Throwing Fire

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

As was customary with the recent acquisition of his new techniques, Seiken was strolling down one of the main streets, his napalm marbles bringing the many colored lanterns to life with light. Despite the repetitiveness of this exercise, the jounin made sure never to neglect it unless other more pressing issues presented themselves; practice made perfect, and every opportunity to do so was nothing less than a blessing in disguise.

Little did Seiken realize that he'd be running in to someone from his past... someone who'd remember him being distinctly different than the way he was now...

[seiuchiblarg]

(I'm assuming that she would recognize those napalm marbles and stuff. Or at least, I'm hoping so.)

The little girl was walking down the street, humming to herself in a nice-but-tuneless sort of way. Her errands of the day had been finished, and she was just on her way home. Stars were just becoming to come out, twinkling in the night as though some foreign God had spread his own special glitter about the universe. One little footfall followed another, and the gently flickering lamplight illuminated tiny freckles on the child's face as she walked, not really looking where she was going, her eyes on a crystal clear night sky. The sun was only just settling into it's celestial bed for a well-deserved sleep, and the stars were only just waking up. Their leader, the moon, seemed to have been awake for a much longer while, and was now busy brushing all of his glittery friends into life.

She giggled pleasantly as she started scurrying home a bit faster. Sakaki wasn't afraid of the dark, especially on a bright, pretty night like this, but she was excited to get home to her warm, comfy bed, all warm in her snuggly teddy bear PJs, letting Mister Huggles hold her close all through the night, keeping her safe when bad dreams came to make her feel scared. She didn't pay much attention to where she was going, having long since memorized the trek home from the business district of Konoha, but when the flicker of firelight danced in her face, the girl looked ahead to see a distantly familiar glow flying about. Pretty... I think... have I seen that before? Sakaki scampered forwards quickly, trying to recall that flickering light. It wasn't like normal firelight... where had she seen it before? She would scamper past the person, and then turn around, waving at him for a moment and saying "Hi!" before turning around and scampering on ahead -- but more slowly than before.

He looks awful familiar... I know I've seen him at jounin meetings... but who is he? Sakaki hadn't actually spoken with the man in too long.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

As he was continuing his exercise, a sparkling blast from the past whizzed by, her pink locks almost glowing under the lantern lights. That small wiry form, the unnatural childlike innocence, that oddly calming giggle... it was none other than his old teammate from times past.

And god, she had not changed one bit. She looked and seemingly acted almost exactly like she did back in her genin days. Seiken would know; her undying optimism often conflicted with Seiken's past anger and desire for vengeance. Completely having forgotten about that part of his past for the moment, he halted his exercise to catch up to to the frail woman. "Sakaki-san! It's been quite some time!" he called out cheerily as he jogged up to where she was, a genuine smile on his face.

[seiuchiblarg]

Sakaki had scampered forward, but not out of earshot, when Seiken had called to her. It wasn't until she heard the voice that the girl stopped, turning on her heels to face him. "Wait... Sei-kun?" He was jogging up to her, and Sakaki then knew instantly where she'd seen that flashing -- his marbles! He always carried those glowy things around! Memories flooded Sakaki and she smiled faintly, reminiscently. They had gone on so many missions together, played so much together... Sakaki with her bright smile,. and Seiken with his... angry... scowl... and his... mean words... and... and,. well... Wait a minute!!!

Sakaki's reminiscent smile turned to a look of horror as she saw Sei-kun coming up on to her. He... he was always so mean to me! He looks nice enough now, but... It's just a trick! He's gunna be mean to me again!Sakaki, before Seiken could reach her, turned tail and ran for it, working as best as she could to get away from the boy who had been so mean to her. He always said that she was soft, and a coward for fighting the way she did, and that she should be more willing to kill and to hurt, and that it was stupid to say you didn't need to kill, and... and.. Ohh, it just wasn't nice!

The girl had every reason to run away, and so, run she did.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Seiken's own face turned from pleasant surprise to honest confusion as Sakaki's expression turned distinctly more terrified. It was only after she turned and started to flee that he realized why she was so frightened. "Sakaki-san, please wait!" he called out desperately, not losing sight of her.

