[tb/x - subaru, lady sumeragi, karen] lineage (6/?)
Linage
Chapter 6
By: White Rain
Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Babylon/X.
Genre: Drama would be the closest fit.
Characters/Pairings: in this part, Subaru, Lady Sumeragi, Karen
Word Count: 1706
Rating: PG
Contains: Nothing warning worthy.
Notes: Former parts!
Summary: omg itty Subaru "What do you want me to draw?" Subaru asked, dutifully.
-
Subaru was surprised when Kasumi-sensei, his favorite teacher who was teaching him how to read and write, took out what he recognized as crayons from her bag instead of a book. He wanted to walk over to the table and look at them more closely but knew he was supposed kept still on his bed until told otherwise.
"I'm ready whenever you are, Subaru-chan," she said. Her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling even bigger than usual.
Subaru walked over to and sat down at his usual place on the table.
"Today we're going to draw pictures and then we'll make up stories about them next week when we meet up again," she said.
"What do you want me to draw?" Subaru asked, dutifully.
Kasumi-sensei handed him the box of crayons. "Whatever you want."
Subaru couldn't remember the last time he'd been told that. That normally would have made him feel too nervous to do anything at all. But, he did have an idea of what he wanted to draw. He took out the pink crayon and began to draw Kasumi-sensei's short, wavy hair.
-
"Have you thought of any stories for you pictures?" Kasumi-sensei asked.
Subaru had and had been looking forward to telling her all week. But he suddenly felt shy. He would have shaken his head, but that would have been a lie and he wasn't allowed to lie.
"Hm." Kasumi-sensei tapped her chin. "How about I start?"
Subaru nodded and smiled when she moved her chair so that she was sitting next to him. On the paper she held was a drawing of a stuffed bear and a rabbit and Subaru thought they were the best drawings he'd ever seen. She told him the story about how the two of them met at a park and how they became friends. Then she took out a drawing of three little birds and told him about how they baked worm cookies for their mother. Another was about a time traveling kitten who saved the world.
The last picture was of a little girl with long pink hair in a dress Subaru knew was meant for princesses. She looked very sad that Subaru's heart felt heavy when she brushed her finger across the girl's face.
Subaru grabbed the picture he'd drawn of her the last time they were together. "It's you," he told her, pointing.
She looked. "I don't think so," she said and Subaru began to shrink away from her, "she's much too pretty."
Subaru shook his head. "No one could draw you pretty enough."
The smile she gave him made Subaru feel brave enough to scoot closer to her and ask, "May I tell you the story, Kasumi-sensei?"
Her smile made Subaru think of the sun. "I'd love to hear it."
-
When Grandmother walked into his room, Subaru slid off his desk chair with the book Kasumi-sensei gave him and held as high as he could, way above his head. "May I read it?" He asked, excited. He'd been staring at the cover, which contained large green and blue birds on it titled 'Tropical Birds' ever since his teacher left. Subaru's clock said it'd only been about two hours, but it felt more like two days.
Grandmother's face softened, for a moment, before she drew her lips thin. "You know you're supposed to stay seated until told otherwise, Subaru-chan."
"I'm sorry," Subaru said, bowing his head and lowering the book so he could hug it against his chest. He itched to tell her that he wasn't trying to be bad, he'd just forgotten because he wanted to show her his book so much. But he knew when he did something wrong he wasn't supposed to give excuses, just say and be sorry.
"You're not supposed to look away when apologizing," Grandmother told him.
Subaru snapped his head up and looked into her eyes, lips wobbling. "I'm sorry!"
"Just remember next time," Grandmother said.
Subaru nodded and then handed her the book when she held out her hand. She walked over to the bed and Subaru followed her and sat down next to her.
She looked over the book and then asked, "Where did you get this?"
"Kasumi-sensei gave it to me," Subaru said. "For reading so well and being my sixth birthday," he added, suddenly remembering why she said she'd given him the book.
"She always did have a soft spot for children," Grandmother said, mostly to herself. Subaru knew that meant he was supposed to be silent. She handed him the book. "You can read over it until dinner, but then you'll have to give it back to me."
"Thank you!"
She kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room.
-
"What did you do yesterday?" Kasumi-sensei asked.
"Sit," Subaru said. When his teacher gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "It was Monday. On Mondays, I sit."
She handed him a pencil and worksheet. "Doesn't that get boring?"
