Family Fun! (Sakura/Event)

She had never truly been a fan of either loud music or the punk lifestyle but Bastila could not deny that the festival certainly had a spark to it. Every man, woman and child seemed to have a smile on their face, caught up in the hive of activity that was all around her. There were games, bars and more musical booths than she could count. For the most part, the blonde woman had taken it all in her stride and adapted well enough to the situation, however, she could not help but feel just a little exposed by the situation. Oh, what she would not give to be cuddled up in a corner right now with a book and a cup of tea in her hand. Ah well, it was worth a little discomfort to see her precious daughter happy and that was all that honestly mattered to the blonde.

The Takeover mage had kept to herself for the most part since joining the guild and had not attempted to branch out all that much. She had focused on simply learning the ropes of the Hidden Blades and she felt relatively comfortable with how things were going. Yes, her introduction had been rather awkward and Bastila could feel the tension between herself and her daughter but that was something that could hopefully fade away with time. There were things that needed to be said and truths that had to be told. Truths that still caused the statuesque blonde to quiver at times. She had done so much in order to protect herself and Sakura from their past but were truly safe? It was a question that she just could not fully answer and no matter how many times she told herself that everything was fine, she never truly convinced herself. Still, she did her utmost to shield her feelings from her daughter and doted on her as much as ever.

Despite her inner worries, Bastila could not help but smile as her gaze fell upon Sakura, performing for the buzzing crowd and giving them a blistering DJing performance. Her little treasure had always been so gifted when it came to music and the elder Kisagami could not have felt more proud of her. Not only an idol for the masses but seemingly a natural when it came to DJing too. After all of the pain that her beloved daughter had been forced to suffer through, she had managed to overcome it all, much to Bastila’s pleasure. Rose Garden was absolutely heaving tonight and most of the crowd at the moment seemed to be solely focused on her daughter. How could she not smile at that?

It was unfortunate that some of the crowd did not have much in the way of manners though as the tall blonde woman could have sworn that she felt something touching her rear once or twice. Still, she took it in her stride for the moment and just focused on her wonderful daughter.

“Keep going, Precious!” She yelled at the top of her voice, “Your Mum could not be more proud!”

Some of the nearby figures started snickering but there was something in the way that Bastila then looked at them which stopped that quickly.

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A summer time event was a little different than Sakura had thought at first. What she first thought would have been like a beachside concert turned quickly into something much more urban and techno. Though she did enjoy her own music and concerts more, there was a big part of her that didn’t care. The idea of spreading music regardless was what she loved to do and lived for it. In the eye of the public at least, that what she was; an innocent, cheerful person whom put herself out time and time again to make others happy through her shows and concerts. Ever since her first small performance, she’d begun to get larger and her fan base seemed to skyrocket. From the look of her social media, even those who were Wizard Saints thought she was an amazing person and honestly it felt wonderful to be looked up to by even those who were at a peak of fame among the public. And of course, she was raised never to take these things for granted, which she held tight to for sure.

Primarily, that was how she was when it came to being in the eye of others and often times at home, however even that wasn’t as upbeat as it used to be. Ever since she found her mother had come to join Hidden Blades, there was an air of tension between the two that never was there before. Even the mystery of her father had less tension than this. Perhaps this is why she could have that ability to use magic, but why never being told as to why she held this so secret to her own child. Even more so, what even could her magic do? Did either of the ones she had been able to use come from her? Was her ice magic from her father instead? Attempts to even ask about him were always diverted and while she tried to understand her point of view, there was something in her that felt she had a right to know. Her stubbornness was surely a trait from the blonde though, that was easily proven.

