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Kevin is... calm. This is a good sign. Although she's still apprehensive, it gets her to calm a bit as well, her shoulders dropping just a little even if her body still remains tense.

"Do you... Do you think she really didn't know...?"

She really was such a kindly lady, but Pride seemed like a kind kid when they first met. As awful as it feels to doubt anyone, the memory of that dark underground still remains a stark reminder that not everyone who smiles is truly friendly.

"...that's a very good question. It's awfully complicated...ehhhhhhh. Here is what I know."

Kevin plucks a cookie up from the tin, and sets it on the table.

"The first of the Bradleys, King Bradley...for him, we had a warning sign or two. It would seem that, when he interviewed to become a part of the Enforcers, he told Miss Edea right away that he intended to rise up to the third commander position. No one who wants power for the right reasons would say such a thing to complete strangers. However, because he was always on good behavior and seemed content to work his way up the ranks over time, there was never a reason to confront him." He taps the cookie with one finger. "Miss Edea believes that he helped Pride willingly, although he made excuses after the fact. Even if he was an unwilling accomplice, he made stupid decisions that are unforgivable, especially in a man who claims to have experience running a country. We may never learn the truth of him, but I will never trust him."

Another cookie is broken in half, and one of the pieces, he breaks in half again. Popping one of the smaller bits into his mouth, Kevin places the other next to King Cookie.

"Pride is not to be trusted in the slightest. I do not believe he will lash out again, now that the reaper thing has appeared. Its aim seems to be punishing those who kill." It's a grisly subject, but it's not like people don't discuss these things over the network all the time. Hibiki should know why it's relevant, especially since the thing is actually on her side, as near as anyone can figure. "However, he's made it very clear that he isn't the slightest bit sorry, and as such, he's not worth our time. Mmm, but the strange bit here...it would seem that there are others from that world who knew about what King Bradley is, but claim that they did not know about Pride. Because they wound up becoming Pride's victims themselves, I am able to believe them when they say that they were unaware of the danger...and if they were unaware, others certainly could be also."

The last half cookie goes down next to the other bits.

"So, then. Missus Bradley. If she is lying when she says she doesn't know, she's the best actress I've ever seen. She even has all the right emotional reactions to show that she is sad, and to be faking that, she either mastered dunamis immediately or possesses magic of her own. She told me today that Miss Edea had given her some of the other details she was missing, and so I intend to see what Edea thinks of her. In the meantime..." He taps that half cookie. "...if she really didn't know even after all the time she's spent here...it means that the people from her world did not want her to know. Since that's the case, it's possible that...they've been trying to protect her feelings."

She listens very intently, watching the pieces of the cookies as though they would explain everything to her.

And, in a way… it does. When he explains King and Pride, she nods with understanding – they still aren’t to be trusted, and she would have a hard time doing so anyway. She’s visibly surprised to hear that so many other people from the same world were involved, but his observations make sense, and she accepts them for what they are.

When they get to the topic of Mrs. Bradley, her head tilts down slightly, hands in her lap.

“She… did seem very kind.” But that was part of what made it so scary—she hadn’t noticed anything off about Pride when he, too, acted friendly. Which is why she adds: “…Right?”

"Right," Kevin agrees. That's the most troublesome part of all of this. "If we hadn't learned her name, I would never have suspected her."

Given Kevin's standard state of intense paranoia, this is saying something.

"There are two more facts that I am considering, in particular," he says, leaning back again and holding up one finger. "The first is that, although she knows now what has happened, she is not turning away from King and Pride. Many, many people, particularly the natives, are still terribly angry with Pride, and they hate her by association. I saw some of them whispering about her while we were out myself. She could avoid that sort of trouble by pulling away from those two and making it public, but instead, she chooses to stay. I know that if she felt it was too dangerous to leave them, Miss Edea would have offered her protection by now, so -- for whatever reason, she must want to stay. Either she's as bad as they are, or she's taking responsibility."

The other finger goes up.

"The second thing...if she truly didn't know the full extent of what happened here, King and Pride did not tell her. Why could that be?" Kevin asks. Then, he answers himself. "No matter how I look at it, either she's so terrible they were afraid of what she might do if she found out, or...she's so good that even they care enough to want to protect her, too."

Oh… This is starting to sound a lot more complicated. Her shoulders hunch a bit as she tries to sort this out.

According to him, she could either be even kinder than Hibiki thought… Or even worse than Pride himself. The two are such great extremes, it’s hard to know which to trust in. No, her judgment has clearly been off, to have fallen for Pride…

“…What should we do…?” She’s at a loss. Would it be better to just avoid her entirely – hope that nothing bad would happen again, that she would be safe so long as she stayed away? Or…

"I've made it very clear at headquarters that I am to be given Pride's schedule, if he's to be in town. We won't run into him by accident again, so there's no need to worry about that."

That was a very exciting conversation. Baby's first 'if you weren't so useful we might consider demoting you at the very least' encounter. They really shouldn't have let him win it. He's only going to get worse when he feels the need to throw his weight around later on.

