1100/So Much Family

So Much Family
Date of Scene:	23 February 2016
Location:	Hisakata Residences
Synopsis:	A cheerful day at the Hisakata household.
Cast of Characters:	Ikiko Hisakata, Sora Hisakata, Ayana, Misa Sakagami

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Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
While it's technically still winter, the weather has been warm enough that snow has been starting to melt. For the Hisakatas, this means a chance to start preparing the gardens for spring. No plantings yet; it's still too cold for that, especially with temperatures dropping during the night. But snow can be cleared from the flowerbeds, and a preliminary layer of mulch can be laid.

Above all else, it's a set of chores for the entire extended family -- it doesn't matter where in the former mansion you live, you're helping all over the property, even alongside some of the relatives you haven't spoken to much in recent months. Those that can't help with yardwork help prepare snacks and drinks for those who work outside, while all able-bodied relatives do whatever they can to help with the yardwork.

That includes kids -- and, starting this year, kitsune.

Ikiko stands near a couple of shrubs, raking mulch into an even layer. The first pile of mulch that had been delivered was just enough for a thin layer; one of her uncles would be by in a while to shovel some more out of the wheelbarrow once the other locations all had some starting mulch. "See, I told you, Ayana -- everyone helps out with preparing the gardens!" she smiled to her kitsune girlfriend. "And once we're done, we can get snacks!"

Sora Hisakata has posed:
And Sora had been put to work with her least favourite chore, emptying the bags of mulch into the wheelbarrows. She's done with that particular task, and she arrives to help Ikiko along with one of their older male relatives, who is delivering one of said wheelbarrows. "Hey Iki-chan, Ayana-san." The Raven-haired girl has never been the most sociable of Hisakata's, and has been even more withdrawn lately.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana is not on the list of relatives who 'can't help with yardwork'. She is, however, on the list of residents who loves to work in the kitchen, so the kitsune was up a little earlier, helping prepare snacks well before everyone else was required to start working outside.

And for a miraculous change, the noramlly lazy Kitsune seems to actually be enjoying the chores she's been set to this day, as well. She's not appropriately dressed--no one would claim black stockings, a frilly skirt, and a blouse are 'appropriate' for gardening--but she's still getting her knees and hands dirty with all the rest. Maybe more than most of the rest. Ikiko is probably going to have to convince her to bathe tonight.

Luckily, Mama Hisakata has just been snickering in amusement, rather than worrying over a little dirty clothes and foxgirl.

Ayana has just finished clearing one of the flowerbeds of snow and cleaning out the weeds and smoothing the dirt for mulching when Sora arrives. She perks up and turns at the sound of Sora's voice, then her eyes widen. Name name name. She knows this one's name. What was it again? Oh crap. Why are there so many Hisakatas!? "H...hi!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
At least Ayana has someone nearby who can identify Hisakatas. "Hi, Sora-chan!" Ikiko smiles to the arriving relative, then leans over to quietly explain to the kitsune. "She's a third cousin of mine -- she's descended from great-granduncle Kaemon, who's an older brother of great-grandpa Yuuki. So, she doesn't have wolf in her, but she does know that it exists."

Turning back to the 'cousin, Ikiko adds, "So, how have you been, Sora-chan? Glad that you're almost done with first year of middle school?"

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"Been fine." Sora doesn't sound like she particularly enjoys this aspect of life, nor like socializing does much to improve her mood, but she's a Hisakata, and this is part of it, so she doesn't complain either. She'll just suffer through. "Made some money offering tutoring services." That's still fairly new, she used to help for free, but it's been going on for long enough that Ikiko may have heard. "Don't worry about forgetting my name, Ayana-san. There's a lot of us and only one newcomer. We have an advantage."

Ayana has posed:
"I didn't forget!" Ayana protests; a bald-faced lie as she stares Sora down. "I just am still getting used to there being so many people who are family. My brother before didn't have a lot of family, so it wasn't um. Normal." She clears her throat a little, then glances around uncertainly before leaning in, "Do you tutor in science? I'm really really bad at science. And history. Will you tutor me next year when I have to do them again, Sora-chan?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata nods at Sora's comments while raking some of the freshly-delivered compost into place around the shrubs. "You've always been good at explaining things to others, Sora-chan," she smiles.

She stifles a small giggle at Ayana's bluff. Ikiko has done what she could to explain the other relatives to the kitsune, but when the difference in length of time learning names is the scale between years and weeks, well...