As they sped through the darkened streets of Konohagakure, Seiken's pleas could be heard echoing across the walls of the buildings. "Sakaki-san, I'm not the same. I'm not the bitter and heartless person you once knew!" he pleaded as he continued to follow her. "I know that I was mean to you; I know I was unkind and merciless. And I was wrong, Sakaki-san! I know that you can barely stand the sight of me, but please... I beg of you, Sakaki-san, give me the chance to prove that I'm a different person! Give me the chance to show you I've changed!"

As he pursued his fellow teammate, the weight of what he had done in his earlier days began to weigh on him. Memories of his past unkindness towards his teammate flashed through his head. He could only shake his head in pained regret. 'What have I done?' he asked himself, praying it wasn't too late to close the rift that had formed between them...

[seiuchiblarg]

Through a maze of alleys, the girl ran, legs pumping and heart pounding. One dark, decrepit alleyway and another, each scarier than the last, the child ran and ran until she wa sout of breath Seiken's haunting voice chasing the wind she left behind. As the girl ran, Sakaki was able to hear what he said. Could he... Does he mean it? Is he really nicer? Well... well, it has been a long time.. Maybe he could be nicer... just a little bit.... Out of breath, Sakaki decided to take a rest for a bit by hiding underground -- that way Mister Seiken couldn't get to her even if he catched her! He passed, and the final words of his apology rang in her ears, and it was with a hopeful, optimistically expectant little smile that Sakaki poked her head up out of the ground in which she had been hiding. Popping up only a couple of yards behind the boy, she looked up at him, only her head sticking out so that she could go back in and hide quickly if she needed to.

"You... You mean it? You won't... you won't be mean to me anymore? You're really, really sorry?" Sakaki was looking at him with a bright glimmer of hope in her eyes as the boy responded to hearing her voice, probably by turning around and letting Sakaki see on his face how really sorry he was.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Finally, she stopped and Seiken halted, allowing Sakaki her space as he caught his breath. Then he saw Sakaki dive underground and Seiken almost lost all hope of reconciliation. He was estatic when he heard her voice sprout from behind. As he turned to face her, the pain on his face was obvious. "Please, Sakaki-san... I beg your forgiveness," he pleaded. "I know that all of the things that I did to you back then were despicable... and I'm sorry."

He allowed himself a small amount of hope as he awaited a response. Maybe, just maybe, she'd realized how unlike his past self he really was...

[seiuchiblarg]

Hope springs eternal in the eyes of a child, and in one so sweet as a little Sakaki, when a look of hope turns to one of forgiveness and of joy, even the night seems to grow a bit brighter with the brilliance of a little toothy grin. Sakaki's look made such a transformation, and the girl popped out of the whole in which she had hidden, flinging herself at her old friend gleefully. "Sei-kun!"

Little Sakaki would attempt to jump into her larger comrade's arms, wrapping her own around his neck in the biggest, most bestest hug a little Sakaki could manage. "Oh, Sei-kun, I ALWAYS wanted to hear you say that! Of COURSE I forgive you, Sei-kun!" Assumign she had, in fact, landed in his arms and been caught, she would pull her head away now to look at him. "So... so you're not a meany anymore? And you don't want to hurt anyone? Not ever? Not even me when I'm being all noisy?" The joy in the girl's face was undeniable, the happiness in her grin seeming never to end. She had her old friend back! Not that Seiken was ever this friend -- but he would be the kind that Sakaki always imagined her squad mates would be! He would, he would! Sakaki just knew it! He had to be!

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

A huge wave of relief spread across Seiken's features, letting out a chuckle as Sakaki jumped into his embrace. "Sakaki-san, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that," he replied happily as her tiny form sat cradled in his arms. "And I couldn't possibly afford to be a meanie anymore; I've got my own genin team to watch out for! Besides... Yuki-dono saved me from that part of myself, and I would never shame her efforts by becoming that way again."

A long-needed calm washed over the two as Seiken began carrying Sakaki back towards the latern-lit streets. "So, Sakaki-san, what have you been up to all these years?" he asked her, already relatively sure of the answer that awaited him.

[seiuchiblarg]

The man spoke, and Sakaki kept hugging him, hugging him for all the years he had been mean, hugging him for all the times he made fun of her or hurt her, hugged him for every little bit of meanness that had been in him. She wasn't squeezing him, but she was hugging as best as a little Sakaki could. Finally, he asked abou ther, and Sakaki looked up again, long enough to speak as he carried her.

