Kit and Kin   by poetheather

 
Takeshi Saito was a quiet student who kept his head down in Ravencrest High School trying to get along. But strange things happen in this small town and the spotlight finds those who would rather hide. So Takeshi finds himself pulled from his happy geek corner to somewhere else, somewhere he is not sure of.

January 24

Maeko was quiet for most of the ride home as she was being yelled at by her mother. In a lot of ways she was actually okay with that because she knew that was going to be her mother’s response to what she had done. Given everything that she already knew about the relationship between her mother and her newly discovered Uncle of course her mother would lose her mind at this request. So now here she was getting yelled at for a perfectly logical reason. That damn voice got her into this and hopefully she would be able to get herself out as it didn’t seem to be offering up any suggestions.

The overall idea made a perfect kind of sense, trying to fix this rift between the siblings, as if it worked it could make the family stronger and she wanted her family to be there for her as she not only continued to deal with this change but also to take on her new role as Liaison between the Faeries and the Unseen. True it would be weird to have some new members in her family but that would be good. Her parents had talked to her about how important family was her whole life and this just made that even clearer. Was it any wonder that she just might want to get something as basic as normal family drama out of the way when she had mystical craziness on the horizon?

“You are in so much damn trouble! You have no idea. How could you?” asked her mother, her voice tight with anger.

With a sigh Maeko finally said, “Can you at least wait until we get home for me to explain?”

“You mean you actually have a reason for this stupid act?” her mother asked incredulously. “You have got to be shitting me.”

“There really is. Just let me explain it once. Please Mom.” pleaded Maeko.

“Fine. And there better be a damn good explanation.” Her mother gripped the steering wheel so tightly that the plastic was creaking under her hands.

The two of them were silent for the rest of the drive. Maeko kept looking out the window as the trees and houses passed by, thinking about the conversations to come, and hoping that the mysterious voice would help her with these. It had gotten her into this mess and hopefully it would help her get out of it. It didn’t have to give her the words but to at least give her some ideas would be nice. The silence in the car was painfully uncomfortable. Once they reached the house she was marched inside and forced to sit on the couch. She was left to stew briefly and she could her whispered voices from the kitchen. Her parents came in and stared at her. “You said to wait until we got here. So now we’re here. Explain.”

“Okay, so when kasa and I were talking to your brother…” That earned her a very feral growl which made her start slightly. “…I heard a voice in my head say ‘Tell him’. I wasn’t sure what was going on so I didn’t say anything. I’ve heard it a few more times since then but it told me again to tell him, so I did. He wanted to talk to me about something and I told him that I wouldn’t listen to anything unless he fixed things with you.” She tried to explain but was getting more emotional the more upset her mother was getting. It hurt to see her mother so angry. She had never been this angry as far as Maeko had known and to know that she was the cause of this anger coming out was tearing her up. It was taking everything she had to not cry.

Her mother glared at her and she could sort of see the fox inside of her waiting to come out. It was disconcerting. Never had her mother looked so dangerous, so inhuman as she did right then. Maeko actually shook a little and shrunk back some away from her and her mother spat out, “Do you know what that bastard did to me, Maeko? What my family did to me? Do you have any fucking idea?”

“No, because no one’s told me! But apparently your brother ‘Needs’ to talk to me about something and so that’s what matters. I don’t care about what that is about because I am not listening to anything he says unless he comes here and apologizes to you. I don’t know what he did but I know he hurt you mom and unless he fixes that first he can just fuck off for all I care! I’m just trying to fix things mommy, that’s it, can’t you see?” Maeko just couldn’t take it anymore and broke down, starting to bawl as she spoke. Sobs almost choked off her words as the fear and worry and everything that had been building ever since she had told Mr. McC about herself burst through her control. Seeing her mother that livid and her kasa that upset and disappointed, two looks that she had never seen directed her way, was crushing her. It was like her damn cover identity was coming true. She curled in on herself, arms clutching knees and face down in them.

There was a pause, where the only sound was Maeko’s crying and then her parents moved, almost as one, to sit on the couch and embrace her. Her mother started apologizing over and over, trying to get through to her. Her kasa was busy rubbing her back and simply trying to provide a comforting presence. Maeko had no idea how long they were like that, as even with the comforting and apologies it took her a while to stop crying, as more than just this event came out in her tears. All her fears and grief over her transformation spilled out as well and she eventually was hiccoughing softly, while her mother was trying to wipe the tears from her face.

“I am so sorry baby.”

“I know mom. I had a reason for doing what I did but I am sorry I didn’t tell you about it first. I know I should have but there really wasn’t time.” They hugged tightly and her mother kissed her on the cheek.

Her kasa said, “Maeko, why don’t you go upstairs and splash some cold water on your face, center yourself and get ready. Your mom and I will get everything down here ready for your vice principal to arrive. It’ll be okay. We’re not mad at you.”