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"I understand that Kitsune are trickster spirits, but you'll have to try a little harder, Ayana-san." Sora calls Ayana's bluff deadpan, shoveling some compost out of the pile dumped by the wheelbarrow to provide a rough spread for Ikiko to smoothen out. "I could help you with your homework next year, but that sounds like you'd need a lot of help, and I charge by the hour." She smiles, "But you hard Iko-chan, I'm good at this."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana flushes with frustration at Sora, but she doesn't voice it other htan to turn around and start digging in the dirt again. "I can't pay by the hour," she grumbles. "I thought you'd help family out. But I guess not." She starts flinging dirt a little too far, probably getting some on Ikiko and Sora both by 'accident'. "I'll just muddle through and probably spend a lot of time in detention like I did last year."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata pats Ayana on the shoulder, then gives her a quick skritch around the ears. "We'll figure something out, Ayana," she murmurs, brushing the dirt off and raking it back into place.

She glances at Sora, but doesn't mention the tutoring fees. Now doesn't feel like the time to haggle over rates, but maybe once the yardwork is done...

Or she could try asking around with some of the other people she knows. Either could be an option, and there's still time before the next school year.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"If it sounded like it was just a little bit, I'd help, but just about everyone is asking for my help." Sora doesn't really sound all that apologetic, though it does sound like she means what she's saying about busy. "And there's Volleyball club and my own homework and at some point I need some time for myself. You know?"

She sighs, and relents slightly. "I'll try to help you sometimes, but if it's going to take as much effort as you make it sound like? I just don't have the time for that unless I start cutting into my paid tutoring more than I should." There's a brief pause, and then, "I started charging to protect myself, because everyone was relying on me to help them and I had no time left for myself. Sorry." And then it's back to work.

Ayana has posed:
"I'm not stupid," Ayana counters tartly. "I didn't get to got through all the other grades like everyone else, so there's a lot of things I don't know. I'm really good at math, though! And PE. I just don't like science. It's stupid. But don't worry, you don't have to take pity on me. I'm sure Ikiko-chan will help me."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I might have an idea on how you might be able to catch up, Ayana," Ikiko remarks after a moment of thinking. "I'll have to talk to some people to see if it could work and what would be involved, but if it works, you'd be able to study the things you need to catch up on."

She nods at Sora. "Club activities and the like really does take up a fair amount of time," Ikiko agrees. "But it's worth it -- if I remember right, you're one of the better volleyball players in Seishou's middleschool!"

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"I didn't say you were. That it's not your fault you're behind doesn't mean it wouldn't be a lot of work to help you catch up." Sora responds right away, but there's a little bit more hostility there than there was before, like she doesn't like the tone Ayana is taking with her.

"I am." She agrees with Ikiko's assessment of her volleyball skills, sounding a bit mollified by the compliment. "And I have to keep my practice up or I'd start to slip." She shoots Ayana a stink-eye there, as though she thinks Ayana wants her to let her practice slip.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana wipes her hands off on her skirt (that poor skirt), then straightens up out of the dirt and turns to peer at Sora. "It's fine. I don't need your help," she promises Sora. "I said that already. I just thought you liked helping people. My mistake."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata finishes poking the mulch to the base of the shrubs. "Well, this area's done with mulching," she says, slightly louder than normal in an effort to stave off the clash of personalities between her 'cousin and the kitsune. "I'll give it one more lookover, then we can move to a different section."

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     It was subtle at first. Darkness was beginning to gather around the area, right nearby Ikiko. A dark miasma forming slowly, steadily... and then growing in power. At first, it might seem like SOMETHING powerful was about to appear! But ... that miasma was gathering into something... rather... small.

     And as it began to form, it didn't... seem to be MOVING, actually. Was it some sort of horrible victim of something evil?! ... ... Nope. Instead...

     It was a small, seemingly hand-made plushy. High-quality and carefully stitched together to be as accurate as possible. And it was of... Cute Wolf Tsukiko. At first glance, it looked completely innocent and adorable, beyond the fact that upon picking it up it seemed to have a skeleton?

     Oh. Also. There was a rather large needle stuck into it, angled to go between ribs, through where lungs and heart /should/ be... and out the other side. There was no note. There was no further darkness after its arrival. Nope. Just what appeared to basically be a voodoo doll sat next to Ikiko. But even just that might be threat enough.