"I've been good! Since the chuunin exams, I tried to get my thingy fixed so I could be a grown-up, but it didn't work, and, and got to be a jounin a'coz the village said I should try to be, but I guess you already knew about that from the couple village meetings us jounin hafta go to. And, and Kazuruno strill won't admit that he's my boyfriend, but I think he's gunna break soon, 'coz I -- !!!" All her words had come out in one breath, until realization struck her, and the girl gasped, looking at her old friend with a big, surprised look.

"Y-... Yuki... Yuki-DONO!!!???" Mi-- Mister Sei-kun, are You a... Are you a daddy!?"

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Seiken kept his eyes forward and his ears open as Sakaki relayed the events of her last few years. Everything was going rather smoothly in their discussion... that is, until Sakaki's words were cut short by an awkward silence which was followed by a shocked question.

Needless to say, Seiken was slightly taken aback. Still, after hearing her question and seeing her line of logic, he laughed softly. "Oh, goodness no, Sakaki-san. I'm not a father... though I someday hope to be," he answered, a hopeful smile on his face.

He turned back to her as they continued on their way. "So you've caught someone's eye, eh? Tell me about him!" he coaxed, wanting to know more about the teammate had he had never known.

[seiuchiblarg]

The child frowned in a disappointed way when Sei-kun told her he wasn't a daddy yet. "Aww... but I coulda babysat for you when you were on missions and stuff!" Sakaki smiled at the thought: That was the only reason, really, why she wanted to be a grown up: Little Sakakis couldn't have babies, but big Sakakis could! Sakaki had always wanted to be a mommy -- it made her mad to think that she couldn't!

"Well... Well, do you remember Kazy-kun?" Sakaki blushed just at the mention of the pet name which the object of her affection hated to hear. "From waaaaayyyyy back when we were genin and academy students? Well, he's all grown-up now, too, and he says he's not my boyfriend, but I think he's just fibbing so his wife doesn't get mad!"

Sakaki sighed a romanticized little sigh, fantasizing. "And maybe, maybe SOMEDAY, I'll even get to kiss him, and he won't give me cooties or anything!" She was nodding quite matter-of-factly as she spoke, as though she already knew this was going to happen. It might be that Seiken hadn't been, through out this time, too revenge-driven to pay attention to a little Sakaki, and that he knew that Sakaki's emotions were set in stone. The crush she'd had on Kazuruno as a child could never really be outgrown, and while she may say she loved him, all she really could do was get all fluttery inside every time he walked by. Seiken may not have known enough to piece two and two together, and if that were the case, than Sakaki would likely soon be dealing with a very confused ninja.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Seiken grinned at her response; one thing he did remember from his younger days was Sakaki's love for children and animals. "Don't worry, Sakaki-san; when the time comes, I'll be sure to ask for your help," he reassured her, the many colored lanterns dancing blue, pink, and purple rays of light across their faces.

As Sakaki went on about their now married classmate Kazuruno, Seiken's mind turned to what little he knew about his fellow teammate. Sure, he hadn't seen her in a very long time, and back then, he had never been inclined to talk to anyone, let alone someone as enthusiastic and optimistic as Sakaki. Still, questions flew through his mind: Who was she exactly? Why did she never age? Why did she act almost identically to the way he remembered her so long ago?

He chuckled lightly at her last comment. "Sakaki-san, you might be shocked to hear this, but not nearly as many men have cooties as you think," he told her. "You'd be surprised to find how few of us have them, actually."

[seiuchiblarg]

The girl shook her head, making a negatory "m-mm" sound. All boys have them, some of them just aren't mean or catchy. Like, like yours, Sei-kun, You can't give people cooties -- Well, you maybe gave them to Miss Yuki if you kissed her, but she probably knows that kissing boys is gross." She was stating all of this very matter-of-factly, and continued after but a breath. "And Kazy-kun has cooties that you can catch, but they're cute! That's how girls decide if they wunna be your girlfriend, y'know -- they look at how cute your cooties are."

She continued her encyclopedic rant about all things cootie. "Some people have really icky gross cooties, and some people have nicer cooties, but all boys have them, and girls only get them if they get them from a boy. So... So yeah!" The girl was grinning up at him, just because that was what little Sakaki's liked to do.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Sakaki's response made Seiken's eyes go wide with intrigue. "Well, you must certainly a lot about the subject. Sakaki-san. I've never seen someone speak on the topic so confidently," he noted humorously.