"Sometimes the king won't need me and I'll have nothing to do," Subaru said. He looked up and into her brown eyes and explained when she looked confused, "It's practice."
She suddenly looked so sad that Subaru began to cry. Her chair scratched loudly against the floor as she pushed it back, walked quickly to where he was sitting and knelt down so they were face to face. She wiped away some of the tears on his cheeks. "You're not okay, are you?"
Subaru shook his head in agreement, though he wasn't sure what she meant.
-
Subaru could tell from the look on Grandmother's face that he'd done something wrong. He grabbed some of his blanket with both hands and fisted his fingers into the soft material. He wanted to look down, but was able to keep his eyes on Grandmother's stern face. "Why haven't you been eating properly?"
Lately the sight and smell of food made him feel sick. That, he was pretty sure, was an excuse. So, he said, "I haven't been very hungry."
She walked over to him and pressed a hand on his forehead. "Do you feel ill?"
"Only when there's food around," Subaru said.
"Does that take away your hunger?" Grandmother asked as she moved her hand down the back of his head.
"I haven't been hungry in a long time," Subaru said and felt bad when she removed her hand.
"I'll have a doctor look at you," Grandmother said. She nudged him to lie down so she could tuck him in. "Until then, I want you to nap."
-
The doctor found nothing wrong.
Grandmother began to eat with him at all meals.
Subaru thought this proved he was a terrible person.
-
Subaru had to stand up on his tip toes and stretch up his arm as high as he could to brush his fingers on the cast that Kasumi-sensei was wearing on her arm. Although there was nothing to be seen, Subaru could feel something warm pour out of his fingers.
She looked shocked and Subaru pulled away, mortified and hoping that she'd hit his hands with a ruler like his other teacher did when he was bad.
Kasumi-sensei took a step forward and knelt down at his level. "Do you know what you just did?"
Subaru shook his head as fast as he could.
"Don't cry," she said and her eyes made Subaru think of the mothers the two of them read about together. "You didn't do anything wrong."
She was the adult so Subaru knew she was right but Subaru felt like he had. He looked down at the floor.
"You really didn't," she told him and the way she said this made Subaru look at her without feeling scared. "I broke my arm over the weekend," she pointed at her cast, "but you just fixed it."
"Does that mean it doesn't hurt anymore?" Subaru blurted out and then covered his mouth with his hands. He always had trouble remembering not to speak out of turn around her.
"Yes," she seemed to hesitate about something before kissing his forehead. "You made the pain go away. You can do that, Subaru-chan."
"Can I do that with everyone?" Subaru asked, too delighted at the thought to care about rules and quite suddenly not caring that he belonged to the king.
"I think you could," she said.
She grew sad and Subaru hugged her in hopes it would make her feel better. She hugged him back and grew less sad.
-
"You'll start seeing a teacher who will teach you how to use your healing powers," Grandmother told him the next day. She cupped his face with both of her hands and Subaru knew what she was about to tell him must be important because that was the only time she did it, "but I must tell you that you should never heal again without permission."
"I won't," Subaru promised.
"And never," she said, her voice growing hard, "heal when you're with the king unless you are ordered to."
Suddenly, Subaru remembered his place in the world once more and it was the first and and only time he wished that wasn't true. He moved one hand against the other so he could feel the star shaped scar on it.
-
A man Subaru had never seen before came in instead of Kasumi-sensei. He sat down at the table where he had most of his lessons. "I'm your new reading teacher, Sato-sensei," he said, "sit down so we can begin."
"Where is Kasumi-sensei?" Subaru asked.
Sato's face became darker than night. He took out a ruler from his bag and moved his chair so he was facing Subaru instead of the table. Subaru clenched his hands into tight fists.
"Come stand in front of me and hold our your hands."
Subaru did.
"You are to obey instructions right away." Sato struck the palm of Subaru's left hand with the ruler. It hurt a little more than he was used to, but he was able to keep his hands steady as he was taught by his other teacher. "And you know that's not the kind of question you are to ask," he said. He pressed his lips into a thin line and hit Subaru's right palm two times, quickly, hard enough to give Subaru what would become two visible bruises that would last for over a week.
His new reading teacher put the ruler on the desk and let Subaru cry softly for several minutes. "Sit down, Subaru-kun. We've already wasted enough time today."
"Yes, Sato-sensei," Subaru said.
