daughter to dragons

     ❝ I… Uh— ❞ Out of fear, nothing coherent leaves his lips immediately. Surely, she had to be mistaken somehow; he’d never seen her before, in his entire life, nor would he do such a thing. (But then again, it isn’t appropriate for him to say he’d never steal, when he’d been on a mission for genocide almost before he can even remember.)

     ❝ E-Excuse me? ❞ His question comes out as a warbled squeak, enunciated at the end, and for a brief second, he’s tongue-tied, unable to say anything else. He steps a foot backwards, indirectly trying to pry her death grip from his sleeved wrist. ❝ I… think you have the wrong person… ❞ As he speaks, he glances away, tracing mundane lines on the cracked pavement with his eyes; the way her gaze pierces through him induces guilty feelings within him, regardless of the fact that she was clearly in error. He hates it — he hates it when people yell at him. For what, it doesn’t matter. All he knows is that it makes him feel uneasy, and he loathes that. But he’s reasoned out long ago that he probably deserves all of this antagonism, because he should have known better this, he should have known better that, and it all gets terribly repetitive with each passing year.

But... even if she was right, the thief wouldn't offer to buy her things for her, now would he? Squinting slightly at the figure which towered over her, (whom she definitely wasn't afraid of at all, obviously, being a dragon and all!) hands remained firmly planted on her hips, her personal steadiness unwavering in the face of this stranger, and especially his meek behaviour. Again, her words were firm, but they didn't have the same venom that may have slipped behind her first accusations.

"It wasn't you, then?"

"If you didn't do anything wrong I'm not going to make you do that--I'm not as awful as whoever stole a wallet from a child!--But don't you think you should stick up for yourself a little more?" In a way, since she much preferred to acknowledge her appearance as the only thing to lag behind, she was likening the stranger to a child. Easy to take advantage of, and trying to do so would be no better than whoever had taken from someone who for all intents and purposes appeared to be one. Finally, a small sigh was given before she peered up, having to crane her neck a little in order to clearly see his face. "How long have you been here? If you gave your money to everyone who asks you in this city, I'm pretty sure you'd be too poor to even get food by the end of it, and nobody deserves to have an empty belly, so you should stop doing that."

Something was amiss, her thoughts wavered on the new world that she was settled into. Unique as it was, it was a whole new world that brought Nowi to be captivated by each structure before her. The buildings were marvelous to her, she wandered towards them identify what they were. Complex as they were, incredulous acts achieved as she paused her touring by speaking to random people. Voice filled with much cheer, showing that she was nothing more than just interested in where she was. Once taking her first step within the city, she was negligent towards listening to the scientists’ words which only filled more of her amazement.

"Aaaaaaah." Her hands pressed together in deliberation of how interested she was in her new surroundings, turning in her step that brought her to a street in which she needed to cross. The unknown objects that zoomed from left to right were new to her,without further ado the manakete took her precious time with every step.

Wanting to take in every new sight that she could, she stopped again to the sound of a car honking over and over at her. Misunderstanding it’s reason, the female brought her hands together overjoyed. "Is it that you want to play, I don’t understand what you’re saying but sure! We can be new friends! How about Duck Duck Dragon?" She asked the vehicle, the person inside as well but again with another honk, she took it as if they had agreed. A smile showing upon her features as a hand was raised to show how happy she was, next did she take hold of a rock within her grasp. The size was about as big as her hand and the person inside of the car did not want to deal with how slow Nowi was moving had they removed themselves from their car, ready to speak but what happened next brought them to be speechless.

Her powers were limited but that wouldn’t have been fun if she couldn’t be at her full prowess. With the rock glowing in her hands that she raised up, pink petals slowly grew around her presence, hiding Nowi away deep inside it’s thin walls before they dispersed into a thousand fleeting petals that fell to the ground and disappeared on contact, and what grew from the scene was a large dragon, wings and color of an emerald hue that roared at the car and the person who shook with fear. At the sight did they turn and high tail it right before being caught in one of her energy blasts that blew up the car right before her, ice left over at the spot.