"As for his mother, ehhhhhh." Kevin picks up the bit of cookie he'd used to stand in for Pride and crunches it viciously. "I still need to speak to Miss Edea. For now...I find that I want to believe that she is kind. I think, for myself, I'll trust her, but -- not completely. Then, if she's really a good person, it will help her to know that she has support...and if she's not, I won't be taken by surprise. That's the sort of choice that I can make as an adult who is able to fight." He regards Hibiki seriously. "However, Miss Hibiki will need to make her own choice. If you want to stay away from her for any reason, I'll support it."

It’s true… Unlike Kevin, she can’t exactly defend herself. They can’t just use the same exact approach, not when she’s so weak by comparison.

…She could just stay away. Kevin has given the okay, and it’s a tempting option. To run away from the problem entirely and have nothing to do with it ever again, safe and happy in her own little bubble. There’s no reason she has to meet with Mrs. Bradley, no matter how kindly she acted, no matter that she had gone out of her way to speak with Hibiki on multiple occasions...

She could wash her hands of it, of that family, entirely. After all, didn’t Mrs. Bradley make the choice to remain with them, even though they were so horrible?

…

It sounds weak, even to her. Mrs. Bradley… She’d seemed so genuine. And if Kevin thought so too, then…

“…If… If I do see her again…”

Her voice is quiet, wavering just slightly despite all attempt to keep it firm.

“Could you… be close by? Just in case…”

She wants to know for herself. If she really is a kind person, if she really is staying with them despite that for some reason…

Hibiki just can’t find it in her heart to leave her alone with such a daunting task.

"...of course, Miss Hibiki. You needn't worry."

Truthfully, given just how Hibiki has ached to keep reaching out in the past, he's not surprised at all that she seems to be going this way. Because of that, there are certain bits he's left out. He asked Mrs. Bradley specifically just why she'd chosen to stay, for example, and her answer had been that Pride had attacked her outright at first. But so long as that boy is treated like a monster, he'll always see himself as such, and so someone needs to remain at his side.

It's exactly the sort of thing a bleeding heart would fall for. It's also true, if Pride is redeemable at all. If Hibiki's going to make a decision like this, Kevin thinks, she should be thinking more of risks than of pity.

"All of us here in this house...we'll be there if you need us. Or -- if you want us, too."

She nods, finally taking a sip of her own tea. It's cold, and she winces as a result, setting it down again.

"...Thank you. You and... and everyone here, you all..."

She takes a breath, lifting up her head to finally look at him properly.

"...You all help me so much. Even when I do things like this..."

She's well aware she's potentially pulling him from his own business to help her with this one, just as she knows she does the same to the others whenever they feel they need to sit her down and point her in the right direction. There's so much she can't do alone, and it seldom feels like a simple 'thank you' could possibly cover just how much she appreciates it all.

Ah...she used to get all weepy when she said things like this, but now she's watching him so steadily. Kevin smiles at her a little, his own tension very much eased.

"All of us...we're meant for this sort of thing," he says, and as far as he's concerned, it's absolutely, completely, truly true. "Gilbert and I are servants, Mister Bulat has given his all to make his country a better place at home. Hah, even Oz." Let himself die on the behalf of the rest of the world. "He's a big brother, you know. I know that...it delighted him very much to come back and find a new little sister for him to be there for."

Perhaps it might be wiser, or at least more typical, to frame this answer in terms of Hibiki herself, and reassure her that she's no trouble at all and so on. But Kevin just doesn't think like that. It's not that it isn't any trouble -- on the contrary, it's a great deal of it, to have to worry about these things all the time. It's just that it's trouble that all of them are more than willing to deal with, and that's the important part.

That determined look breaks away to one of surprise. She knew about Gilbert and Kevin already, but not so much about Bulat and Oz. "They did? And Oz-san..."

Gasp! Her hands go over her mouth as it dawns on her. "S-so, all this time... He's missed his little sister?!"

And just like that, she's been derailed. Forget her own troubles, there is now poor Oz-san to worry about, as she is so very prone to do.

Wahaha, success.

"He has! He's not the sort of person who likes to talk about that sort of thing, you know? You've been comforting him without even realizing it, hah."

What a good monster Kevin has just unleashed. He is very pleased.

Goodness, she really had no idea-!

"Will... will he be okay? Even though I'm not really his family..."

Does she need to act a certain way, should she be trying to be more like an actual sister, what are actual sisters like--

Yeah, she is sufficiently distracted, if that slight, watery waver in the air is any indication. Apparently fretting over her housemates has finally brought about its own emotional effect.

"Don't worry, don't worry. He's a strong kid! And he likes a lot of people, just like Mister Bulat." Kevin beings to sparkle. One day, Hibiki will catch on to this. "Even so, I bet if you asked if you could call him 'big brother', he'd be over the moon."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Verens, Oz suddenly feels an overwhelming sense of karmic suspicion. He does not know why but he's placing his bets on Kevin because who else would it be, tch.

"Hah, it'd work on Bulat, too..."

That day is not this one.