            It REEKS of Maeko's energy.

    Otherwise, it's silent. And the darkness passes. Leaving the doll. If Ikiko chooses to remove the needle, it's actually just a pretty nice and well-made doll. So there was at least one potential upside!

Sora Hisakata has posed:
Sora just stops responding to Ayana altogether at this point, just shooting her a look that's filled with contempt, and that's it. Oh yeah, this wasn't a great first impression by any stretch of the imagination. She's about to go along with Ikiko's suggestion when the darkness arrived, and Sora visibly shivers. She reaches out to pick up the doll, "Interesting." She says with just a little bit too much gleeful fascination to be entirely healthy.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana huffs just a little at Ikiko, then turns and stalks off to the 'next section'. Digging is her job, so she's got to get it done before they can get started on theirs. This conveniently gives her some space to be less grumpy, which is something she could sorely use at the moment. Consequently, she misses the doll delivery.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata positions the rake to block Sora's hand. "Careful, we don't know what might be on that doll," she warns her 'cousin. She carefully uses the rake to pick up the doll, then delicately pulls the needle out.

It is a quality doll, but not one that Ikiko would want to leave in the hands of relatives. "I'll give the needle and the doll a purifying chant," she mentions, still keeping the doll on the rake. "Away from the flowerbeds, to reduce the chance of leakage." A very reasonable thing to do; the needle is easier to purify, then it can be used to help purify the doll. Nothing suspicious about that, right?

Misa Sakagami has posed:
     As Ikiko begins to pull out the needle... it unleashes a curse upon her! A curse of fury, a curse of resentment, a curse of loneliness and a curse of corruption! ...It is, however, a WEAK curse, one that is easy to shrug off for a magical person, but would likely take hold of a mundane person easily. It has the feeling that it wasn't intended to actually take hold. The doll moves slightly, head turning sloooowly towards Ikiko, a halting, jerky movement. And then it speaks in a twisted echo of Tsukiko's voice, with different tones of voice as if it was sampled from different times Tsukiko said things, "I -- KNOW -- -you-."

     And then all of the energy dissipates, and the doll reverts to a lifeless, silent, unmoving doll. With a pin stuck through it.

            Still high quality though!

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"So who did you piss off, Iko-chan?" Sora seems... disconcertingly unphazed by this event, like it's more of an interesting curiousity than a legitimate threat delivered in a very clear fashion. She looks towards Ayana, then back towards her work, and then another good glance at the doll, there's something off about her glance, something far more analytical than is normal for her. Then again, she has always worked hard at understanding curses.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana twitches just faintly at the sound of the voice coming from the doll. She's certain that was Ikiko's voice, but it sounded off. Turning around, she stares back at her girlfriend confusedly, then blinks at the sight of the doll Ikiko is protecting with the rake.

Curious, the dirty Kitsune wanders back towards the pair of girls, looking between them uncertainly. "What happened?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata drops the needle and shakes off her hand. "Should have grabbed some silk first," she mutters. "Amateur mistake; thought the trouble would be on the doll, not the needle. At least it was a weak one-shot."

She picks the needle up off the ground as Ayana comes over. "Got a surprise gift," Ikiko mentions to the kitsune. "Same source as the one bugging Reiko-chan, from what I can tell." There's not much she can say with Sora around, but that should be enough to clue Ayana in.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
'So this Reiko-san is involved?' Sora thinks to herself, keeping a mental note to remember that name. She doesn't otherwise pressure, seeming too interested in what caused this sounds like a bad idea to her. So she just stops looking at the doll and asks a simple question, "Should I get someone to help with the decontamination?"

Ayana has posed:
Ayana tilts her head at the needle, then looks to Sora curiously. "No, we can take care of it," she promises. "Ikiko-chan managed to purify me when I was evil; I'm sure she can handle a little needle."