Without a doubt, it only took a moment for the younger of the manakete to recognize the other. Green hair, long ears, looked and acted like a child who couldn't be over the age of twelve, tops! And, most importantly, a glimpse caught of her while still in her form as a dragon. No time was wasted approaching the other, the heels of Nah's boots click-clacking against the pavement as she broke out into a run.

By the time she finally reached her destination, she was mostly just eager to get the other out of the way of traffic. Obviously, she didn't know how these sorts of cities worked, because she was sitting right in front of the car she had destroyed. The car... the car could be dealt with later. Nah knew she could call others to help her sort out what had happened here, but it would have to wait as she rushed to pick her mother up off the ground by lifting her shoulders. No introduction or greeting was even given, just a rushed attempt to get her out of the way.

Eventually, whether the attempt was successful or the green-haired girl had decided to fight her attempts for some reason or another, Nah would relent. An expression of pure exasperation and vexation stayed on her face as she placed her hands on her hips, leaning forward in an attempt to seem more overbearing. Maybe this was her mother, but that didn't change the fact that she was doubtlessly the more mature one. If even that failed her, Nah was the one who knew this city -- and with a stunt like the one she'd just witnessed, there was no reason for her to hold back.

That word would always stand out to Aoba no matter how scrambled his brain was. Mother. "Our mother did…?" His memories of the city were fuzzy, but his childhood memories always had been rather peculiar to say the least. Nine and Haruka were figures that never disappeared from his memory despite all the stress his brain went through, reacting to the several entities that were inside of it. His mother, Haruka, was here in the city before, and had another child?  Then why didn`t he remember this little girl from when they were little? They should have grown up together. But this mother that had postulated the fact to Nah was definitely out there, Haruka or not, and was correct about one thing for sure — he did have blue hair.

Not entirely sure to do, with one hand pressed to her chest nervously and the other reaching out with the slightest traces of hesitance, Nah spoke.

"Y-you know... it isn't so bad here, Aoba. I know we've been here a long time, but we've all been together. You and Clear, me, your friends Noiz and Koujaku. It's not lonely at all!"

She believed in her words wholly, but much to her dismay the voice she used to convey them still came out just the slightest bit shaky. By the time she was listing off names, however, she seemed to have gotten a hold of herself, usual firm tone back where it should be.

It was, however, a little comical to see him react to her comment about Heibon.

She was the type who grew on family relations, maybe just having someone to be near without being alone was what she liked better. Between him and her, he had a secret with that as well, he could adjust but admitting to being around people only frightened him for he knew that one day, he would become something of trouble. When will the day come that he puts the female into a sense of danger. It bothered him a bit but as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Huuuuuuuuuuuuh, no way please! I mean.. Yes, way, who do I look like taking people’s wallets! Eh, do I have another kid… under my belt……….” He asked, raising a brow as he waited before pulling out any money, now if he had another one, he was going to close his eyes really hard because raising more than one seemed hard. Thinking, maybe it wasn’t even his kid. “I’m sure your brother.. Is Seto’s kid so he has nooo relation to me.” That worked, and if Seto ever tried to deny it, he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Kano.

"You might as well be," She commented a little flatly. Of course, it was only her way of teasing, but it didn't make it come off as any less snarky. "When I lived with you, it seemed like you never went to any of those jobs at all! Poor Seto had to fill in for you. Though, that did mean you spent more time with me. --And you can't expect me to know your favourite! Do you really think that all we talked about was your jobs?"

A huff was given and the small dragon crossed her arms, staring at him expectantly, as if genuinely waiting for him to answer her inquiry. She wasn't, of course, the question was rhetorical. Nah just wanted to give off an impression of displeasure for a moment so that he could realize the error of his ways! (It wasn't a very big error.) Anyway, the two of them really hadn't spoken much of that sort of thing; rather, most of their relationship was based off of an online game.

That... was actually pretty embarrassing to think about, now.

"But if Aoba was Seto's son, then wouldn't that make him my cousin? You've got yourself all mixed up, Father!" A shake of her head was given, as if the other was some child who had himself all mixed up. From her perspective, he kind of seemed like it. Though, she was the child here in every sense of it. "Anyway, we worked it out, remember? You're not my real father, and Aoba is my real brother. So you don't have to worry about him."

A pause...

