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

“Taika…”

“Taika.”

“Taika, wake up, we’re here.”

Groggily, the lunar Resonator opened her eyes. “Huh?” She looked around in a daze. “Che è successo?” the girl mumbled.

“We’re here,” Shouri repeated.

“Here?” She turned to the window and saw they were at another airport. “I must have passed out.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Coffee can only take you so far. Did you at least sleep well?” he asked.

Her back protested her position of clinging to Shouri’s arm for the entire flight. “Back hurts.” She pivoted her torso back and forth in an attempt to loosen up her tight muscles. “How long was I out?” she asked her Maestro.

“Uhhh, I think we were in the air for like eleven or so hours, not too sure. It’s like one in the afternoon here,” he told her.

“But wasn’t it mid-morning when we left?” The fox girl looked at her hands and started counting off the digits of her fingers. “Shouldn’t it be night?” she questioned.

“No? We traveled across the world. It’s night right now in Nevepunto, but it’s still afternoon here in Riva Solare,” Shouri stated.

Taika lowered her head. It was hitting her now. She had been taken literally to the other side of the world. This was it. She’d never have to go back. She was truly free. Her previous, awful life was two continents and an ocean away. She was finally safe.

“Have fun?” At this point, Aura and Damian had found them.

“Hm?” Shouri turned to his sister.

“We could hear her crying at the back of first class,” Damian clarified.

Taika blushed and attempted to lower her head further, ashamed she had reacted that way. “Damian, I watched you nearly snap the armrest off on the way here,” Shouri pointed out.

The fire Resonator was taken aback by Shouri actually calling him out. “Sh-shut up,” he grumbled before storming off the plane.

Aura couldn’t help but giggle. “Mom and Dad are getting our bags, but don’t lollygag,” Aura told her brother before walking off to find her Resonator.

Shouri rose to his feet, stretching out. Confirming his new tuner was at his side, he extended a hand out for the Resonator bound to the device. “Shall we?” He grinned. The Resonator smiled back, taking her Maestro’s hand.

Blue eyes sparkled as their owner pressed their face against the car window they were currently riding in. Everything was so new and different, and young Taika would be able to partake in this environment instead of being shoved into a broom closet like the tool she was previously deemed.

Shouri couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, watching his Resonator eagerly take in the sights, her tail wagging excitedly as every new building elicited a quick turn of her head as she tried to quickly study every detail of each structure they passed.

Finally, the vehicle slowed to a stop before a large iron gate. It slowly slid to the side allowing for their passage. Taika’s eyes widened as they approached a large manor atop a hill. Surrounding the hills were expansive forests which made the property appear nearly endless. “I-is this it?” Taika hesitantly asked her Maestro.

“Yep, welcome home.” Shouri patted his Resonator’s back looking out the window himself.

“Home…” She pressed her face harder against the window of the car, trying to burn the image into her mind.

The car came to a stop, and they were allowed to exit the vehicle. Taika fiddled with the handle for the door, not being too familiar with its operation. Like an excited puppy as soon as the door was released, she bounded out of the automobile to get a good look at her new humble abode. “What a ball of sunshine she is,” Damian commented.

“Good contrast to you; you gloomy little storm cloud,” Shouri snarked back before taking exit of the vehicle himself.

“-The fuck man?” Damian blinked, having been gotten not once, but twice by Shouri of all people.

“They definitely gotta be a duet.” Aura chuckled, enjoying the new back-and-forth between the two boys.

Taika’s head whipped to and fro as she took in her new surroundings. Everything was so well kept. She was used to this, however, what made this manor particularly exciting was she couldn’t see all the flaws as she could in her past house of employ.

Everything here just seemed brighter. It was more to her taste in terms of home décor. Shouri noted his new Resonator’s curiosity. “I’m sure you want to explore everything right now,” he spoke with a titter.

“Ch-che?!” She blushed, having easily been read.

“N-non! I just...”

“It’s okay Taika, this is your home now – it’s only natural to be curious.”

His smile was so nice, that Taika found herself lost in it. “N-non...” she repeated. To change the subject, she decided to brave the question she had been nervous about asking. “Where will I be staying?” she inquired.

They came to a stop in the middle of one of the many hallways. “Hm.” Shouri cast his gaze to the ceiling as if it held all the answers. “Good question,” he decided on.

Taika wilted at that. “Okay, I got an idea,” he spoke up after a moment, causing the fox-girl to perk up again. Once more they trekked through the manor, eventually arriving at a door. “So this is my room.” Shouri opened the door. Red immediately rushed across the girl’s face; he wanted to share his room with her?! How forward of him!

He turned to her. Her hands clasped over her mouth trying to hide the obvious blush. “Naturally, then, you should occupy that room.” He pointed across the hall to the room directly his opposite. Stepping over, he opened the door for her.

She took a look while trying to calm her racing heart. The room was big, it had a huge plush bed, a nice wooden dresser, a television, a desk, and a private bathroom. It was basically a hotel room in its luxury. “We can go shopping tomorrow and get you clothes and pick you up some nick-knacks for your room. Does that sound good?” he asked.

When he turned to her, he found her fighting off the gathering tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. “Taika?” he asked. “Did I say something wrong?” His brows turned up in concern.

She shook her head slowly, trembling with emotion. The next thing Shouri knew, Taika had grabbed his shirt and buried her face in his chest. “Thank you, Sho...” she whimpered, looking up at him.

There was a part of Shouri that wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he didn’t know what protocol was here and just allowed Taika to cry.