"Big brother...?" So... a little like how she refers to Shizuo. She nods, her expression serious.

"Then... I'll call him that from now on!" Look at her, hands all balled up determinedly and everything. Her tea might just warm itself up again, with emotions like these flying around.

"...Um... Do you really think I should call Bulat-san that, too...?" She doesn't have anything against him, she just doesn't know him well enough to know why such a thing would make him particularly happy*.

*She is assuming that the reason for this is because it would make them happy, not because Kevin is nefariously finding ways to tease them.

This is hilarious.

"In the end, it's always up to Miss Hibiki. But, sometimes, Mister Bulat likes to tell me about his apprentice that he has at home. He's really, really proud, you know? And, he asked that apprentice to call him 'Aniki'." Because he intends to say that word in particular, he says it, but Empatheias and its auto-translate still adds a helpful undercurrent of 'big bro' to it. "To him, it's a way for a person to tell him that they look up to him, I think."

Kevin is absolutely nefariously finding ways to tease them, but in this case, his heart is in as right a place as it ever gets. Oz acts like a bossy brat all the time, but it's a master's job to take care of his servants and Oz lives that philosophy. Bulat has no idea at all what to do with children he can't teach swords to, but for him, it's a special sort of fulfilling to be the rock everyone leans on. What Kevin's really doing here is trying to bring his little family closer together.

...nefariously.

She nods with understanding at 'aniki' because her world probably has that concept, it certainly seems to have all the other trappings of the language, considering the way such details tend to come up.

"Big bro feels a little..." Weird, if she's being honest, but that's mainly because it's so casual. Then again, a student once called her out on being so polite to him using the above-mentioned language details. Hrmmm...

"...do you think just 'big brother' would be okay for him, too?" In the end, old habits die hard, and although she doesn't mean to be distant, she doesn't want to sound too casual out of the blue, either-!

That burning determination has once again fizzled out to fretting, alas.

"I think whatever suits Miss Hibiki will suit Mister Bulat, too." He settles back with his own tea at last, and if it's cold, he doesn't react to it. "I think, I thiiiiiiiink -- he very much wants to be helpful to Miss Hibiki, like he is with his apprentices. He just doesn't know how to do that for kids unless he can teach them to use a sword or to yell a lot and so on, so he feels a little awkward."

Does Hibiki remember that time Bulat tried to teach her to scream this past summer? Yeah...yeah. Yeah. Probably being casual is not the thing to be worried about here.

It's a difficult thing to forget, honestly. Bulat leaves very strong impressions, particularly when screaming is involved. That said, it's also somewhat difficult to believe that she's the one making him feel awkward when he's the one who seems so confident at all times. Now she feels bad...

"Eh-- then, maybe I should learn how to use a sword too-?!"

She still trips over her own feet. Having her try to balance herself and also a stick is certain to go well.

Kevin's thought process screeches to an abrupt halt at the thought of Hibiki trying to handle a sharp and pointy instrument of violence. He takes a moment or three to reboot.

"...I think that Miss Hibiki ought to be whatever Miss Hibiki will be," he says, at length. "The people who care...they'll be proud no matter what, you know? Bulat yells a lot and likes to roughhouse, but I've seen him show off the things I've knit for him when he thinks I am not looking. The swords are only...how to put it. They're trappings, really."

She relaxes a bit, shoulders slumping slightly. It's a little disappointing, but mostly:

"I think I'd probably trip with it anyway..."

She's not that unaware.

That said. "You do knit lots of pretty things..." It's hard not to notice, especially after living in this house for so long. "Is it hard? Making things like that." Everyone in this house seems to have a wealth of skills in all sorts of things, so she can't help but get curious, particularly when her own strengths are still so... narrow.

Yes. Good. Knitting is much better. There are still pointy objects involved, but Kevin is confident that Hibiki is not the sort of person who could manage to walk and knit at the same time, so it's safe.

"Ehhh, some of it's difficult. But it's -- well, it's like cooking in a way, you know? The simplest stitches are really as easy as making a sandwich, but...some people can make these enormous, intricate lace shawls out of wool that looks like cobwebs, on teeny tiny needles. That's more like Gilbert when he goes and makes us a proper dinner where everything's ready all at the same time and does it with only one hand."

Kevin can knock out a cute doily with minimal mishap, and he's even made a simple lace shawl, once. But even after over a year of practice, he's definitely not good enough to make one of the fancy ones without a great deal of fuss and mistakes.

Edited 2016-09-11 01:54 (UTC)

Gil does make very impressive meals. She really has no idea how he manages it.

"So your knitting is like... Maybe a stew?"

Not too difficult, mainly tossing ingredients in a pot at the right time and letting them boil. It's one of the dishes she often relied on as a result.

"Something like that! This year, I've been learning to use more than one color at the same time, to knit pictures into things. I've enjoyed it very much. Perhaps, when I get to be especially good at it, my knitting will be like those fancy sugar cookies with all the icing on."

Not a single person in this place would be surprised to find that Kevin's ultimate knitting goal is the equivalent of festive sugar cookies.

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