As the event was set up, Sakura left early in order to help them set up for some of the equipment. While she didn’t have to, she felt the need to do something to give back for them considering her to be allowed to do any kind of performance there. Once the night rolled around, she took first shot at doing a surprise round at the DJ booth. People crowded around, and as she had gotten into the best of the music, the idol could hear a voice cheer out through the crowd. The rainbow slayer could only smile wider, caring not for the way it came out of her mouth. Her mind was settled on the beat of the music that in fact was a recorded version of one of her own songs. But, something did click. After the song ended, the idol picked up the microphone nearby and looked out to the crowd before looking down to her mother. ”You know, I haven’t taken any time to mention to you all how thankful I am in life. My mother has always been my biggest inspiration raising me on her own and making sure that I was cared for. I know I wouldn’t be here without her at all, so I want to take a moment and say thank you for everything you’ve ever done and will continue to do for me. Now can I get a round of applause for her, ladies and gentleman!?” She cheered, following a loud wave of cheers and applauding for her. ”You’ve all been wonderful! Now go enjoy the night, but do it safely!~” With a big wave, she would hand the microphone off and hop down from the booth, where she would immediately hug the elder Kisagami despite the crowd that still hung around.

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The blonde woman had come to think that there was little that could surprise her any more but as Sakura’s song came to an end and she started speaking, Bastila was hit in the face by reality. To hear such sweetness from her daughter caused the elder Kisagami’s heart to skip a beat as the words reached her and she had to look down briefly in order to prevent tears from starting to shed from her eyes. The tension that had been building up between them seemed to vanish there and then and as the crowd started to cheer for her rather than her daughter, Bastila was left in a rather awkward spot. Still, she managed to at least give a rather old fashioned curtsey to the crowd, which seemed to be enough for them. Even the crowd members who had mocked her before were cheering and a smile soon returned to the tall woman’s face.

As she felt her daughter's arms around her, Bastila would embrace her daughter in return, holding her close and tenderly as she had as a child. The crowd seemed to disappear in her mind as the pair hugged each other and for those few moments, there was no one but them. Her awkwardness faded and her shoulders loosened up, with even her doubts and worries fading away. Just seeing her daughter free from the living hell that she had been forced to live was enough for Bastila. Sakura had been made to suffer through so much and the pain that Bastila had felt having to watch it happen was nothing compared to what her poor daughter had suffered. Seeing her live the way she wished to every day was more than enough for Bastila and the love that she had for her most precious treasure was indescribable.

“I love you, Sakura and I always will,” Bastila uttered into her daughter’s ear, tightening her hug a little just for a moment. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing you perform and bringing a little happiness into the lives of all of these people. I know that we both have secrets that we have been holding on to and there are questions that you have to ask me. I promise that I will give you the answers that you deserve, Sakura, but you have to understand. I have been holding onto these for a long time and they might not be the ones that you are expecting. We have both been through so much and I know that my joining the guild was a shock. I am sorry for hiding the truth from you, Sakura but I did it for your sake, not mine. I swear.” She spoke from the heart and as she finally pulled away, the elder Kisagami looked a little emotional herself for a moment or two.

“Anyway,” she then said, offering her hand to her daughter, “How about we have some fun and see what else this festival has in store for us?”

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The enjoyment of the embraceful hug of her mother had been something she get had gotten very excited for. Having her giving that same old hug that she had no matter how good or bad things were felt like something that pushed deep into the emotional well that she had. But the waters of sadness were still down there, she had an overflowing amount of joy that was pouring out with no end in sight. Having seen so many people cheer for not only her, but for Bastila as well made her feel much better about her choice to do this all the more reinforced. Whatever would come from it was just something she would have to pull towards. Being so randomly put under the spotlight was not really her first choice, nor did some people like being put out there like that. However, if her mother really didn’t like the idea of it, than perhaps the hug wouldn’t have been anything more than for show. And frankly there was an easy tell of what was her mood just by the way she had been held onto. Something picked up in the earlier years that honestly became hard when she was simply confined to the body of a porcelain doll. Now that she could, it felt reflexive that she know just how this was.