She nodded and stood, giving her parents a wry smile, her mother squeezing her hand before letting it go. The stairs were a serious trudge as her legs felt heavy as if encased in cement, probably because she felt so emotionally drained due to everything that had happened. The normally short walk felt so much longer thanks to that. How the hell was she going to handle the meeting if she was already this wrung out? It was going to be a nightmare with her being this tired.

In the bathroom she got a good look at herself and could see that her face was all blotchy and her eyes were red and swollen. With a sigh she turned on the water and got out a washcloth. This would take more than just a splash to try and freshen herself up. This would practically take a damn miracle so she wouldn’t look like she had been punched in the face.

Once she got the cold compress she went into her room and lay down on her bed, covering her eyes. The cold cloth felt good on her puffy eyes and she sighed in relief. Maybe this would cool them off and reduce the swelling. While she lay there and let her thoughts drift off to something very different and less stressful, she felt a very light touch land on her knee and a voice ask, “Are you alright?”

“Yes Pepper I am. Thank you for asking. I just had a really bad afternoon so far.” replied Maeko, wanting to assure the pixie that things were fine. Who knew what the little troublemaker might do if it felt motivated to try and fix things. Her imagination supplied things right out of disaster movies.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” The pixie’s voice was very sincere and it was really tough not to confide in the young sounding fae.

“Not right now. If I think of something I will ask, okay?” promised Maeko, wanting to do nothing of the sort, positive that to do so would result in some serious destruction.

“Sure. I just want to make sure you’re okay. You have an important job to do and I have to make sure you are taken care of.” said Pepper quite definitively.

Maeko took the washcloth off of her eyes and smiled at the pixie faintly, “Thank you Pepper.”

The pixie flew up and gave her a quick hug. Maeko closed her eyes and accepted it, enjoying the feeling of comfort that it gave her. Pepper really put her whole self into things and this hug was no exception. Even though she was small the hug felt huge and was greatly appreciated.

She lay there, staring at the ceiling and pondered all of this. Just exactly what was that voice she had been hearing and why did she trust it? It felt so true and so honest, everything in her said to listen to it and so she did. Look where that led her. She had never been so scared of her parents in her life. Clearly there were some issues with the voice but it felt so true. But there were also more important questions, like who exactly was the voice in the first place. It really did not feel like any internal voice she had ever had, in this body or her prior one, so that only left an outside source.

That idea was extremely disturbing. What in the name of all that was holy could have gotten into her mind and done this? She practiced her meditation and the mental exercises that were supposed to protect against mental intrusion, not that she had believed in it until now. But if she had done them routinely and had been doing the exercises wouldn’t that mean she would have something resembling defenses against that sort of intrusion? That should mean that any outside voice would trigger some sort of defense, create some sort of response in her… right? She really hoped it wasn’t some sort of magic because if so, it was the one thing she didn’t know and thus was the one thing she didn’t know if she could actually defend herself against.

Her mind kept rolling over this information over and over, getting nowhere as she really had no data to work with before she heard her mother call up, “Maeko, could you come down here please!”

She stood up, straightened her clothes and thought to herself, “Okay, you can do this. Just relax and remember what you said you were going to do. It’s show time.”

The tension in the living room was almost so thick that it was nearly impossible to enter the room. Maeko stepped into the room and stared at the three adults seated there. Her mothers were seated on the couch, seated so close to each other it was as if making a statement about their couplehood glaring at his mother’s brother. Mr. McC was seated in a chair across from them, looking awkward and irritated, which was not a good combination for him. She stood there a few seconds and realized that they had not registered her presence. It was rather interesting to realize that in this instance she was being the adult. “He-hem.”

They didn’t quite start at her voice but it certainly broke the stare off they were indulging in. They turned to face her, and at least her kasa looked pleased for the disturbance. Maeko crossed the room and had a seat, sitting apart from her parents, “So, you wanted to talk to me?”

Mr. McC took a deep breath, clearly trying to reign in his temper. It was clear that he only partially succeeded. “Yes, thank you Maeko. I wanted to talk to you before… this occurred to you on your birthday, but honestly, given the recent spate of such events in town and the events in our clan, I frankly don’t see how this particular… variation matters anymore.”

The three Saito’s all shared a look. It was clear that he had been trying to talk purposefully obtuse. “What?”

Mr. McC pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed and looked over and her mother, “Look Grace, you have been out of the loop for a while and frankly it’s not like you really cared much about any of the family business to start with so this might take a little while to explain. Ever since the early Fourties, the McCormick family has been losing power both economically and in land. We have also been losing a great deal of influence around town. Then there is the issue we have been having in terms of numbers.”

Her mother narrowed her eyes, this was clearly news to her, “What do you mean?”