But even so, it’s not like he had meant any harm! This was all just a big misunderstanding. Arata nodded, he just needed to explain himself and everything should be okay. Well, provided the other would actually believe him…And by the tone of her voice, Arata had a feeling she was the hardy and stubborn type. 

"H-Haha, yeah about that — I’m really, really sorry!! Honestly, I wasn’t even following you. I just happened to turn ‘round the corner by accident…No hard feelings?

Bright eyes continued to scrutinize him, as if sizing him up to see how she should respond. It didn't take long for the manakete to give a sigh of defeat, face looking almost disappointed for a moment before she reverted to an expression of stubbornness. He gave in too easily, and to yell at somebody like that was like kicking a puppy -- totally unacceptable.

"Well that's okay, I guess..." Her words seemed hesitant as she spoke them, resisting what she knew was a childish urge to drag out the I guess to a length that would express how she felt. Rather, she bottled up that feeling and instead decided to put this meeting with the stranger to use.

Arms uncrossing, she closed the short gap that had remained between the two, coming within a conversational distance instead. Hands clasped in a manner that she thought to be dignified, it was only once Nah had cleared her throat a bit, keeping her eyes averted from the actual person she was speaking to, that she spoke.

At this point, Eren stilll had a vivid imagination as to what her dragon form might look like. Earlier on, he had mentioned something about it being big, scaly and basically utterly menacing to every other living thing on the planet. Eren blinked, glancing at Nah for a moment, blinking a few times and then returning himself back into his little imagination spot. This cute little girl could turn into a giant, fire-breathing reptile with sharp teeth and bat-like wings? 

Yeesh. Pity the poor sap that might take a liking to her.

Her first question was answered with a simple shake of the head. “Well, I think I could vent in my titan form… but it would be a total waste of energy. Especially in a place like this,” he began, eyes moving around the area to emphasize their location. Hive City had placed limits on their abilities, after all. “You’re right, humans do need to find a way to release some pent up steam. Everyone has their different ways. I vent through training, since I have little else to do. Can’t really just punch a random civilian, you know?” A chuckle. “That’d be wrong.”

Still, Eren imagined it might have felt rather nice venting while in his muscular, gigantic form. He admitted once, to his adoptive sister, that being in that form was like a euphoria of rage for him. Nothing else mattered save for the destruction of his enemy. Simply, it felt good just by feeling absolutely angry, and for him to direct that anger into tearing titans limb from limb or lopping their heads off with his punches was just utterly blissful.

"And besides," he continued. "My titan transformation takes out a lot of my stamina. I’ve grown better, steadily, at maintaining it but prolonged uses tend to just knock me out." True enough. When first released from the fleshy cockpit of his titan form, Eren could barely stand on his own two feet. A second use on the same day caused his nose to bleed and a third transformation exhausted him so much that reportedly, he went out for days. "In here, in this city, it’s a last resort. But… I’ll make an exception for you."

He had noticed her sudden change of expression. Eren backpedaled a bit, perhaps realizing the ease in which he had mentioned the unpleasant specifics of triggering his transformation. He had forgotten that some people were not comfortable with the topic of self-harm. Was she having second thoughts now about wanting to see his transformation? If she was… then all the more reason to show her! He will prove to her that he can control it.

"…Scary? Dangerous?" he said, finishing her sentence and jumping to that conclusion for her. A small sigh escapes his lips as he looked to one side of the cafe. "They feared me you know. Looked at me like I was some kind of monster." A bitter smile found its way to his expression, the memory still a little haunting to remember. "People wanted me dead after I they found out I could transform. They thought I was a danger to humanity. I guess it’s a normal reaction by now, even for a stranger like you."

The young soldier then leaned back, taking his cup once more to his lips. The liquid however, had gone cold and it showed on his face. “Oh, damn…” he cussed in a whisper. “But anyway, I hope you’re right. I do want to figure out just how I can turn into one of them.” With his one free hand, the boy then reached for the key that hung around his neck, eyes narrowing with intensity as he looked at the glinting object.

"…Yeah, one day. I’ll find out the truth."