After a few minutes, she stepped back, averting her gaze in embarrassment. “Wh-what now Sho?” she inquired quietly, rubbing her face dry more to avoid his scrutinizing gaze than anything.

“I kinda want to relax in my room. We were on vacation for a few weeks,” Shouri admitted, glancing over to his own room.

“Oh.” She lowered her head.

“You wanna hang out in my room?” he asked.

She perked up. “Si!”

Shouri’s room was similar to the room Taika herself would be staying in. It was much cleaner than she expected in all respects. “What do you want to do?” he asked his new Resonator.

“Ah.” She lowered her head. The only hobby she was allowed was reading and her choices were quite curated. “I like reading,” she said quietly.

Shouri stroked his chin in thought before nodding. “You can sit on the bed; I’ll be back in a moment.”

He opened his closet door and vanished into it for a moment. Re-appearing a moment later, he now held a small flat object. “Here we go.” He handed it to the Resonator. She accepted the object, looking it over, her tail swishing back and forth in curiosity. She could see her reflection in the dark, shiny glass. “Oh, here.” He pressed and held a button on the side of the device, which caused the screen to suddenly light up. “It’s a tablet computer,” he told her, sitting down next to her.

After a few loading screens, she was presented with some icons, none of which meant anything to her. This was the kind of thing her previous caretakers would have told her not to touch. “It’s a touch screen.” He demonstrated this for her by pressing his finger on the screen. A program came up showing a list of titles. “This is a book app, so you can read any book you want,” he told her. The Maestro watched the girl’s eyes widen as she began to scroll through the practically limitless library available before her.

“You like it?” he asked.

“Mi hai rubato il cuore...” she muttered without really thinking about what she was saying.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Shouri chuckled, not understanding what she said, but satisfied she seemed to be entranced by the device.

The remainder of the afternoon passed peacefully with Taika reading away on her new tablet, and Shouri playing some games on his computer.

There was a knock on the door. “Master Shouri, dinner will be ready soon,” a voice spoke from the other side of the door.

“Ah.” Shouri glanced down at the clock in the lower right of his monitor. “It is about that time, isn’t it?” He yawned and stretched. The jet lag was catching up with him for sure. He’d probably consider hitting the hay after dinner.

When he rose from his desk chair, he noticed a pair of blue eyes staring back at him from his bed. That’s right, he had a Resonator now. “I’ll bring you back some food,” he told her.

She tilted her head. “I can’t come with?” she questioned. There was a slightly hurt tone in her voice.

“Ah, well Damian doesn’t eat with us. Our parents prefer not to eat with Resonators at the table.” He admitted averting his gaze with a frustrated frown on his face.

Taika herself sensed her Maestro’s apprehension. “I’m at a good part right now.” She returned to her novel.

“R-right, I’ll be back in a little while.” He quickly left the room.

Standing out in the hall alone, he pulled the tuner off the waistband of his pants. She was only a button click away, but even so, it just felt wrong to leave her out.

Walking down to the dining room, he just stared at the vitals screen, noting how it updated all of her vitals in real-time. Honestly, the level of detail he could read from the device was a tad intrusive to him. Before reaching the dining room, he spotted his sister.

“Aura!” he called out to her.

The blonde Maestro stopped and turned back to her brother. “What’s up?”

Stopping in front of her, he kept his gaze down on his tuner in hand. “Why doesn’t Damian join us for dinner?” he asked.

Aura exhaled sharply through her nostrils, glancing down the hall that led to the dining room. “Mom and Dad are a bit old-fashioned,” she huffed.

“What do you mean by that?”

The elder sibling frowned, before sighing. “Resonators are lesser to them,” she lowered her voice.

A chord was struck in Shouri’s heart. At that moment a bunch of small things his parents said and did swam through his mind. He wasn't crazy. His frustration with the way his parents spoke and treated Resonators was justified in that moment. “So why don’t you think that way?” he questioned.

The young woman hummed in thought. “Well, maybe I’m just rebellious.” A thin smile rose on her face. “But that’s a secret. Maybe you’ll understand if you hang around Taika more.” She ruffled her brother’s hair before rushing away.

“Hang around Taika more?” He didn’t understand what his sister was implying. What he did know is there was something about just being with Taika that felt good. Even only being with her for just over a day and a half he wanted her to be happy.

“I can’t come with?”

With her hurt expression, he felt her pain as well.

Dinner was silent as usual.

Shouri kept his head down, but his eyes wandered. His mother and father didn’t have Resonators of their own, rather they simply relied on the hired security and their Resonators to keep them safe. So what was their angle in insisting he and Aura have personal Resonators?

To say something was awakening in Shouri was an understatement. There was a certain part of him that already rebelled against the whims of his parents; such things are only natural for adolescents. After all, childhood is simply testing the bounds of what was correct from a societal standpoint.

In this world though there was something different. A bridge between childhood and adulthood. Well, bridge is a bit of a misnomer, call it an alternate path.

It was a path Shouri never had considered until now.

“Excuse me.” He rose from the table, his plate of food cleared. “I need to bring Taika dinner.” With that, he departed to the kitchen to make that request of the culinary staff.

“Hey Taika.”

“Y-yeah Sho?”

“Here’s dinner.”

The girl studied the plate presented to her. It looked marvelous; food she only dreamt of being able to eat. “For me?”

Shouri smiled warmly. “Yeah silly.”

With a squeal of delight, Taika attacked the plate of food provided to her, tail wagging enthusiastically the whole time. Shouri’s smile faded as he watched his Resonator joyously consume the food. Resonators were people. Why treat them like anything less?