The many questions Seiken had still sought freedom from his mind through speech, but he knew better than to ask any of them yet. Attempting to distract himself he started on a new branch of conversation. "Have you had any interesting missions as of recently, Sakaki-san?" he asked.

Who knows? Maybe this conversation would answer the more complex theories he had built in his mind.

[seiuchiblarg]

"Missions" Sakaki's expression became a thoughtful one, and she considered, a pink corner of tongue poking out as it did when she focused. "Not really! They keep sending me on lots of missions, but they always try to make me be mean to people! Sometimes I hafta hurt people a little bit, but I still haven't been really mean to them! I do everything I can to make sure that nobody gets hurt too bad." Sakaki was looking at her friend as she spoke, still in his arms and hugging for all the lost times. She sighed, however, in a forlorn sort of way: being a jounin was hard work!

"What about you? You.. You said you're not mean anymore, but... Do you still make people hurt when you go on your missions?" Most of his jutsu, from what Sakaki remembered, weren't exactly the type that allowed him to invite an enemy to tea once they were through. It would be difficult for him not to hurt people, but then... maybe until things were okay for ninjas, people like that would be necessary. Just for now.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Sakaki's next question caused Seiken's smile to fade a bit, a hint of sadness creeping into his eyes and demeanor. For a moment he was silent. What would he say?

After giving it some thought, Seiken knew there'd be no way out of this one. "I won't lie, Sakaki-san... I don't enjoy it, but there are times when I have to," he admitted. "Sometimes it's the only way to keep both myself and the people around me safe."

So much had been accomplished in one night, and Seiken was praying that his efforts to restore his relationship with his old teammate wouldn't be in vain.

[seiuchiblarg]

Sakaki's hopes had gotten up -- Sei-kun had said he was nice, but he still hurted people! Well... it sounded like he avoided it when he could, so... So mayb ehe wasn't ALL bad, still... Sakaki didn't like it, but she had an idea!

"I have an idea!" Sakaki smiled at her big friend, and thought aloud. "Maybe, maybe I can help you! Most of my techniques are super-secret and stuff, but maybe, maybe if we work together, we can think up new techniques that we can use just to catch people that don't hurt them! Then you won't hafta be mean to those people either! I've never had to be mean to someone in my missions! Well, a little mean, sometimes, but I've never... well... People don't.. y'know... go away... on my missions. 'Coz I'm always so nice! And you can be nice like that too, if maybe we worked together!

"Whuddya think, Sei-kun?" Hope springs eternal. Sakaki was looking at him with a youthful, hopeful gaze. The two of them could spend time together, and make up for all the time they had lost as bitter team mates, and they could get stronger while they did it!

Only question.... What kind of technique would they make? Perhaps a bit too naive, but then, Naivete` was Sakaki's thing.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Honestly... Seiken was shocked.

Here she was, his pacifist teammate (who couldn't stand the sight of him all of five minutes ago) hearing that he still had to hurt people... and she wasn't running. Yeah, he said that he didn't like to harm others, and yeah, it was true, but even so...

Instead of high-tailing it in the other direction, she was offering advice, training even! "I'd like nothing more, Sakaki-san," he responded with a small bewildered chuckle.

Sakaki's only downfall was her innocence. It was also her greatest asset; solely to appease his new teammate, his mind was already working on some alternate ways of using his napalm. Maybe using mirage based illusions, maybe?

Seems that hope really does spring eternal.

[seiuchiblarg]

(ugh... so ridiculously short... sorry. D= )

"Good!" Sakaki's smile was bright and cheery. "We can meet tomorrow, and start work! Or, or if tomorrow's not good, than... well, then any time!" Sakaki had a big toothy grin, which hadn't gone away since she'd first jumped into Sei-kun's arms. "I... I really dunno what we'll do, though... But I guess we'll find out the-- Hey!" A thought had just occured to Sakaki. "Um... Sei-kun, what were you doing before you got attacked by a random team mate from forever ago? I saw the lights... I'm not interrupting a duty of yours, am I?"