A general idea of the amount of energy it took the boy to hold a transformation like what he had was briefly considered by her, blinking in a sense of slight disbelief at how easily he relented to show her. Of course, assuming that an eager little girl's harrassments weren't enough to trigger an expression of anger that was too scary for her, she likely would have insisted on being allowed to witness the sight anyway. Of course it would be scary, that was something undeniable, and she'd probably be spooked a bit even seeing it when she got the chance now.

That didn't make her any less curious about it.

Her eyes fell at his words concerning his treatment, however, gaze fixed on her fingers as they played absently with the fabric of her skirt. The memories that he recalled, expressing his lamentations as a bitter smile crossed his face, were ones that Nah herself felt as though she could understand all too well. Perhaps she wasn't seen as a threat in the way he was, but to be seen as non-human, sub-human... That wasn't something that anyone deserved, no matter their origins.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, it's just... Er..." Struggling to grasp what it was she wanted to articulate, the Manakete eventually let out a sigh in response, continuing in a much smaller voice than before. "I didn't know. You didn't deserve that."

At least, from what she could tell, there was no way he did. After all, perhaps he could be scary, but from all that she could tell he was a good person. Even his scent lacked the air of any intention to trick or mislead, no wish to harm the smaller, and a sincere attempt to go out of his way to help her. He hardly seemed the type to be led astray by the moral compass he kept, and it was probably for that reason that she felt rather guilty about turning down the suggestion he made after explaining his ambition.

Honestly, even after understanding this girl, he was… skeptical. For good reason, really. There’s no way he could have fathered a child here— especially not for one to be at this age already. Furthermore, he had feelings for her mother?

Hah! Right. Him? He had given up on those sort of shenanigans, why would he have…

… Getting lost in his own thoughts, Andersen crossed his arms, shaking his head.

“Tickets and a scarf? I can only hope you at least used those tickets,” he retorted at first with his relatively usual grumbling, albeit dulled down a tad compared to the norm.

“At any rate, perhaps I did go about fathering you here. However, how is it you could have grown so quickly? Is that the scientists fault as well? … Though, frankly, I’d rather be dealing with you as you are now than as a little brat.”

Andersen snickered a tad to himself. Ahah, this one was still quite a child though… but, he’d let that slide. That was a subject Andersen didn’t feel like poking too much. Not right now, anyways.

“… I can’t say I don’t believe you, right now. However, you’ve yet to tell me a couple things. As my memory is apparently gone, I have no clue of who your mother could be.” That was true, he didn’t. Albeit, saying that out loud… hm. Something felt… off about that. To himself, really. … He’d disregard it for now, however. “Secondly, I’ll have to know your name, hm? Only proper you’d reintroduce yourself to an amnesiac. You seem to already know my name, so I’ve got no need saying it.”

Though the affronted demeanor she held seemed to melt away when asked to explain her existence here in the city. The particular questions he asked causing her to dredge up those few memories of home that she still had.

"My parents... died before I ever got to meet them. But, I know that in this city, you can meet people even after they've died, the same way as you can meet people who aren't even from your realm. Everyone gets pulled from a different place in time. So it makes sense that you and my mother would be here. And..." And, well... Nah's attempts to explain her thought process aside, for some reason, the idea of seeing her parents wasn't so impossible.

It probably should have been, all things considered. After all, hadn't she just stated that her parents were dead by the time she was able to remember things? But it didn't seem wrong at all. It was as if something in her knew that she would see them again, and not in death, either.

It was probably this feeling that was pushing her to try and find and convince them so badly.

"I know that my mother was here, but I can't see her face. It's like she's blacked out, but the rest of the memory continues. So I don't really know, either. If I find out, I can tell you."

And with that, feeling as if she had sufficiently answered his prior inquiries, Nah gave a huff. Placing her hands together, she met his eyes and did her best to look... ideal. Like the sort of daughter that one would want to have. If this was a case of convincing him to want her again, she didn't want to throw it away.

“You know, calling me Father has such a nice ring to it. I don’t know what’s happened here, but it wouldn’t kill me to hear you call me it!” It really did ring to him, a hand raised to to scratch the side of his cheek and quickly wipe away the residue that was able to form. He just allowed it to happen so maybe she would feel a bit satisfied with him. She was just upset that she had lost others, it was common for those with families, and it was true, he didn’t know or could remember. As he watched her, he wondered what it was that he had lost other than time with her, was it that he denied her claims or was it the fact she felt so different from him now.