But Ayana is curious about the doll. She leans down to sniff at it once, twice, then frowns and reaches to try and take the needle from Ikiko, wholly unconcerned for any curses it might bear.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"No, I think I can handle it," Ikiko replies to Sora. "Especially with Ayana as my assistant. Probably just something simple." She hands the needle to the kitsune, then adjusts her hold on the rake to get a better view of the doll. Even if the curse wasn't on the doll, it's still a good idea to decontaminate it as well, especially since the needle with the curse on it was stuck into the doll.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
The look on Sora's face is hard to read, but there's a hint of frustration there. Again her attempts to be helpful are spurned, /why/ does she even keep trying? "If you say so." She sounds skeptical, but then, she doesn't know the extent of what Ikiko and Ayana have gone through, so maybe that skepticism is normal.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana sniffs at the needle, too, then wrinkles her nose. "Maeko," she notes. "On both." Then she looks to Sora curiously. "Well do you even know how to purify something? I mean, Ikiko could probably teach you if you're curious. But we don't need an 'adult' to get involved."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
The problem with holding a rake in an awkward position is that you don't have a free hand to facepalm. With that option unavailable, all Ikiko can do is wince. "She knows at least the basics," she points out to Ayana, then looks at Sora. "But having twice the basics wouldn't help much, while having some kitsune magic on hand could be useful if a little something extra is needed."

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"I know more than the basics, Ikki-chan." Sora then turns towards Ayana and bites back, "I have forgotten more about curses than Ikiko has ever known, and I don't forget much." That boast may be a little excessive, "But having more experienced eyes won't hurt when some trickster fox is messing around with curses in my home."

Ayana has posed:
Ayana rears back a little and glares at Sora, studying the raven-haired girl with slowly narrowing eyes. "No, I think she should help, Ikiko," Ayana says. "In fact, since she knows so much, maybe we should just let her show us how it's done."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata stifles a groan. "If that's what it takes to keep you two from snarling at each other, fine," she mutters. Right now she's convinced that Maeko either has the worst sense of timing, or the best sense of malicious timing... and Ikiko isn't quite sure which one it is.

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"You had your chance, you said no. I'm going to keep watching, but you didn't want my help then, so why should I give it now?" Sora eyes Ayana, it's clear she doesn't like the fox girl at all. "I've got nothing to prove here, if you don't want to believe me, feel free." She pointedly sits down and gets to the watching.

Ayana has posed:
"Oh my god you're such a snippy brat," Ayana says to Sora angrily, her patience for manipulation gone. "We didn't say we didn't want your help, we said we didn't want you to go and get someone else to help! But you know what, that's fine, because we definitely don't need the help of someone who's so self-centered and vain! Come on, Ikiko, let's go take care of this so we can finish up the yard work."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata sighs, then takes the needle from Ayana and backs up away from the flowerbed. She carefully puts the doll on the ground, then takes a few steps slightly diagonally away from the doll. The purification chant she murmurs is simple and straightforward; she repeats it five times, one repetiton for each direction: north, east, south, west, and straight down.

With the minor ritual donw for the needle, Ikiko then steps back over to the doll and repeats the process, touching the doll with the needle on each repetition. Satisfied with the basic decontamination, she picks up the doll and hands it and the needle to Ayana. "I think these will be safest with you," Ikiko smiles to the kitsune. Besides, giving her girlfriend a plush version of Ikiko's magical self just seems like a nice thing to do, anyway!

Sora Hisakata has posed:
"Pot, kettle." Sora responds to Ayana, and then settles in to watch Ikiko do the whole purification thing. "That would've worked." She comments, and then doesn't go on to mention the 'but' that's heavily implied to be there. Instead, she gets back to working the garden. "We still have work to do guys."

Ayana has posed:
"Rrrr--kon?" Ayana's rage is immediately short-circuited by Ikiko handing her the doll and needle. She blinks down at both, then gives the doll a gentle hug and clutches it close. The needle she keeps gently held in her fingers, as if she's worried she might break it.

"Thank you," she tells Ikiko, then sticks her tongue out at Sora. "The next planter's ready for mulching. I'll be right back, then I'll do the one after that."

Ayana rushes off, then, to put the dolly on her bed, and the needle somewhere very safe. Later, she will do things with that needle. But for now, it's inthe way.

Half-way to the house, Mama Hisakata stops Ayana from advancing with wide, worried eyes. "Oh no you don't! You can't go in the house all muddy like that. Whatever it is, I'll take it."

Ayana pouts and hands the doll (with the needle back in its back) to Mama Hisakata, then turns and mopes her way back towards the flowerbeds to continue the job of digging. She's good at digging holes (both physically and socially).

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata picks up the rake and heads for the next planter, quietly sighing at the clash of personalities between her girlfriend and her 'cousin. Hopefully the rest of the yardwork will go smoothly, with no interruptions from the magical side of life... and a minimal amount of mundane fighting.