“While the earliest issues began in the Fourties, since the Fifties the family has slowly been losing companies and even some of our land, even influence in town. We used to have some respect on the Werecouncil and now were almost a damn joke, because at this point almost any of them can basically buy our Clan without hurting themselves. The biggest holding the Clan has anymore is the Airport and that isn’t even held by the main line anymore. No, we are not doing well.” explained Mr. McC, looking unhappy with airing this sort of family laundry.

“So the family is going broke and sucking hind teat, why should we care Duncan?” countered Grace, challenging him.

“We are a founder’s family Grace and our family is fading and not just that way. If it were just money it would be no big deal as we could survive that. No, since the Fourties not a lot of kids have been born to anyone in the clan and we seem to have a high mortality rate as well. It is pretty bad Grace, but you may not have paid attention to that. As for the main line in the current generation… I’m it for the males and you’re it for the females Grace. We’re all that’s left. And since Maeko here is the only child…” Mr. McC trailed off, leaving his statement unsaid but it was painfully clear what he was implying.

“No! Fuck no! Just fucking no! To hell with you Duncan! I am not going to help any of you assholes. You and the other bastards threw me out because I was ‘unnatural’ and now you want my child to become a part of that Clan? To become the Heir? Fuck you!” Grace leapt to her feet and was angrily pointing at her brother to emphasize her words.

Maeko felt a nudge from that presence, prodding her to speak, to turn the conversation from where it was going. “Wait, so what exactly does that entail? Being the Heir?”

Everything in the room stopped and all faces turned to face her, most etched deeply with disbelief. She didn’t grin but she did sigh a little, “Look, I am not saying I will do it, but what would that entail?”

The Vice Principal blinked at her a few times, clearly thrown as he had been building up to a fight with his sister. “Uh… well, there is a ritual that would need to be done at the Clan’s compound. There would be some training in how you do the job as Clan Leader. Talking to the Lorekeeper. Introduction to the Werecouncil. Things like that.”

Maeko thought about this. Some of the things that were listed were things that she had already been planning to do already in her job as Liaison so that would be easy, the rest… well, some of that might take some work. “And what are the benefits? What will this give me?”

“Well, you will eventually be the head of the Werefox clan and in charge of all of our resources. That’s power in several different areas.” stated Mr. McCormick.

“Well, you already admitted to me that your power in that arena is fading, so how is that an enticement?” countered Maeko.

“Look, I know things need to be fixed and nothing that has been tried before or that I have tried has worked so far. Yes, coming to you is an act of desperation but I do not want this Clan to die. So please, help us.” Mr. McC did not look comfortable pleading, even the little bit that he was.

“So you just want me because I used to be a guy and I was a part of the main line?” asked Maeko, getting a feel for where Mr. McC’s thoughts were going. It was just like someone like him to only choose her because of that particular fact.

There were several awkward moments before, with a sigh of defeat, Duncan McCormick lowered his head and admitted, “Yes.”

Maeko thought about this option. Her mothers were staring at her as if she had a chicken on her head and she had to resist a grin of victory. She was tempted to check given how intense the look was but managed to resist the urge. Could she actually do this? Could she be the heir to some Clan she had never really interacted with before and whose members who had treated her mother like shit for most of her life? “Okay I will do this, but before I do you have to do something for me first.”

He narrowed his eyes, worried about this. “What?”

“First off these are non-negotiable. If you won’t do both of these I won’t play along. That is a deal breaker. Got it?”

Everyone was still staring at her. The nudges from the presence within continued and she was unsure where exactly this was heading. “One, you will formally apologize to the Head of the Saito family for the actions of the McCormick family during the 30’s and 40’s. There was no call for the way they were treated and it must be fixed.”

“What do you want me to say? Mistakes were made? People paid for it? The ones who did it, they’re all dead. I’m not one of the ones who can be blamed. Look, I just want to save my family.” countered Mr. McC.

“Then you can do this. If you want my cooperation with the one thing then you will do these things. No arguing. Now to the second, we have discussed it before so it shouldn’t be a surprise. You apologize to my mother for everything that was done and said to her. You want my help then that’s the cost.”

Mr. McC just glowered at her for a bit as he thought about those conditions. It was quite clear that he had not thought that he would need to make concessions in order to elicit her aid in this. She figured that he was sure that once the severity of the situation was made clear that she would have just given in and gone along with what he wanted. Maeko just smiled at him as she waited, ignoring the stares from her parents. Locking eyes with them would not be helpful right now.

“Fine. Let me think about it. I’ll give you my answer within the next few days. Thank you for at least listening to me.” He stood and nodded his head towards them.

She saw him out the door and sagged when it was closed, thankful for the voice that had nudged her conversation, giving her some very casual and gentle guidance. There was no way she would have made it through that without that voices support. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing to listen to it after all.

“Maeko… could you come in here please.” asked her mother, her voice brooking no dissent.

She winced at the tone. Crap.