Certainly, there was something about her that he allowed himself to give up on, not that he gave up on her but with others he would have continued the idiotic flare, trying to annoy them but it was different with her. She was truly hurt by this and because he was making her feel this way, he tried his best to see what he could do. Lying was what he did best but for this, he tried not to do it as much. Why was that? He couldn’t recall, it just didn’t feel right.

Honestly, the words he paid to her meant more than she could express. Though, her experience always caused her to take compliments such as this with a grain of salt, the way he treated it caused a sense of elation. Even that familiar nickname -- one that she would normally only sigh at -- seemed to signify and improvement, or some sort of progress between the two. Clasping her hands together did she return the sentiment.

"Thank you. I think it suits you, too, Father. You are the one who taught me how important it was, after all." And though she held an expression of delight to accompany her words, her expression did appropriately fall as she considered the teen's next words. Her experience with the blond considered, it was a justified sense of concern that had seeped its way into her tone, cautiously inquiring in a way that she felt would cause the least offense.

Or, maybe she wasn't quite that eloquent.

He had chosen to return home. Why? Because he was tired of running away. Their world still needed them, right? So he’d decided to go back.. Even if it meant going alone.. Back to… Where…? Where exactly was he supposed to go? There was nowhere else to go, after all.

This was his home, wasn’t it?

Hive City..

Sure, he still had run ins with children or even adults who’d never seen a taguel before. But he couldn’t blame them..! Aside from his mother he was one of the last. Yet.. He couldn’t recall a time when there were others. Still! That just meant he had to keep safe so that their race didn’t die out. He knew that much. Survival of the fittest, they said! But really, survival was meant for those who ran the fastest.

Speaking of which. 

Once again, Yarne was bounding through busy streets in a panic. Why? Well, he was running from something. By now, he’d left them in the dust but finding a safer place to stop came after running away. Darting through one alley after another, Yarne had eventually leaped back into the streets and was just about to start off once more before he realized something.

“Huh?”

Landing first, Yarne then spun his body a bit to turn and hop towards something he’d bumped into.. Er.. A someone. He’d been so careful..! Oops.. Really, it had just been a graze of his shoulder but that did seem like it’d be enough to knock over someone so small. 

“.. S-Sorry about that..! I—.." 

Oh! He knew her. The overwhelming sense of familiarity hit him like a ton of bricks but.. He’d only met her the one time in the city, right? Ah. It was probably because she’d helped him out when the kids had jumped at him. 

“I know you..! Nah, right..? Sorry.." 

Again, like before, careful paws and a nudge was offered to get Nah back onto her feet. He sat up, ears flicking forward as he looked her over. Nah.. Back then they hadn’t introduced each other.. So, how did he remember her name? Even back then he said it..

Ah well. 

Unfortunately, it also happened to be somewhere around the top of things that occurred within Hive City.

The impact and overall time on the ground was short, but it was enough to cause the long eared girl to feel a trace of irritation. Dusting off her cloak and skirt even as he helped nudge her back to her feet, she managed to keep quiet as he inquired as to how she was. Well, obviously, it wasn't as if she was severely harmed.

However, since this rabbit, er, person... taguel... was still almost a stranger to her, the idea of being too forgiving in her vocalized response was all but gone from her mind. It wasn't pleasant to be knocked over by a rampaging bunny, after all, and Nah most certainly didn't appreciate it! Arms crossed, and expression most certainly reflecting the mood that she had been put into by this run-in, the manakete was about to give a piece of her mind when...

"Yup. I think I'll be okay, Yarne..." A sigh (aggressive, by her standards of sighing) escaping from between her lips to accompany her words, not having the heart to yell at a timid rabbit such as himself. There was no real explanation for it, she just didn't think it felt right to do so. Instead, she carried on with a small inquiry. "You were running away from something again, right?"

The expression that went with her words returned to one that was rather blank, perhaps carrying a trace of concern for the boy with her brows drawn together. As far as she knew, he hadn't been running away from anyone the last time they'd met, so the specifics may have felt unprompted, but considering the way he had required help, it didn't seem too far off the mark. She shrugged off the knowledge, preferring not to relive the memory of their first meeting.