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Seiken was hearing Sakaki continue on her tangent, planning various possible training sessions when suddenly a question was shot his way. "Oh, that? That was just a little training exercise I like to do. I use my napalm to light the lanterns on this street every night. It's pretty extensive, too; thought it doesn't look it, this is one of the main roads for Konohagakure no Sato. It runs straight across the entire village."

He looked around at the lanterns that shed their rays of light onto the dark streets. "That aside, I also enjoy the view of the village at night," he continued, a grin on his face. "The lights are so... calming."

[seiuchiblarg]

"Oh, oh, that sounds like fun! I can do that!" Sakaki hadn't even thought about it for half a moment, but already the idea had formed in her head. "If we go back to the street you were on, I can do it too, really good! You'll see! I can show you how much better I've gotten!" And so the two set out. It wasn't exactly a long time, and then Sakaki climbed down from Sei-kun's arms, preparing herself.

Taking a good look all the way down the line of lights, the child closed her eyes and sealed. Concentration furrowed her brow as slowly, tiny little pop noised were heard from her weapon's pouch, and eventually, tiny shards of her red glitter fluttered their way out. Sakaki let them swirl around the pair in a circle for a moment, and then, off they went, flying forward.

The girl opened her eyes to guide each shard to it's respective light. Each landed on it's own like a moth to a flame, and Sakaki concentrated still more, letting those rest as the others moved further onwards still. They were a bit ahead of where Sakaki had run off from, and as a result, some of the glitter had moved back as well, to cover the lights on the inside.

"And now.... RELEASE!" Sakaki changed her seal, and each tiny, individual shard ignited, each one lighting the lanterns. All at once, the street came alive with light, and Sakaki's face began to dance as fire flickered in her eyes. "See, Mister Sei-kun!? I'm really good, huh!?"

jutsuShow

16. Uzu no Pika --Swirling Sparkles
Rank: A
Range: Long Range
type: ninjutsu
Hand seals: I-Inu-Tori-Saru-Hitsuji-U-Tora-Mi
Description: Using this jutsu, Sakaki performs an advanced version of Musubi Heki, summoning thousands upon thousands of shards of her glitter. The summoning comes from above, falling down prettily and almost celestially upon the battlefield. Once the glitter has been summoned and placed upon the battlefield, it begins to swirl around in a large sphere, being controlled wholly by Sakaki’s chakra. Because Sakaki has yet to find a means of summoning her red glitter without activating it, she cannot summon the red glitter for this jutsu, though she can manipulate what red glitter is on her personage to use this technique. From her home, Sakaki can summon up to three quarters of her entire collection of (non-red) glitter at once.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

For a moment, Seiken was entirely confused as Sakaki had him walk back towards the unlit portions of the street. The sound of the glitter rising from the bag caught his ears, and his eyes followed as the sparkly red dust hit the inside of the lanterns. And then they erupted... leaving Seiken with his jaw slack in amazement at the display. His hour-long training exercise had been cut down to mere seconds.

"I... envy you sooo much right now," he told her, still gaping at the jutsu's effects.

[seiuchiblarg]

The child's beaming expression only increased when Sei-kun said that he envied her, and it made Sakaki giggle. "Good, huh!?" She reached into her weapon's pouch, fishing out her vials. "You remember these, right?" Rainbows of color sparkled inside of the one she had pulled out. "I use all of them for my jutsu! And my red glitter can EXPLODE! It's not big or bad enough to hurt somebody, but the sparkles are pretty, and if I explode enough of them at once, I can make someone go to sleep and not hurt them! Well, not hurt them too bad, anyway."

She popped open the vial she was holding, and the glitter, as her Uzu no Pika was still in place, began to rise and swirl around the two of them in pretty and fun ways, the firelight she had created flickering off of them and causing sparkles and reflections to show up everywhere. "Isn't it pretty and neat? And every kind of glitter does a different special super secret thing!" She was rather enjoying showing off to Sei-kun: For a very long time, he had said that she was weak, and cowardly, and a whole huge bunch of bad stuff for using genjutsu! He said that glitter was a very silly thing to use as a weapon, and that Sakaki would never do good as a ninja.

Well, now as she showed off to him and proved her new friend wrong, even though it seemed like he had changed, Sakaki still enjoyed boasting all of her powers at once.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Seiken was flabbergasted enough when he saw the exploding powder. Hearing about the other types made him do a double take. "There's more?!" he asked, a slight hint of depression in his voice.