That hurt much more than the ruler did.
Chapter 6
By: White Rain
Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Babylon/X.
Genre: Drama would be the closest fit.
Characters/Pairings: in this part, Subaru, Lady Sumeragi, Karen
Word Count: 1706
Rating: PG
Contains: Nothing warning worthy.
Notes: Former parts!
Summary: omg itty Subaru "What do you want me to draw?" Subaru asked, dutifully.
-
Subaru was surprised when Kasumi-sensei, his favorite teacher who was teaching him how to read and write, took out what he recognized as crayons from her bag instead of a book. He wanted to walk over to the table and look at them more closely but knew he was supposed kept still on his bed until told otherwise.
"I'm ready whenever you are, Subaru-chan," she said. Her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling even bigger than usual.
Subaru walked over to and sat down at his usual place on the table.
"Today we're going to draw pictures and then we'll make up stories about them next week when we meet up again," she said.
"What do you want me to draw?" Subaru asked, dutifully.
Kasumi-sensei handed him the box of crayons. "Whatever you want."
Subaru couldn't remember the last time he'd been told that. That normally would have made him feel too nervous to do anything at all. But, he did have an idea of what he wanted to draw. He took out the pink crayon and began to draw Kasumi-sensei's short, wavy hair.
-
"Have you thought of any stories for you pictures?" Kasumi-sensei asked.
Subaru had and had been looking forward to telling her all week. But he suddenly felt shy. He would have shaken his head, but that would have been a lie and he wasn't allowed to lie.
"Hm." Kasumi-sensei tapped her chin. "How about I start?"
Subaru nodded and smiled when she moved her chair so that she was sitting next to him. On the paper she held was a drawing of a stuffed bear and a rabbit and Subaru thought they were the best drawings he'd ever seen. She told him the story about how the two of them met at a park and how they became friends. Then she took out a drawing of three little birds and told him about how they baked worm cookies for their mother. Another was about a time traveling kitten who saved the world.
The last picture was of a little girl with long pink hair in a dress Subaru knew was meant for princesses. She looked very sad that Subaru's heart felt heavy when she brushed her finger across the girl's face.
Subaru grabbed the picture he'd drawn of her the last time they were together. "It's you," he told her, pointing.
She looked. "I don't think so," she said and Subaru began to shrink away from her, "she's much too pretty."
Subaru shook his head. "No one could draw you pretty enough."
The smile she gave him made Subaru feel brave enough to scoot closer to her and ask, "May I tell you the story, Kasumi-sensei?"
Her smile made Subaru think of the sun. "I'd love to hear it."
-
When Grandmother walked into his room, Subaru slid off his desk chair with the book Kasumi-sensei gave him and held as high as he could, way above his head. "May I read it?" He asked, excited. He'd been staring at the cover, which contained large green and blue birds on it titled 'Tropical Birds' ever since his teacher left. Subaru's clock said it'd only been about two hours, but it felt more like two days.
Grandmother's face softened, for a moment, before she drew her lips thin. "You know you're supposed to stay seated until told otherwise, Subaru-chan."
"I'm sorry," Subaru said, bowing his head and lowering the book so he could hug it against his chest. He itched to tell her that he wasn't trying to be bad, he'd just forgotten because he wanted to show her his book so much. But he knew when he did something wrong he wasn't supposed to give excuses, just say and be sorry.
"You're not supposed to look away when apologizing," Grandmother told him.
Subaru snapped his head up and looked into her eyes, lips wobbling. "I'm sorry!"
"Just remember next time," Grandmother said.
Subaru nodded and then handed her the book when she held out her hand. She walked over to the bed and Subaru followed her and sat down next to her.
She looked over the book and then asked, "Where did you get this?"
"Kasumi-sensei gave it to me," Subaru said. "For reading so well and being my sixth birthday," he added, suddenly remembering why she said she'd given him the book.
"She always did have a soft spot for children," Grandmother said, mostly to herself. Subaru knew that meant he was supposed to be silent. She handed him the book. "You can read over it until dinner, but then you'll have to give it back to me."
"Thank you!"
She kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room.
-
"What did you do yesterday?" Kasumi-sensei asked.
"Sit," Subaru said. When his teacher gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "It was Monday. On Mondays, I sit."
She handed him a pencil and worksheet. "Doesn't that get boring?"