Once it seemed to be safe enough for her to speak, speak she did. First responding by bringing up how happy she was to see her perform with such intents to make others happy. It was far from false, even with whom both Kisagami girls were aligned to. Their jobs did after all have nothing to do with their real lives. Frankly, that was alright with her. It gave her something she needed and if that meant it would lead to darker means, than so be it. The world was a dark place, it would just take a lack of fear to see just how far down that rabbit hole is. But as Bastila continued, she mentioned that her idea of keeping secrets was a way to keep her safe. Frankly, there was never a moment in her life that she DIDN’T do something to protect her in some way or another. But when all was said and done, the idol smiled. ”You’ve done that my whole life. Protecting me that is. And frankly, I feel I haven’t been able to tell you enough growing up. So if I could show others just how much of an inspiration you are to me, that it would aside from the fact that I’m growing more comfortable to the fact of what happened growing up.” She paused for a moment to take in a light bit of air and exhale, a cold breath that could chill water to the core. ”I... don’t want to force you to tell me things. I want them to come from you because you’re ready to, not because you think I am.” With a smile, the rainbow slayer would take her mother’s hand and nod to her request to enjoy the night.

It wouldn’t be long however as they started around, picking up a couple snacks and drinks, watching others perform in things such as the drum set and spray painting that they would be approached by a small group. Led by a rather techno looking samurai, he had with him what seemed to be a pair of demon looking people and a cyborg of sorts. ”Halt. The girl comes with us or people start to get hurt.” The samurai ordered, his hand placed on the hilt of his sword. Sakura remained silent, more so taken aback by the sudden intrusion before breaking into a bit of laughter. ”Come now or I’ll be forced to end her life.” The threat was met with an immediate stopping of her laughter. ”Say that again and I’ll cut your tongue out.” She countered, the venom in her mouth coming with a light aura beginning around herself. With the grip on the strangers sword, the snap of Sakura’s fingers came as his sing did. A sword made entirely of flames would meet a bubble of water that would surround both girls. The firey Nein blade would collide and bounce away, leaving steam in the air of the colliding elements. ”Well, if you wanna fight, take your pick, mom. You want him or the goons? When you pick, I’ll put the bubble down and go after the other.” Sakura finished strategizing, not even looking to check on any way that she may be affected by this. Any familiarities or reasons that her daughter wouldn’t recognize at all.

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“Leave the samurai to me,” Bastila replied, her tone of voice unchanged although her expression changed to a far sterner one. Stepping forward, the blonde woman would begin to release her own magical aura, unleashing pulses of blazing heat that began to pulse around her, enough to be felt by all those in her vicinity. She had not uttered a word as Sakura and the sword wielding warrior had exchanged words and spells, remaining ominously silent. There was a sense of familiarity that she could not shake off and after a few moments of thought, she realised the source. His voice was indeed recognisable, regardless of his visor distorting it. A voice that she had hoped that she would not have to hear again.

“It has been a long time, Bastila,” the Samurai replied, ordering his minions with a wave of his hand and then pointing in Sakura’s direction. “I should have realised that you would no doubt be hanging around her, protecting her like a warm blanket from the cold. Do you still sing to her in order to help her sleep as you did when she was a child? She is old enough to live on her own and it is about time you let her go. Not that I am going to give you a choice. She is coming with us and as for you? I will leave you here in ashes. He was very specific in what was to be done if we encountered you but I will promise you one thing. Sakura is in for one hell of a time.”

“You always were a coward, Miguel, just like him,” the statuesque woman replied, her form changing as she started to approach him. A pair of what seemed like bird wings would appear across her back and shoulders, while her hands and feet would become blazing talons. Her entire body would then change, releasing such extreme heat as her phoenix powers came to the forefront. She would take on the form of the mystical bird of legend, enough to cause even the samurai to take half a step back. “See?” She said, her tone deepening due to her abilities, “You are already taking a step back, just as you did the last time we faced off. I told both you and him to leave us be.”