As... surreally familiar as their meeting had seemed.

No, something had so prompted the other to knock her down in his panic. The realization caused a glance was thrown around him, attempting to scrutinize the path that he'd come from, and her voice was about as clear as she could make it considering her reason for looking. "I-it's not still chasing you, is it?"

Say that was he was a bit taken a back once his eyes were covered from the world, that same darkness crawling over him.

His connection with reality was cut and a pause of his steps, this wasn’t the first time this had happened to him. Masking his mistakes of the life that he took, the blond hadn’t even tried to remove her hands. It was what he deserved, more or less. Maybe it was right, he couldn’t remember much of the city other than he must have done things here if she remembered him so could breaking himself away from it had been the answer. Was that her purpose to show— take him away from that? Thought leavings as he knelt down, his knees back down on the ground as he spoke, “Well, I guess you’re .. GROUNDED, huh?” That was a good pun, she had to think that one was just as good!

"I am," She affirmed, her own gaze held on the ground. Without a doubt, this felt like a catastrophe to the manakete. Her family, her friends, or a figure like Kano who had served as both to her, who was to say that they would remember her at all? That they wouldn't just call her some crazy child and brush her off as a nuisance? It was the last thing she wanted to return to the cold life she had known before this city, but there was also a nagging reminder in her thoughts. She was mature. She was strong. She was a manakete, and a respectable adult as far as she was concerned, and an adult wouldn't pout.

Nah just needed to work even harder to solve her problems. When this obstacle was behind them, then she could lament over the time lost, but she wasn't going to stand by and watch her most precious people slip through her fingers.

"I am upset, and it's because you're right, the people here are important to me. I've met some of the most amazing, compassionate, and brainless people of my life here, and I wouldn't trade those bonds for the world. It really makes me sad that you don't remember me, Kano, but that's okay because I'm sure we can fix that somehow. And if we can't, and you'll have faith in me, maybe we can make some new memories instead."

The thought was saddening, but it wasn't impossible. The scientists could be cruel, heartless, and a thousand other descriptors; she could loathe them with every fiber of their being for what they had caused her friends to go through, and resetting her friend's memories wouldn't be the worst of their deeds by far. Still, she paused only briefly before carrying on.

It was relatively easy to fake anger, but he couldn`t see why she would try to lie to him. There really wasn`t much of a motive, was there? But he really didn`t have a little sister back in Midorijima. Was that another thing that happened in the city? He`d definitely been here longer than he initially believed, what with the scraps that remained in his brain. "Honestly, there`s a lot I don`t seem to remember." Such as his shared living quarters, the ring, the multitude of contacts in his coil that didn`t ring any bells but were apparently important. Aoba didn`t even remember that he had Heibon running here in the city either! It was almost amusing that in their relationship filled with ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ they were now at a stalemate. He obviously needed her help, but Aoba didn`t have a clue there was a rivalry to contest with from the beginning! An empty victory. But even with memories, he wasn`t the type to deny when he needed assistance. The fact that he was clearly here before, but couldn`t remember anything, meant he needed to hang onto those who did know more than he. And yet, how does one go about remembering everything in your life with only sticky notes and snippets of how other people perceived your life events? Maybe something along the lines would jog his true memory, rather than just being told. Anyone could tell you just about anything: like, you were once a magical feathered rainbow chicken but you became a human being.

"So... you don't remember the city, right?"

"I know a lot about you, but not everything. I grew up with a different foster family, so we only met once I got here." A nod was given to reaffirm her words, and she carried on to explain how. "She... our... our mother introduced us. She was here too, before. The first thing she said to me was: 'You also have an older brother, his name is Aoba and his hair is blue.' But I think you must have been here a lot longer than that."

Actually, now that she thought about it, this might be more difficult than she anticipated. That explained how the two of them knew each other, sure, but Nah couldn't just tell him what his life here was like as if it were a story. She also wasn't sure how much he had already figured out, and what had and hadn't happened only in the city. Did the same thing happen to Clear, as well? Questions raced through her mind, causing her to avert her eyes in lieu of carrying on with her explanation. Taking in the scenery of the stores around them however, only caused her to remember another possible inconsistency.

