Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

Sometime later Shouri found himself lying in bed with his Resonators draped over him. Taika and Rebecca were on either side of him, with Pacifica taking the bold claim of lying atop him.

“How’re you feeling?” the water of the group whispered.

“Still worried, but we’ll figure it out,” he spoke on a breath, keeping his eyes closed.

“Yeah. You’ll think of something. You always do,” the otter tittered.

“Sho I’m hungry,” Taika chimed in.

“What are we doing for dinner?” Rebecca added.

“Well right now, nothing because you all have me pinned down pretty solid,” the boy chuckled.

“Ah!” Pacifica hopped off the Maestro, sitting up nearby. Similarly, the pair of foxes rose, and finally Shouri with them. Seeing the orange glow of the setting sun through the curtains was all Shouri needed to see to confirm their next activity. “Dinner service is probably on in the cafeteria.” He shot a glance to Pacifica who returned her Maestro’s gaze with a knowing nod.

“That sounds good,” Taika spoke up, already salivating at the prospect of dinner. They had unintentionally skipped lunch thanks to the noon-time news, so a big meal was sorely needed.

As Shouri and Pacifica got ready, Rebecca went to get her shoes on. “Ah, can I have you stay here with Taika?” Shouri asked of the fire Resonator.

“Wh-why?” she questioned hesitantly.

“Pacifica and I usually do the food runs. Plus, I want you here to protect Taika. Just in case.” Rebecca could sense the nervousness behind those words – she gathered he was always worried about leaving Taika alone. No, that wasn’t right, he didn’t want to leave any of them alone.

This was just how this group functioned. However, there was a tinge of pride in the Renard that she was specifically asked to protect her fellow Resonator. “You got it. I’ll burn myself to ashes if need be,” the fire Resonator declared wearing a confident smirk.

The Maestro chuckled and patted the girl’s head. “You don’t need to go that far. Just look after each other and call me if something happens.” He pointed to their two tuners lying on the nightstand. “Be good!”

With that, Shouri and Pacifica made their departure, once more leaving Taika and Rebecca alone. There was a tense standoff as the two fox-girls stared one another down. “Hmph.” The lunar fox turned and locked herself in the bathroom.

Rebecca waited a moment, before huffing herself. “Bitch,” she grumbled under her breath.

Though perhaps Taika secluding herself to the restroom was a blessing in disguise as Rebecca had the distinct luxury of having the rest of the room all to herself. Wearing a smug smirk, the vixen hopped into bed, reclining in the spot Shouri had previously occupied. She closed her eyes for a moment, satisfied. This quickly bored the fox. Slowly her eyes opened.

Glancing around, she spotted the remote on one of the bedside tables next to the tuners. Rolling onto her side, Rebecca was able to just reach it. Returning to her back, she powered the TV on and began flipping through the channels.

How were there so many different options of programming to tune into, yet nothing to watch? It was incredible really.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Hm?” Rebecca sat up. They wouldn’t have knocked. Well, maybe their hands were full? The fire fox sprang from the bed and rushed to the door. She threw it open without a second thought.

“Eh?” The vixen could barely manage a gulp as she began to sweat. “Wh-who are you?” she asked with a squeak. Even if she was asking the question, she already had an idea.

At the door stood a pair, a Maestro and Resonator. While they wore nice clothing (button-up shirts and dress slacks for both of them), there were several things the vixen caught onto instantly.

The woman, and Maestro of the pair, had her tuner hidden. The Resonator, the larger man of the duo, also seemed to be hiding his species, but not only that, he was suppressing his element. She couldn’t get an immediate read on him. The big thing possibly hinting at their identities was their hair colors, the man had a deep blue head of hair, indicating a possible water element, while the woman had blonde hair tied up in a bun, a more human-looking color. At any rate, the way they carried themselves, these two were trained fighters. Not simply trained like normal Resonators like herself, Taika, and Pacifica were. These people were professionally trained.

They were trying to blend in, which would fool most – but not her.

“Is your Maestro around little lady?” the male asked, trying to put on as friendly of a smile as he could muster.

“They are not,” came a voice from behind Rebecca. The fire Resonator looked back to see a damp Taika glaring the pair down. The lunar grabbed her fire counterpart’s shoulder and pulled her back into the room, taking possession of the door.

“What do you want with my Maestro?” Rebecca just stared from inside the room. The pressure Taika was exerting was unreal. Did she have any idea what these people were? Did she intend to fight them alone? Could she take them?

The unknown Maestro was certainly sizing up the smaller woman before her. “My apologies. We have the wrong room,” she spoke after a moment. “Come.” And with that, she left with her own Resonator.