Without another word, the samurai swung his sword, releasing a flame of blade that came hurtling towards the mage. Leaping into the air, Bastila would take flight in order to avoid the attack and counter with a powerful blast of fire from her mouth, forcing him to dive out of the way. With a speed that he found difficult to combat, the blonde mage would fly in close, unleashing a barrage of strikes from her blazing talons, forcing him onto the defensive, his flaming sword barely able to counter the blonde’s powerful blows. The heat of battle surrounded the area and the two fire mages clashed again and again, trying to take control of the fight.

(507 Words)
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What she hadn’t expected was the way that her mother reacted to the whole situation. It was astonishing for her to have thought she’d become so focused on the samurai that she immediately left the bubble. With it, the spell popped just as well and the crowd of people seemed to become very distant. People cheering on the pair of Kisagami’s while others were yelling at the group of neon thugs to cut it out. Eyes of the demon looking couple had been opposite to the cyborg who simply held up as hand and fired a blast of sonic sound towards the yelling crowd. Few screams left and the look of shock at the actions had Sakura frozen. Frankly, she wanted to fight them, but she’d never fought in this body in public like this. Few and far between is one thing, however she didn’t come prepared for a fight at all. ”H-Hey! Leave them out of it! You want a fight, I’m right here!” Rolling with the idea of taunting them seemed to be the only way to make this work in her favor and possibly by her a little time.

Her choice of Magic’s was both wide and narrow at the same time. While she needed to worry about what she used now and when on the job, she had to be sure that when she was prepped for the fight that she use only choice elements as not to draw attention to herself. But suddenly, a warmth caused her to look over towards her mother. With it, her eyes widened. Red, vibrant wings formed from her back, her arms and legs shaped to what of claws and talons of a bird like nature. Just what was her mother anymore? It seemed like that talk was going to get much more beyond a simple one now. That seemed like an opening for the others though. A sharp, high pitched sound pierced her ears. It wracked her body and her knees quickly gave out. The pair of demon like neon thugs moved in sync. One delivered a right hook to her face while the other jumped off of the first and swung their foot along, kicking her in the face and sending her off in the opposite direction to the others.

While others boo’d and yelled at the cheap shot, the others made no effort to do anything else as the example of what happened before was still fresh in their mind. With a chuckle, the idol stood up and wiped a small streak of blood from her chin and shrugged. ”That wasn’t bad. But I’m not going down that easy~” The rainbow slayer would raise a hand up into the air, circling the air lightly as she did so. Above the cyborg enemy had been a circle of rainbow hued water that simply hung in the air, following the flow of motion to the slayer herself. Just as her hand swung down, the water would act like an exploding geyser; firing down into the ground and crushing the enemy underneath the water. ”One down~ Now, you two can give up, or I’ll have to try.” A threat came with just a girly giggle and a wink, much like the upbeat pop idol normally was on the stage. The two quickly held their hands up part of the way and they stood together in place. ”Good, now say cheese!~” The comment came as the crowd would see a shark fin made of water burst into the air from the ground, performing a backflip before it would crash down into the pair and the burst knocking them out cold. ”And THAT was for the cheap shot.”

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The searing heat was almost overwhelming for those nearby and as Bastila and Miguel continued to exchange blows, those watching began to move further and further away because of it. Still, it was quite a show and the Takeover mage unloaded with blow after blow with her immense talons, forcing her enemy further and further back as he struggled to keep up with her. Eventually, he managed to launch her backwards with a powerful push, before raising an arm and causing a group of creatures to appear from behind one of the festival boots and charge towards her. They were strange looking creatures, elemental s of some kind but the blonde did not care and turned to face them. Five in all, the creatures would foolishly attack her all at once, causing the blue eyed woman to unleash an immense tornado of flame that burned all of her enemies at once, causing the elemental s to scream with pain and torment as they struggled to get out of her attacks range. She would then leap into the sky and begin to flap her wings, releasing scorching hot waves of flame that caused the tornado to explode, searing her targets and causing them to collapse to the ground.