“You keep saying that we forgot things? I don’t think that’s right?” They couldn’t have forgotten anything but it did bring a shiver down his spine on how much she knew. It was bothersome to him since the fact of that, everything she knew related to him in some way and when her legs began to move around he could only give a sigh. “I don’t know, where should we go? Hm, I don’t know about you but I’m really hungry!” Upon hearing her next words, he could only shrug his shoulders which probably sent the female upwards.

“I could tell you now, I don’t even know who runs this place as much. I remember something about white suits but it must have not been important. Besides, how many white suited people have I seen already here?” He questioned, a hum coming from him as he contemplated his actions. This city, it was nothing but a blur to him compared to Mekaku City that he remembered as clear as day. A small smile finding it’s way on his features, he wasn’t sure how to go about this trust, he hardly trusted himself anymore.

"If I could call you Father, don't you think I'd know you well enough to have decided that already? I keep on telling you we DIDN'T just meet, and I am going to make sure that you remember me! No matter how long it takes, Kano!" The resolution behind her words was firm and apparent; whether or not he was her father, and whether or not he knew that he was her friend, Kano Shuuya was undoubtedly somebody who had become important to Nah.

He had treated her like a member of his family and in a way she had never gotten to experience before. As far as her memories provided, he was one of the first people to open his arms to her, even if it had started as a joke, and maybe just gotten a little out of hand. In the meantime, she realized she would probably need to reconstruct this relationship alone -- especially seeing as she would probably be blown off as some kid. Gently, she placed her gloved fingers over his eyes, barring his view of the path ahead.

At the sound of his sister’s name being mentioned, a frown came upon his features. He hadn’t mentioned her so how did she know? A sort of pain ran through the bottom of his stomach, reminding him of how she wasn’t here. Though for some reason, a word rolled off his tongue so easily as if he had forgiven her actions. “Onee san?” It felt as if he had used it repetitively in before. No matter, he’d just overlook it. The place he woke up in, his house did contain a quite outrageous number of pets. “You lived with me to know that?” He did have a whole variety of people staying with him and if he could remember the list. It was almost a full house.

“There’s this one pet I have, it’s so.. It’s a fish and..” Now it sounded crazy, why would he want to dump a fish on anyone. He was pretty close to asking if she wanted it. A shake of his head as he disregarded the idea, the male looked both left and right as she believed that leaving the store would be their best bet if they were going to talk about this. He was a bit unsure about how she knew all these things.

No, this was their chance, and Nah wasn't going to lose it for them. Whatever the scientists had done to Kano, it would be reversed eventually (she hoped), and if that happened with the fish still around? They'd never be rid of the thing. That's why as the teen lifted her atop his shoulders, an action she was all too familiar with at this point, the only reaction she gave him was a groan. She didn't have the time to complain about it right now, it was time to talk him out of that fish of his.

"Flush it." The first words out of her mouth, spoken earnestly as she did exactly what he said, holding on tight and trying to ignore the sense of disorientation she felt. She could argue that later, once they were outside. "A dogfish, right? Flush it. You hate that thing anyway, Seto just wouldn't let it go! It's even named after him, and frankly, it creeps me out. --Hey, did they forget, too?"

Kicking her legs a bit with restlessness, she felt the curiosity pull at her by the time she had finished her words. There was a reason she preferred to walk herself, and not only was it because she felt herself too old and mature to be carried around like some kid, but honestly with all the time she spent cooped up reading and studying, it felt good to stretch her legs. Loathe as she was to admit, it did make her eager to move about once she decided to do so, and she knew already that dragonstone uses were to be conserved very carefully in this city. Not casually for practice... Though, why was she so eager to practice in the first place?

She was even really scary! The way her voice raised at him, he only flinched a bit since a punch usually came with it. But there was nothing, he was truly surprised that she didn’t want to knock some sense into him. In an effort to make him understand, she was insisting that he was her Father. He wasn’t the best person to be something like that, from what he had seen from his own parents, his Father left him and his Mother was(n’t) the best choice for all matters. “Hm? Why the long face, you should be smiling!” He was always afraid of being like his Father, messing up and becoming someone hated. He didn’t get why his Mother hated him so much, he was going to come back one day..

