"But perhaps we'll do that later," Sally said. "I don't want to interrupt anything."
"I'm finished," the girl said wearily, before raising and sitting back at the table.
It looked for a moment like that may be it. As if the other girls had taken it that she had spoken for all of them. And why not, if they had been conquered so thoroughly for so long, why wouldn't they have something of a group mind.
Sally must have thought so as well, as she seemed about to speak.
Then one of the others stood shakily, drawing astonished gazes from the girls identified as Akane and Nabiki. She was a pale girl with long, dark hair that looked something like spun silk.
"Kodachi?" Nabiki asked hesitantly. And it seemed obvious that the girl was not used to this member of their family taking much initiative.
Kodachi almost stopped at the uncertain question.
"Go on, dear," the woman with them said, their mother by appearances.
Kodachi nodded gently, Nabiki and Akane watching her in wonder, and walked up to the bar, taking on a severe haughty attitude that was clearly all an act. Probably one she had performed many times, she seemed to take an amount of strength in it as she steadily ordered her drink.
"Absinthe," she said in a high-pitched, sharp voice.
And that sent a wave through the bar. Absinthe wasn't quite the sane person's choice of drink. Those that regularly drank it tended to end up either dead or insane. It wasn't so much a drink as it was a slow poison. Though it probably wouldn't have touched these girls so much.
Apparently Mike was well-prepared for this eventuality, however. As if he knew that there would be on hand tonight a young girl that could probably take the drink safely. He produced a small flask and emptied it into a small glass. The thick green liquid was held in the glass looking very much like the poison it was.
The girl looked at it as she picked it up and seemed to examine the glass from every angle. Then she held it up high and whispered, a whisper that know doubt carried to the corners of the room:
"To weeding." Which brought the total number of words she'd spoken since entering to something like...twelve.
So saying she elegantly drank the liquor and slowly returned it to level with her heart. She pantomimed a throw with a questioning manner back toward the bar, as if asking if that was what she was supposed to do.
Receiving an equal silent confirmation from Mike she nodded and tossed the glass. She did't put as much effort into it as her sister had though, perhaps deliberately, and the glass merely shattered without damaging the fire place.
She stood silent and standing, with all eyes on her for several seconds. And Akane started to get out her seat to go to her, just before she started talking.
"Don't bother trying to shield her from it," Kodachi said, the voice she used was deeper than her own, an older woman's voice.
There was nothing really magical about it in retrospect, she had excellent vocal control, but it seemed to be in her natural range of sounds. At the time, however, well...it was like walking on an ice-bridge over the pits of hell, maybe. Just flat out creepy, this kid telling her story in somebody else's words.
"It isn't like she can understand," the voice continued. "Even if she were normal, she can't possibly be old enough. What should you do? She most certainly is not normal, have you heard her laugh? For goodness sake, I caught playing with a poisonous snake as if it were a kitten once. What shall be done? Why, what's always been done. It turns up occasionally, when weak blood enters the family. Whatever do you think I meant you for, Kachicko? She'll be dealt with, mercifully and as has always been done. She won't be killed...she'll simply be...shoved aside."
Kodachi stopped for a moment, then started again, her voice deeper, rougher, masculine. This was, very disturbing. You end up seeing a lot of people come and go with a lot of stories. But usually they ended up telling them with their own voice. Watching Kodachi was like watching a medium channel spirits.
"I'm sorry, Miss Kuno," the almost male voice coming from her mouth said. "Can you come with us, please? We couldn't find your father or brother. We need you to...answer a question for us. Is that...? No, Miss Kuno, I'm afraid you're mother isn't sleeping. She's, well, one doctor prescribed one medicine, and another doctor described another medicine and...She's...dead, I'm sorry. Miss Kuno, please, you can't do that. Listen, she's not asleep, do you understand?!" Then a second male voice was added to the conversation, but she dropped her volume as she speaked. "I told you she was too young, sending a ten year old girl to identify a corpse...you could have waited for the other relatives...."
Kodachi took a deep breath.
"I see dead people," somebody said in the crowd, trying to lighten the mood probably. Fortunately she didn't seem to hear it. She merely went on to the next part of her performance.
"Don't you want to be normal, Kodachi? She can make all the confusion go away, she promised," Kodachi said.
It was another male voice, but a younger one than the police from before. This girl had a career in the cartoon voice actor industry if she ever wanted to have one. Considering Nabiki's story, I didn't want to think what she had used this incredible voice range for before now. But images of men or women called to their deaths by a familiar voice worked their way into my head regardless.
"You will be doing our family a great service this way," the voice continued. "You'll think clearly."
"That isn't good enough, Dacchi," an innocent seeming, motherly voice rose from Kodachi's mouth. It was disapproving, but encouraging at the same time. I almost relaxed, thinking that she might becoming to good memory.
"Kodachi! Please, stop!" Akane, who was clenching her fists tightly nearly shrieked. Looking to the table, I saw that all three of the other girls were staring at their sister with pale faces.
It was then that I, and everyone else in the bar, realized that that sweet and pure voice was the one that had kept them enslaved. That was "Kasumi."
Kodachi turned toward them and saw her sisters.
"I'm sorry," she said, returning to her own high pitched voice. Hearing that brought loads of relief to me, and, feeling the way Zoey's grip lessened, her as well. It was good to know that she wasn't taken and controlled by some mysterious outside force. "Just one more..." she swallowed, trying to keep her focus and not break down before she got out those last two scenes. "Just one more." Then she closed her eyes.
"Your n...n..new girl is quite lovely," Kodachi said, back in the male teen's voice, though stuttering now. "Miss T...Te...Te.....And her sk...sk...skills are quite excellent as well. You've t...t.trained her well. She reminds me of a sister I once had, regretfully she's dead. But it's for the best I assume she was lovely, b...b..but she needed to be taken out of the family. A lovely weed is still a w.w...w..weed, and a weed must be dih..dih...disposed of, lest it spread more of it's ilk and bring the garden to ruin. I don't suppose I'll miss her, not when I can always visit this remarkable likeness. The only thing missing is the fog behind the eyes. Yes, this one understands everything said to her, doesn't she. She uh...uh..understands everything, I d...dare s...say."
"I knew....five seconds, perhaps...of sanity," Kodachi said in her own voice finally. "Before she activated the geas already upon me. I would have liked that she had not fulfilled her promise. I would have liked to have lived the past two years with a clouded mind."
Kodachi stopped speaking and started weaving back and forth, as if it had taken everything she had to get that all out. And no one could hardly blame her, as it was clear from her acts what had happened, above and beyond her childhood. Sold and then used, by her own brother. Because she had been born with a problem. So she was cast out with the trash.
She fell in a sobbing mass, caught by Fast Eddy and quickly passed over to her obviously concerned sister, the one that had already spoke, Nabiki. She gripped at Nabiki like a staple, sobbing uncontrollably. There was some moderate surprise when she kissed the other girl firmly, and the embrace held, but it seemed to calm her greatly. She was merely crying lightly by the time she reached the table, half-carried by Nabiki.
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(Posted Sat, 04 Jan 2003 19:53)
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