“Even now you lack the strength to face me one and one,” she said, turning back to Miguel just as he came swinging towards her, trying to catch her off balance. His attack missed her by an inch and she struck out with a powerful blow from her talons, leaving an almighty scratch down the side of his armour, leaving the right side of it in tatters. Becoming desperate, he would desperately summon another group although Bastila would simply say, her gaze briefly turning towards her daughter, “Would you mind dealing with this group, Precious?”

With his minions held at bay or defeated, Miguel would lunge forward, attacking her with a ever more desperate set of flame based attacks from his sword. The blonde haired woman was more than capable of dealing with him though and began to counter with an accuracy that seemed to increase over time. Where Miguel’s attacks were wild, Bastila’s were compact, her controlled rage being channelled perfectly into her fighting style. Every movement was graceful and dignified but backed by the raw power of the Phoenix, the mystical bird whose strength she had been blessed with so long ago. A power that she had gained for one purpose alone, to defend her daughter from all those who wished to harm her. Whether it be bandits, Miguel and his thugs or the man responsible for saving him.

Catching his blade with her talon, Bastila would wrench it from his hand, before unleashing with a powerful double strike from her talons, burning the remains of his armour and sending him crashing to the ground. Trying to scrabble away, he would try to escape but Bastila placed a flaming talon on his back, causing him to remain still. He was still alive but should she let him remain that way? There she stayed, her talon resting upon him, a look of silent fury on her face.

(526 Words)
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With a loud sigh of relief in her victory, the idol placed her hands on her sides while she looked over to see her mother fighting. To catch up and see how she was doing, she was curious to see just how she planned to fight, or even how she seemed to know this samurai. Her slayer hearing didn’t mean she couldn’t hear them talking at all, even through her fighting and with the little bit of talking, it was becoming something of a growing curiosity as her mind tried putting in pieces of a puzzle that wasn’t even there in order to try and solve the purpose of trying to take her. Perhaps the men came to kidnap her for a ransom of some kind? But, how would she have known him? Perhaps it was through past work she did before she had the spirit? No, there had to be something if it drove her enough to use however much magic she used. Whatever magic it was she used, perhaps she could learn more when it all was finished. But the samurai had an ability to summon things, strange looking beings.

The beings the samurai summoned went right for Bastila and she had dealt with them swiftly with a tornado of flames. Perhaps their spells were much more in common than she thought in how they thought to make them, considering she did the same with shards of ice and snow. Now though, it seemed the samurai summoned another batch, to which she was asked to dispose of for her. Holding out her left hand, a sword would appear in hand, the sheen of light reflecting off showing a rainbow shine to it. ”Leave them to me, ma’am!~” The teenage idol would make her way towards them and the elementals pushed their way towards her. With her free hand, the idol would form a ball of light into her hand and fire off a beam that seemed to practically obliterate it. ”O-Oh... The heck? Well... if that’s the case, time to have fun!” The idol would dash off towards her new enemies, using what training of using a sword she could against these creatures.

It hadn’t taken much time for her to slice her way through the elementals with a blade of light, but it taxed her for sure as the numbers game caught up with her wounds. Few claw marks and even a bite or two of them had tore into her clothes and body, but she paid no mind to it. While her mother stood over the defeated Samurai, she walked over and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. ”It’s over, mom. Let the authorities take care of it.” She informed her, hoping she would show him the mercy that the public would surely remember. If she did just leave him be, security would march in and grab him up, taking him and the others into cuffs before escorting them away to be taken into custody. ”What do you say we go get a drink and talk, huh?” The girl offered suddenly, with no mind paid to the wounds on her body. After all, she knew she could heal them at any point.

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With a sigh, Bastila allowed Miguel and the rest of his band to be arrested against her better judgement. She knew what would happen. His band would spend time in prison and then be released back into the public domain, having learned nothing from their sentence. It was the same old story for them, as well as the man who had sent them in the first place. How many times had he been thrown in jail due to his horrible behaviour? Still, it was what Sakura wanted and so the Takeover mage just about managed to control herself, watching for a moment as they were carted off, while softly taking her daughter’s hand with one of her own as her more precious treasure placed a hand on her shoulder.