Blinking a bit, the mother was.. something. He didn’t think he could pronounce the word, but he shook his head. “No..no.. I don’t know..?” He tried to think about it, eyes closed as he tried to bring in certain instances of things back home but her name never appeared. He was already confused about many things here which when his eyes opened, slits expanded as if he was a little shocked. He was sure he was still a virgin so doing the diddly and producing a child like her?? Couldn’t possibly happen.

The comment on her smile, however, only caused her to make an even more displeased face. Though childish as she still was, it mostly amounted to puffing up her cheeks and furrowing her brows. Still, she did repeat each of the names that Kano himself had stated, running through each of them for familiarity.

"Right, that's your family, isn't it?" His, she stated. His, because she was apparently mistaken in thinking herself a part of it, even despite Ayano's and his own words. "Most of them, anyway. I know Seto and Shintaro, and... Isn't Ayano your big sister? You all live together. I lived with you too, Kano." As an afterthought -- "You also have WAY too many pets. I still don't know how you take care of them all!"

Stating all that she knew could have one of a few different results. Maybe if she kept going like this, it would jog his memory. He would remember, even just a small piece of what they had been, and in that way, maybe enlighten her? She was so certain that she'd gotten it right initially, but looking back it had seemed foolish. Familial, maybe, but not a real father-daughter, she supposed, if she wasn't important enough to be remembered by him now. She couldn't blame him though, five months of being treated kindly didn't erase the fact that she was a half-blood mutt.

It felt like a stroke of cruel irony had walked right into their life. Aoba and Nah were the picture of sibling rivalry, having always gotten into playful arguments whenever they would participate in games. But what he`d found in her was a companion that he`d never encountered before — someone he thought of like a younger sibling. He had that older brother figure in his life thanks to Koujaku, but having someone he felt protective over was a new feeling entirely. Even though Nah was quite capable of doing that herself.  The two had been discussing his own wedding plans as well. Now the ring that lay on his finger befuddled him. Not only did he have a ring, but he shared a house with one of his friends from Midorijima. There were some dots to connect that he just wasn`t ready to put together all the way, to be frank. But another dot was flying right at him in the form of a petite girl calling him her brother, all with no hints provided whatsoever.  "My little sister…?" Even though he had his doubts, she seemed genuine. The girl just wouldn`t taking her burning gaze off of him, even for one second.  "First the house, now this."

And unlike with the blond, Nah held no doubts whatsoever of Aoba being her brother.

"No. I'm not..."

She was stronger than that, though. Stronger than crying. Swallowing her emotions, as she vaguely felt she was supposed to, the manakete refused to let her eyes brim with tears, and she refused to dwell on ideas that could prompt such a childish reaction. Instead she huffed, demeanor becoming a bit more harsh.

"So you don't remember, either?" Bright eyes met with his, blinking at him with irritation at how he felt it necessary to bend down to talk to her. More convenient, yes, but it also felt vaguely condescending in her experience. Overlooking it, clearly stated what was important to her right now. "I'm your little sister. Don't tell me you really forgot me, too?"

“My, I wonder if you are. You’ve earned my interest so far— but I wonder, can you keep it up? … Daughter, hm.”

Ah, what a hilarious thought. He? A father? He’s never even achieved love during the duration of his long life. And how old was this girl? … Older than she came off as, that’s for certain. But what was more perturbing about all this was that, very clearly, she almost said his name. … She knew his name. So this wasn’t some bizarre farce…

“… I can assure you, girl, I’ve never fathered a child. Furthermore, my memories of this place seem to have vanished— and I’m assuming this is caused by our captors. As such, I’ve no possible idea as to why you believe me to be your father, of all people…”

“… However, I’m willing to hear your exclamation.”

"Well, I remember my time here, and I very clearly remember you and..." Trailing off... Okay, maybe it wasn't very clear for her, but it was there. "You had feelings for my mother, and treated me how a father does. I also have the tickets and scarf you gave me for Christmas."

And say what he might, a gift connoted some type of relationship between the two, and she couldn't quite put into words any other descriptor to convince him quite yet. Not when her memories surrounding a certain person who brought them together were so fuzzy.