Sure enough, Sakaki's glitter filled the air around them, the light reflecting off of the many tiny shiny surfaces on each grain of glitter, bathing the two in a rainbow of colors and light. Seiken simply looked on in amazement; to think that she had so many different kinds of glitter, and that each one had its own dedicated function now. The sheer scale of it alone was astounding.

It was also incredibly depressing, especially for someone like Seiken.

Seiken had spent months developing his napalm jutsu, and he had been proud of his work. The napalm was sticky, burned hotter than most fire, was harder to extinguish, and seemed pretty versatile on its own. To see his own work so easily trumped got him a bit down.

"Wowee, that's a lot of glitter," he commented, trying to hide the depression in his voice.

[seiuchiblarg]

Slowly, Sakaki's glitter slid it's way back into the vial, and Sakaki plugged it back up, slipping it back inside of her weaponry pouch. Crickets were chirping all around and the birds were going to bed. A few bats flew overhead -- high enough overhead that Sakaki didn't mind them so much. The child made a great big yawn, stretching her arms out wide. Her hands balled into a little fist, with which she rubbed her eyes. "I'm sleepy! Wunna walk me home, Sei-kun?" She smiled up at him, holding out her arms to let him pick her up again. She almost looked like a three year old, begging to be picked up by an exhausted mommy or daddy.

"I can show you where I live, and, and you can have dinner with me if you want, and -- MISTER SEI-KUN!!! WE COULD HAVE A SLUMBER PARTY!"

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

Well, this evening had certainly had its fill of events. There was still one question that hadn't been answered, though: why, after all of these years, had Sakaki never grown? What kept her suspended in this childlike state? This question kept mulling in his mind as he picked the small child up and they began walking again.

The last question made Seiken stop and blink in surprise. Yeah... that wouldn't be creepy at all, now would it? A man having a sleepover with a ten year old girl. What could possibly go wrong?

Luckily, this is not a world where it rains meatballs, and Seiken was nowhere near that stupid. "I think we might have to wait for another time for me to visit your apartment. However, I'd love to introduce you to Yuki if you're willing. Does that sound okay, Sakaki-san?" he asked, remembering that Yuki was notorious for staying up late.

[seiuchiblarg]

He took to walking, with Sakaki curled up in his arms, and as the girl nuzzled her way into a comfortable position, he asked her about meeting Yuki. The girl yawned again, and in a sleepy sort of voice, she smiled up at him, speaking. "Oh, yes! I'd love to meet your girlfriend, Mister Sei-kun! I bet she's really nice! After all, she thought your cooties were cute, so I bet she is!"

She snuggled back into him, feeling the subtle rocking of her body with every step. Sei-kun's body was warm, like a blanket with hugs, and she found herself slowly calming down. Still another great big yawn, and then she shifted herself in his grasp, wrapping her arms around him to help hold herself up, and also so they wouldn't be dangling.

A few more minutes, and Sakaki would be fast asleep.

[Yasashikaze Seiken]

The young girl was completely conked out by the time Seiken walked into his apartment. As he took off his shoes and walked into the living room, Yuki silently stepped out from the bedroom, clad in a flowing purple nightgown made of lace and silk, the fabric thin enough to reveal that she wore matching bra and panties underneath. Still, even with such attire, there was still a certain modesty about it, even grace, and it was such beauty that entranced Seiken every time he looked at her gentle features, whether it was her piercing amethyst eyes, her soft sky blue hair, the velvet touch of her skin, or just about anything else that made Yuki who she was.

YukiShow

She smiled gently at Seiken, and her attention was soon drawn to the tiny bundle of pink that lay sleeping in his arms. "Sei-kun, who is this young girl?" she whispered.

He looked down at the slumbering child, his eyes hardening slightly. "This... is Sakaki-san, my teammate," he stated quietly, knowing what her reaction would be like.

Her expression changed from one of intrigue to that of shock and awe as she placed her hand to her chest. "Sei-kun, she's 30!" she gasped almost silently. "How could she still be a child?!"

Very slowly and very gently, Seiken laid Sakaki down on the sofa in the living room. "I have no clue," he admitted, a look of concern in his eyes. "But I intend to find out."
Fin