room and a clean kitchen, her eyes widened and she gasped loudly. Her hands covered her mouth. It looked like she just saw something terrible, something that came out of a nightmare.

"My...box collection...! Uwah!"

She slapped her hands against her mouth to stop herself from any other reactions. Gracia immediately came to the conclusion that this was another test, something that would prove to her Father that she was more than capable of making mature, adult decisions. So she removed her hands from her mouth, took a deep breath, and walked the difficult distance from her spot by the hallway to sitting herself down in front of Mitsuhide. Gracia took another deep breath before looking around. She allowed the loss of her boxes to let go ~~(at least, for now)~~ and surveyed the room. It...sparkled with cleanliness.

Gracia smiled.

"Thank you for taking care of my home, Father." She blushed. "And um, for the new boxes."

That pained gasp at the loss was enough for Mitsuhide to cast a long, searching glance his daughter's way. If she seriously tried to argue that keeping the boxes was worth it when they were a genuine health risk, he would get cross rather quickly.

Thankfully, however, she did not.

"You are welcome," he replied softly, before adding in a serious tone that said a lot more than his actual words; "I would advise, in the future, that you avoid any boxes that contain bent nails or broken wood. Both are genuine risks to your safety, and should be taken seriously."

Mitsuhide's expression became warm again, though there was still an element of seriousness in his bearing.

"Anyway, please allow me to do the cooking alone. I have some... ah, very important news for you, and would prefer it if you remained seated while I told you the details."

Gracia listened silently. She seemed like she wanted to say something in response, with the way she opened and closed her mouth, but in the end, she could only comply. Remember, this is a test! She must prove herself, even in matters like this!

Gracia played with the fork laying innocently on the side of the table. She mumbled, her lips in a slight pout and her eyes gazing downwards.

"...Hmm, what is mildew anyway?"

The young lady perked up when Mitsuhide pressed the issue on cooking the omelette alone. She tilted her head to the side, and rested her slender finger against her chin.

"Important news? Ooh, how curious!" Her smile returned. "Tell me, Father!"

Mitsuhide began to move around the kitchen, gathering what he needed and placing it upon the worktop as he went. He had not planned to launch into this matter straight away, in truth, but as that was what had happened...

He bit his lip briefly, before beginning to talk.

"During the time you slept, there was a curse week in which rumours came true. Because of that, Lord Motochka's hair became too curly to tame and I became something of a show-off."

There was a slight clatter as Mitsuhide placed a pan upon one of the hobs atop Gracia's oven.

"We also believed we were... married."

Edited 2012-10-20 19:11 (UTC)

"Ohh, what a strange curse...! But then again, I should be more used to this city's tricks!" Gracia laughed, care-freely. "I can't imagine Motochika with curly hair! Who would have made a rumor about his hair though?"

She leaned towards him, a mischievous glint in her eyes, as he managed with the cooking.

"But Father's hair would still be the best, even under normal situations!" Gracia stifled a giggle, placing her index finger against her lips. "Don't tell Motochika that!"

Gracia didn't sense the slight pause at the slightest. She hummed and nodded slightly, her smile still quite vibrant. She straightened right back up and kicked her legs back and forth from underneath the table.

"Married? Huwah...That's something I'm already used to! That's because Father and Motochika are very much in love with each other!" Her shoulders rose in amusement. She's always admired (and fantasized) that kind of love - so pure and unwavering, gentle yet strong...How romantic, she thought!

"His hair was curly when he was a child." Mitsuhide smiled, fond memories running through his mind. "I do not know who would make such a rumour, but I know that the locals were saying many odd things."

He went quiet after that. Such a reaction was very promising, but he still felt a little nervous.

"I am glad you think so."

Mitsuhide turned around, leaving the food be for a moment. He folded his hands before himself and regarded Gracia fondly.

"He and I have talked, and decided that we... wish to get married for real."

Gracia's only response to Mitsuhide's announcement was to tilt her head to the side again, this time in a more prominent, almost comedic fashion. She blinked, and then raised her pointer finger to scratch her cheek.

"You and Motochika would like to get married...for real? A real...wedding?"