Her flaming form would vanish, returning the blonde woman to her usual appearance, revealing her own state. She was relatively untouched and although Bastila had a few cut marks, she had done pretty well while his flames had not been too much of a match for hers. For a moment, her mind drifted back to the first time that she had crossed spells with him, reminding her of memories that she would rather just forget. Oh, she had been a novice with her magic back then and unused to combat, whereas he and his goons had been far more experienced. It had been a painful encounter, one of many in what appeared to be Bastila’s rather simple life.

Turning to look at Sakura, the elder Kisagami would look over at her daughter and sigh a second time, putting aside her daughter's request for a moment. Her lovely dress had been ruined by the fight but what was a hundred times worse were the various wounds that were now covering her daughter’s body. Thinking for a moment, Bastila would take her daughter’s hand and summon a few fiery tears from her eyes which would drop onto Sakura’s hand. Yet, there would be no pain and the healing properties of Bastila’s spell would take effect, starting to heal her daughter's wounds. As powerful as the phoenix was in terms of damage output, the mystical bird was of course more well known for its healing and empathic abilities, both which thankfully Bastila had learned to use herself. “There, that should take care of your wounds,” she said softly, her tone losing the steel that it had contained during the fight and returning to its more motherly and natural one.

After a few moments, she would then add, answering Sakura’s question rather simply, “Alright.”

Gently taking her daughter's hand again, Bastila would lead Sakura through the crowd, who were cheering and hollering over the fight which made the blonde feel rather uncomfortable. They were respectful enough to not get in the way though and made a path for the duo to walk through, almost as a thanks for saving the festival. The blue eyed mage wished that she could think of it as simply as that but it was far too personal for her. Miguel and his cronies had come for a reason, not just to make a mess of the festival and the fact that he was willing to put the lives of anyone and everyone in order to complete his goals just made the situation even worse.

With a shake of her head, Bastila would pause as the pair reached a rather quiet looking bar and led her daughter towards the stools, placing herself upon one. “Order whatever you like, Sakura,” she said softly, “I am paying.” For herself, she simply ordered tea which seemed to catch the bartender off guard. He recovered quickly enough though and turned his head towards Sakura, awaiting her order.

Once it was done, Bastila remained quiet for a few moments, before adding to Sakura, “After our little skirmish, I suppose there is little point in hiding things any longer. Ask me whatever you wish, Precious. I will not hide anything from you any longer.”

(668 Words)
(1335 Extra WC)

Thankfully, her mother wasn’t lost in some sea of resentment and vengeance. Or at least some form of the mix. Seeing how she glared down at that samurai beneath her foot had her moderately concerned for his well being, but it seemed her voice was able to get through to her. Letting him up and able to be taken away by the authorities meant little to her, but more to the idol and possibly to the crowd of onlookers too. Frankly, everything tonight was to be something for playing to the public image and unsure if she even had much practice in that herself, but to mention anything now was less than a desirable place right now. What she had to do was wait and assess things from there, though how it would come to doing so to her own mother was a rather... strange and uncomfortable feeling to say the least.

As her hand was taken from the elder blondes shoulder, she held onto it and watched as tears formed and dropped unnaturally quick onto her held hand. The sensation began all over her body of wounds as a soothing feeling began. Her cuts and bites began to slowly heal, though she did feel she could have done so on her own, this was good. Learning more of what her mother was capable of had been a little less than her original plan, but this was certainly fair enough. ”You didn’t have to, I was going to wait until we sat down for drinks.” She explained, her attention though locked onto watching her wounds healing up before her eyes in a very interesting manner. Though she shouldn’t really be surprised much, she had been to anything magically related to the woman was something to hold onto for the upcoming drink.