"Sometimes the king won't need me and I'll have nothing to do," Subaru said. He looked up and into her brown eyes and explained when she looked confused, "It's practice."
She suddenly looked so sad that Subaru began to cry. Her chair scratched loudly against the floor as she pushed it back, walked quickly to where he was sitting and knelt down so they were face to face. She wiped away some of the tears on his cheeks. "You're not okay, are you?"
Subaru shook his head in agreement, though he wasn't sure what she meant.
-
Subaru could tell from the look on Grandmother's face that he'd done something wrong. He grabbed some of his blanket with both hands and fisted his fingers into the soft material. He wanted to look down, but was able to keep his eyes on Grandmother's stern face. "Why haven't you been eating properly?"
Lately the sight and smell of food made him feel sick. That, he was pretty sure, was an excuse. So, he said, "I haven't been very hungry."
She walked over to him and pressed a hand on his forehead. "Do you feel ill?"
"Only when there's food around," Subaru said.
"Does that take away your hunger?" Grandmother asked as she moved her hand down the back of his head.
"I haven't been hungry in a long time," Subaru said and felt bad when she removed her hand.
"I'll have a doctor look at you," Grandmother said. She nudged him to lie down so she could tuck him in. "Until then, I want you to nap."
-
The doctor found nothing wrong.
Grandmother began to eat with him at all meals.
Subaru thought this proved he was a terrible person.
-
Subaru had to stand up on his tip toes and stretch up his arm as high as he could to brush his fingers on the cast that Kasumi-sensei was wearing on her arm. Although there was nothing to be seen, Subaru could feel something warm pour out of his fingers.
She looked shocked and Subaru pulled away, mortified and hoping that she'd hit his hands with a ruler like his other teacher did when he was bad.
Kasumi-sensei took a step forward and knelt down at his level. "Do you know what you just did?"
Subaru shook his head as fast as he could.
"Don't cry," she said and her eyes made Subaru think of the mothers the two of them read about together. "You didn't do anything wrong."
She was the adult so Subaru knew she was right but Subaru felt like he had. He looked down at the floor.
"You really didn't," she told him and the way she said this made Subaru look at her without feeling scared. "I broke my arm over the weekend," she pointed at her cast, "but you just fixed it."
"Does that mean it doesn't hurt anymore?" Subaru blurted out and then covered his mouth with his hands. He always had trouble remembering not to speak out of turn around her.
"Yes," she seemed to hesitate about something before kissing his forehead. "You made the pain go away. You can do that, Subaru-chan."
"Can I do that with everyone?" Subaru asked, too delighted at the thought to care about rules and quite suddenly not caring that he belonged to the king.
"I think you could," she said.
She grew sad and Subaru hugged her in hopes it would make her feel better. She hugged him back and grew less sad.
-
"You'll start seeing a teacher who will teach you how to use your healing powers," Grandmother told him the next day. She cupped his face with both of her hands and Subaru knew what she was about to tell him must be important because that was the only time she did it, "but I must tell you that you should never heal again without permission."
"I won't," Subaru promised.
"And never," she said, her voice growing hard, "heal when you're with the king unless you are ordered to."
Suddenly, Subaru remembered his place in the world once more and it was the first and and only time he wished that wasn't true. He moved one hand against the other so he could feel the star shaped scar on it.
-
A man Subaru had never seen before came in instead of Kasumi-sensei. He sat down at the table where he had most of his lessons. "I'm your new reading teacher, Sato-sensei," he said, "sit down so we can begin."
"Where is Kasumi-sensei?" Subaru asked.
Sato's face became darker than night. He took out a ruler from his bag and moved his chair so he was facing Subaru instead of the table. Subaru clenched his hands into tight fists.
"Come stand in front of me and hold our your hands."
Subaru did.
"You are to obey instructions right away." Sato struck the palm of Subaru's left hand with the ruler. It hurt a little more than he was used to, but he was able to keep his hands steady as he was taught by his other teacher. "And you know that's not the kind of question you are to ask," he said. He pressed his lips into a thin line and hit Subaru's right palm two times, quickly, hard enough to give Subaru what would become two visible bruises that would last for over a week.
His new reading teacher put the ruler on the desk and let Subaru cry softly for several minutes. "Sit down, Subaru-kun. We've already wasted enough time today."
"Yes, Sato-sensei," Subaru said.
That hurt much more than the ruler did.