Her reaction developed rather intensely. First, there was a period of silence in which she did nothing but stare at her Father as if he was telling her a joke that wasn't funny. But her thought process couldn't quite accept that, so she thought harder. Would he even joke about something like this? No, it was against his very essence to fool Gracia about matters concerning Motochika! Her second and third reactions came in a package deal; her eyes gradually grew wider, and her jaw slowly dropped. As soon as it hit her that this was the news he wanted to tell her that required her to sit still, Gracia stood up so abruptly the table almost toppled over.

Her arms flailed as she loudly exclaimed a nonsensical sound. She locked her gaze with her Father's, mouth still open and eyes still wide. Gracia attempted to speak, but she could not formulate any words to appropriate her mixed feelings. Certainly, she was happy. Very happy! It meant that they would become a family that was as real as their legal union. And yet, something else stopped her from celebrating off-the-bat. She wasn't sure what it was, but perhaps her next uttered words could start off the issue...?

"...But..." She trailed off into silence, and stood still. She stared at the area of the floor beneath Mitsuhide's feet.

So much for starting it off.

Edited 2012-10-27 14:03 (UTC)

"Yes. A real wedding."

Mitsuhide looked Gracia over afterwards, taking in her reaction. He was not surprised by it; not really. That 'but' could well be related to the issue he thought his daughter might have with the situation.

Moving back over to the worktop, the samurai began to slowly prepare his food. He sighed softly before continuing to speak.

"The 'you,' that was here before, whose memories you carry as your own... do you remember a time when she said to me that one day, I would find a wife who would bear me a Tama?"

"...Yes."

Gracia's thoughts confused her. She was happy, truly she was! Their marriage meant so many exciting things for them, they'd be a real family, and Motochika would officially be the second father she's come to see him as. But then why did she feel so strange? So lonely?

So frightened?

For a few more minutes, Gracia lulled into an uncomfortable silence. She shifted her feet back and forth, left and right, until she gave up trying to figure out where she could walk and sat back down. She refused to raise her head to look at her Father.

When she heard the sizzle from the frying pan, Gracia finally spoke, yet she was not confident in her words, as if they spewed out of her mouth like poison.

"This means you won't find Mother, doesn't it? In...In your world."

"No, my dear, I won't."

Mitsuhide glanced back at Gracia before turning back to his food.

This was going to be a long, difficult conversation; that he was certain of. There were certain worries he suspected she carried that would be difficult to soothe. The way she saw the world sometimes...

"That was the case even without this marriage to Lord Motochika. Were I ever to return to my world, there would be no opportunities to get married... and it would be selfish for me to seek one, in any case. I could offer nothing to a wife, and no support for a child."

Mitsuhide's voice became as quiet as it could whilst remaining audible, and was filled with softness and a kindness that was impossible to miss.

"I told you that before too. Remember?"

In response to Mitsuhide's usual patience, Gracia replied with a dullness that one would never associate with her bright and cheerful personality on a good day. Perhaps she just woke up on the wrong time...

"I remember, Father." There was a delay between her first two words and her last. Still, she stared down at the wooden table, tracing where one grain in the carvings began and where one grain ended into another. She attempted to smile, but despite all her efforts to keep herself in a good mood for him, her heart was always on her sleeve.

"It does work out though! Before I came to this city, you had no idea who I was. Neither did Motochika. Because back in your world, I..."

Gracia's sentence drifted into silence again. When she resumed speaking, she briefly looked up at Mitsuhide flipping over the eggs, before she bowed her head towards the table once more. There was a ghost of a smile in that particular moment when their eyes met, but it was so faint and so forced, maybe he didn't even catch it.

"...I was never born in either of your worlds. Mm, because Father can't support a child, and can't have a wife." She repeated Mitsuhide as nonchalantly as she could before bowing her head even further. The weight of his words were so heavy, and so painful.

She had no idea what was plaguing her, but at the same time, she knew all too well.

"You were born in several worlds, dear. I know of at least two, and there are likely more."

Mitsuhide paused, trying to figure out how to best word his next thoughts. Would it even be much of a comfort for her?

"That a Tama was not born in my world, or Lord Motochika's, doesn't matter. We have our Tama here, after all. So you need not feel pained about it. Believe me."