Having followed her along through the crowd of cheers and praises had felt something positive to her, it hadn’t seemed to resonate as much to Bastila. The way she was being pulled along showed her how much the public eye didn’t resonate well with her. But why? What was making her so upset and withdrawn like this? Maybe she’d been like this her whole life and really just never took the time to notice. But the mother and daughter duo entered the bar and quickly the older Kisagami took her seat at the bar. Joining her, there was an air of silence before the bartender approached. Asking about drinks, he seemed a little thrown off by the choice of having tea, but when he looked at Sakura, he had remained quiet while she thought. Unsure of what she wanted, the idol turned her head to her mother, then back to the bartender. ”Can I have a blackberry Martini?” Reluctant to say yes, he just nodded and went off to prepare the drinks for both girls.

Bastila came right out with it once they were alone. She had seemed to be a little uncaring of what was asked now that she’d actually seen her in the throws of combat and whatever other mix of emotions that she had. ”Well, then I guess I start with you and dad.” She pauses as both drinks came, an extra cup placed between both girls and a teapot as well. Once he left with her having taken a sip of her drink, Sakura stared into her drink with a bit of a sullen look on her face. ”And I need to know how you knew him. I’m tired of having the topic avoided for my safety, but don’t push it all at once if it’s too much.” She took one more sip of her drink, peering over to her mother afterward. She knew she’d asked and made points of how she deserved to know about him, but always getting pushed off. This time she had the chance to get it all.

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The blonde simply gazed down at her own cup for a few moments after Sakura proceeded to ask about her father. A topic that Bastila had always managed to brush aside up until now. Of course it was only natural for her daughter to want to know but the elder Kisagami’s had always relied on the mental crutch of not doing so for the sake of Sakura. Was it only that or was she trying to protect herself by keeping it secret too? By burying the memories of her husband, she had found some measure of relief although that feeling was always rather fleeting, even now. Still, she had given her word for there to be no more secrets and as she finally looked up and gazed at her daughter, a sigh would escape her lips.

“Marcus Donovon,” she eventually said, “Brown hair, brown eyes, tall and dark. He was always a favourite of the girls and I admit that I was smitten with him from the first time I caught sight of him. The man was such a charmer back then and our romance was one that you could have written in a fairy tale. We both fell head over heels for each other and I could not have been happier. Flowers, chocolates, poetry, you name it. I was completely captivated by him and honestly thought that he was one. It all happened so fast and before I knew it, we were wed. We moved into a small little house and everything seemed just perfect.”

Her expression, which had been fairly neutral up to that point, turned more melancholic, “At least for a while. As time passed, he began to change. The charming man that I had given my heart to seemed to slowly wither and fade away, replaced by a depraved monster. He began to go out more and more without uttering a word to me. He would suddenly reappear in the early hours of the morning, stinking of alcohol and narcotics. Yet, I remained ignorant and remained hopeful that he was just going through a phase and would overcome it. He would not utter a word to me about his problems but he began to...to treat me in a far harsher way. It was around this time that I found out that I was with child and that was when I truly began to panic. I had no idea how he would react and I was right to. For when I finally did tell him, he...hit me.”

She stopped speaking at this point, taking a sip of her tea, a noticeable tremble in her hand as she recalled her unpleasant memories. Finally, she placed the cup back down and resumed, her gaze returning back to Sakura, “He became worse and worse after that. More unpredictable and moody. His drinking sky-rocketed and he began to gamble like mad too. I was scared to death, not just for myself but for you, my unborn child. I just tried to stay out of the way of him from that point on and those nine months were a nightmare. It is only thanks to a couple of my close friends that I was able to cope. I became withdrawn and retreated into my shell, doing all I could to protect you from him.”

Her lip quivered but she shook her head and continued, “After you were born and your illness was diagnosed, he completely lost his mind. He became so violent and would lash out at the slightest thing. I was scared to death of him and what he might have done to us both.”

She faltered at that point and fell silent, taking the cup back into her hands and drinking from it, trying to find her centre.

(629 Words)
(2611 Extra WC)