Taika gently closed and locked the door, turning to Rebecca. The senior Resonator of the group took in a deep breath.

“Idiota! Perché hai aperto la porta?!” she barked at the other Resonator, whilst motioning at the door.

Rebecca stepped back. “I-I thought it was Shouri and-!”

“Idiota!” Taika repeated. “Our tuners are RIGHT THERE! If they overpowered us, we could have been taken or worse!”

“I-I’m sorry I-!”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it! Think! I know all three of us are weak knowledge, but fucking THINK!” Taika trembled with anger, a week's worth of bottled-up frustration being directed solely toward the fire Resonator who cowered beneath her.

Finally, Rebecca couldn’t take the intense beration any longer; the metaphorical dam burst as she began sobbing loudly. Taika shook her head - she couldn’t bear to be in the presence of this pitiful fox another second and returned to the bathroom to continue her shower which had been so rudely interrupted.

Shouri and Pacifica returned to quite a situation. Taika wasn’t immediately visible and Rebecca was curled up on the floor crying.

Both Pacifica and Shouri sighed, setting their food boxes in the kitchen to address their companions.

“I got Taika?” Pacifica asked.

“Actually no, let me talk to her. You get Rebecca,” he replied.

“Oh, okay.”

Shouri collected the tuners off the nightstand – well at least nobody was hurt; in the physical sense. With that concern out of the way, he turned his attention to the bathroom door.

KNOCK KNOCK

Click!

Was that the sound of the door being locked or unlocked? Only one real way to check. Surprisingly, it had been the latter, as he was able to open the bathroom up with little difficulty.

Immediately he noticed it was muggy in the bathroom, though he was more bothered by the humidity, not the temperature. There was also the distinct scent of the cheap shampoo the MA offices used in the air. So that was what Taika was up to while they were gone. The fox girl herself was seated on the toilet, her clothes strewn about the floor, and covering herself with the towel wrapped around her chest and lower body. Her gaze was averted, tail wrapped around her torso, brush in hand.

“What happened?” Shouri asked, closing the door behind them for some relative privacy.

“Rebecca è un cretina che non capisce niente,” Taika rattled out barely allowing herself space between words.

“Woah woah, stop.” The Maestro blinked, not understanding a word she said outside of ‘Rebecca’

“She opened the door when someone knocked.”

“Who is someone?”

“Dunno. I... could feel it though.”

“Feel it?”

Taika gulped, curling in a bit on herself. “They smelled of blood.”

“Smelled?”

“Not like actual smell... they were killers.”

Needless to say, such a sudden revelation was quite concerning, and shocked Shouri to silence. He took a moment to gather his bearings before speaking again. “What... did they want?” he braved asking.

Taika trembled fearfully, hugging herself. She found the courage to answer after a moment: “You.”

The tiny bathroom fell to silence.

“Sho...” She looked up, tears in her eyes. “C-can I tell you something... about me?”

Meanwhile, outside the bathroom, Pacifica was addressing the other half of the domestic disturbance.

“What happened Rebby?” she began the questioning.

“Nothing,” Rebecca sniffled, curling up more around herself.

“Bzzzt, wrong answer, try again.”

“...you and Shouri.” She looked up at the water otter who had sat on the ground in front of her.

“We care about you.” Pacifica offered a smiling face to the crying fox. She glanced up at the closed bathroom door. “We all do.”

“Well, she has a shitty way of showing it,” Rebecca huffed, sniffling again while wiping the tears from her face.

The water elemental considered that thought for a moment. “We’ve had a pretty rough week or so, cut us some slack please?” Pacifica held her hands together, still trying to maintain that welcoming smile.

“Mrpgh.” Rebecca averted her gaze once more.

“Ready to tell me what happened?” Pacifica asked once more.

Seeing how she wasn’t getting out of this one, Rebecca took in a breath before speaking: “Someone knocked on the door,” she paused, considering her choice of words,“I thought you and Shouri just got back quick or something, so I opened the door.”

“And someone was there, right?” Pacifica asked.

“How did you know?”

“Kinda obvious. I doubt Taika would have flipped her lid otherwise.”

“I-I guess that makes sense,” Rebecca said after a moment’s reflection.

“So, who was there?” Pacifica wanted to continue the story.

Of course, Rebecca wasn’t ready to forget. “A woman and a man. Maestro and Resonator. They were dressed sorta casually, nice button-up shirts. They asked for Shouri; not by name. They just asked for ‘my Maestro’.”

Pacifica frowned, folding her arms across her chest. “Hrmm... That’s kinda suspicious,” she muttered. “Especially after that news story about us had been running.”

“I didn’t think about that,” Rebecca admitted.