He continued to work carefully, but Mitsuhide could not deny that he was starting to feel something like guilt. No matter what he was going to marry the man he loved, but the fact that it might well hurt his child...

"Did you... did you always think I would have a wife, one day?"

Indeed there was some comfort, but it deflated just as fast as she felt it. Gracia's frown was even more evident when she quietly answered,

"Muu, I always thought you'd have a Tama."

And it would have made her feel infinitely better knowing that this "her" with them now, in Vatheon, was proof enough that Mitsuhide had a daughter. Yet she had always been followed by a constant dark cloud that, ironically, came from the same idea. Because she didn't exist in either of their worlds, and she only seemed to exist in her own...

...She whispered to herself, though she didn't realize that her words were audible to her Father anyway.

"The Tama here, right now, could disappear tomorrow. And then you would never see this Tama again. Maybe another Tama would come, but not...or am I the same as..."

She shook her head and took a deep breath. No, she wasn't going to venture into that thought anymore. Forcibly, she pushed it all back into her mind and hoped they would stay there so she could be happy for her Father's announcement. Didn't you hear him? It doesn't matter.

In an attempt to change the subject, Gracia turned slightly in her seat, a small smile on her lips. She met his gaze at once.

"When will you and Motochika hold the wedding?"

Edited 2012-11-01 18:38 (UTC)

"We're not sure, though it will likely fall around our second year anniversary."

Mitsuhide had to stop cooking for a moment, then, to turn and walk over to Gracia. He rested one hand on the table and leaned over slightly, using his other hand to touch her cheek briefly.

"And you, my dear, are trying to change the subject at a time when it is a bad time to do so."

He sighed, looking a little deflated for a moment.

"You fear we will forget you?"

Gracia was unexpectedly cornered, shrinking further back into her seat the moment Mitsuhide's touch left her cheek. She tried to keep steady eye contact with him, but she found it too difficult. She knew that Mitsuhide would figure out what was wrong with her faster than she could have figured it out for herself, and she was unprepared for whatever truths he'd uncover. So she sighed back and made a quiet, incomprehensible sound; a cross between a whimper and a groan.

She pondered on his words for a moment. Was it fear of being forgotten? Yes. Oh yes. But was that all to it? If she were to hear words of reassurance from her Father at that very moment, would the sinking feeling in her heart disappear?

She hoped it would.

Gracia's tone was rather weak when she replied.

"Will you?"

Mitsuhide closed his eyes for a moment.

"I have no intention of forgetting you. Nor do I have any intention of even returning to my world."

He'd had a friend before, a sad, white-haired man who went by 'Alucard,' and that one had told him that he'd not forgotten Vatheon. That was not the common experience, but it gave Mitsuhide a sliver of hope in such matters.

That did not mean that he could outright tell Gracia he would not forget. There was no guarantee, was there? Despite what he and Motochika had discussed before, and some of the ideas Motochika had presented, there was a sad and somewhat scared part of Mitsuhide that feared he would both lose his betrothed and his daughter, and lose the memories of them too.

"I wish to wed the man I love and watch over my child. That is all."

Gracia does not respond for a long while, but she keeps her gaze on Mitsuhide's eyes. He had such lonely eyes, yet lately they were much brighter than before. She chalked it up to Motochika, and the love that they shared. Perhaps she played a part in his lighter moods as well. Regardless of what made her Father happier these days, Gracia felt her heart sink for reasons she had yet to discover. His words did little to settle her inner pains.

When she bowed her head, she immediately began to fidget her hands into her night dress, as if she was nervous for something.

"A-And I'll be there for Father, won't I...?" The uncertainty in her voice unnerved her. She had always been confident of her place in her Father's life, and vice versa. She was her Father's only child, the smile to his sorrow. And without really meaning to, he gave her purpose. That's why she was so concerned for his well-being above and beyond of her own. Without his dream for peace, where would she be? What would she fight for? What would she do? Of course there was her dream to see the world, but...

"Won't I...?"

She turned her gaze back towards Mitsuhide, her eyes so anxious and scared, and desperate for an answer. She felt the familiar pang of despair nip at her soul, the emptiness that followed when Mitsuhide disappeared, and Motochika sacrificed himself for both her and her Father's sake.

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