“But you’re still on edge,” Pacifica pointed out. “We have the same type of rhythm, I can read you like a book,” the otter tittered, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Rebecca wasn’t amused, she was still concerned. “They were strong, whoever they were. Professionals.”

“What do you mean? How would you know that?” Pacifica tilted her head.

“I’ve had a lot of Maestros, and I’ve gotten combat training here and there,” Rebecca explained. “I can size myself up and figure out who and what I’m fighting.” She paused.

“I couldn’t sense a thing from them. They were like ghosts.”

Back in the bathroom, Taika had gathered her courage and began her explanation. “You probably already know I didn’t have the best situation growing up.”

Shouri nodded slowly. The way she ran after him, just the way she generally carried herself. Even her nightmares were far more intense than either Pacifica's or Rebecca’s. It spoke volumes – she had many issues he knew they’d have to work through. So much trauma, it was a miracle she was as well-adjusted with him as she was.

“My... caretakers, they’re not honest people,” she spoke slowly, considering each word. Even now it felt as if she was still trying to hide bits and pieces that she deemed sensitive or non-critical for Shouri’s understanding.

He didn’t push her. She would continue to open up to him with time, he had gathered that much. The last thing he wanted to do was lose her trust.

“They’ve killed many, many people. I’ve seen my fair share of blood,” she admitted.

“I grew up around the stench of blood and betrayal.”

“As long as I was a useful tool, I could keep my pitiful life.”

“Though I wasn’t spared completely.”

“I realized after you took me away from there-”

A pause. She looked to her beloved Maestro.

“-this world is too clean. It’s too sanitized; I can smell people like my caretakers – those who deal in blood... and death.”

The weight of those words hit Shouri like a ton of bricks. This wasn’t her waxing poetic. This was the personal flavor of hell that stuck in her mouth. The filter she viewed the world through.

“Taika,” he spoke her name. He couldn’t think of anything to say to her, so he trusted his gut and acted. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

She let out a small squeak of surprise, “Sho.”

“I won’t ever let you go, that’s a promise,” he whispered, having found the words he needed to say.

“I’ll follow you straight into hell if that’s what you want,” she breathed out, finally grabbing hold of him and pulling him down. He fell onto her, but they refused to release each other.

Roughly about an hour had passed since Shouri and Pacifica returned. Taika and Shouri exited the bathroom, hands linked. The other pair had moved to the couch, Rebecca resting her head on Pacifica’s lap. The otter gently stroked the fire fox’s hair.

“Dinner’s cold now,” Pacifica giggled, though it was apparent she was tired.

“We got a microwave,” Shouri pointed out.

“That’s fair.” The otter nodded.

“We’ll get it.”

Shouri took Taika into the kitchen where they reheated everyone’s food.

Sitting around the coffee table, they ate and compared notes. “Hmm, professionals that smell of blood huh?” Shouri frowned. “And they were casually dressed at that?” He got Pacifica’s report since Rebecca still wasn’t in the mood to talk – though the fire Resonator nodded in the affirmative of Shouri’s analysis.

“I couldn’t read them at all,” Rebecca broke her silence.

“Hmmm...” Shouri frowned. “You know-” He stroked his chin in thought. “-they might be military.”

“The military?” Pacifica questioned. “What would the army want with us?” she asked.

“Dunno. My parents are filthy rich, but they’re not nobility - they wouldn’t have that kind of sway to get those kinds of favors.”

“What is the “military” anyway?” Taika inquired.

“You’re familiar with like cops and such, right?” Shouri asked back.

“Mhm.” She nodded.

“Right, think of them as even more heavily armed versions of that – a highly trained and weaponized peace-keeping force. They’re typically dispatched out to deal with problems that the police can’t handle. Riots, powerful criminals, the works.”

Taika frowned, eyeing her food as if it held the answers. “What do strong people like that want with you?”

Shouri sighed, leaning back in his recliner. “Question of the fucking hour.” He looked to Taika who seemed troubled. “Since they saw both you and Rebecca, it has nothing to do with either of you. I would imagine if it did, they would have tried to start something as soon as they found their target Maestroless,” the Maestro in question reasoned.

He glanced over at Pacifica. “You got anything you want to tell me?” he queried the otter of the group.

“Wha- me?!” Pacifica jumped at the sudden eye of suspicion.

“We've possibly got military after us. Gotta cover our bases,” he laid out.

The surprise quickly wore off and Pacifica recomposed herself. “Not at all. I’m a sheltered city girl and my folks are certainly as clean as they come. Promise!” she asserted.

Shouri closed his eyes. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” He breathed out. “What the fuck are they after then?”