Festival of Peace [Ueitawa Sequel Side Event]

“Daiki, this way.” Kaede would pick up the edges of her yukata and run ahead of him. He was happy to see his little sister with such a happy face again. It warmed his heart to no end. That was just one of his sisters though. The other one was sitting on his shoulders, taking in the sight of all the lights around them. She reached out one tiny hand to try and grasp at the glowing objects, to which Daiki reached up and lowered her hand, “Now, now, Hana. We do not touch the bottled fire. It will hurt you.” His baby sister still didn’t understand the concept of electricity at her age, so he explained everything as simply as he could, “How about we catch some glowing butterflies later.” She also called any insect with wings a butterfly. He could never bring himself to correct her, as much as his parents wanted him to. Tonight, it would just be him and the girls. His brothers had decided to go out with friends and his parents wanted a date night without the girls, so he volunteered to watch them. He never minded. He adored both of them, “Daiki, I want this.” He looked back over at Kaede who was holding up a mask. His parents had told him not buy them anything useless, but he couldn’t say no to her, “I will be right there.” Without a moments delay, he was at her side, paying for the mask. Kaede put the mask over her face and began running around again. She was so excited to be here. That was all he could ask for as a brother.

Taking a look around, he’d notice just how many people had shown up here. Not to mention how many of them were pretty women. Even more so, many of them were dressing for the occasion. He was almost drooling. He actually would have been, but he wasn’t a complete animal. He didn’t want his little sisters to see him acting that way towards a lady. Heavens forbid they think it was normal for men to approach a woman in that fashion. He was pretty sure he would kill any man who tried to flirt with either of them. He could try to make friends with at least one of them though. Then he could flirt with they beauty later. It was a great plan. He scoped out all the women, finally deciding on one that looked to be all-alone. Readjusting Hana on his shoulders, he walked over to her with confidence in his step. She had her soft-looking brown hair tied up and only let the front fall down. He took one look at her, “Are you all alone, miss?” It took everything inside of him to not start flirting. She looked absolutely gorgeous in black, [color=#336633] “You know. It’s more fun when you come to these things with someone.” Hana would wave down at the woman with a giddy giggle, as Kaede returned to Daiki’s side, pulling at his sleeve, “I want something to eat.” He’d reach to pat her on the head, “Okay. We will get you something to eat.” He’d look at the girl, “Care to join us, miss?” Even if she said no, he wasn’t one to give up.

Life around Ueitawa was sure getting back to normal. Well, if anything really counted as normal these days. What happened back then was surely not, but it wasn't like Akuma knew very much about it. But, it was still something interesting to ponder over when he had nothing to do. Afterall he loved daydreaming about random stuff. And, weird things like that always made a good subject. On the other hand, it seemed that no one really wanted to talk about it, as time passed by. Akuma would even dare say it was getting boring nowadays. Which was the reason he decided to go take a peek at the festival that was currently taking place in Shibakuzoi. Nothing better than some colorful distraction from boredom. Not that it was hard to distract him. His attention span was often nonexistent after all. It was surely going to be fun though, even if he had no idea what to expect of it. But, finding out about new things was the thrill, was it not?

Speaking of thrilling, it sure was. So many people in one place. You didn't see that so often in these places. There were so many things he could be doing...and it was hard to choose. Just what was he to do...? At first, he had simply been walking around, scoping it out, but that was quickly getting old. Maybe he should just go talk to some people. It was less fun when you were on your own. However, making a pick was a whole story of its own. Couldn't he just talk to everyone..? Obviously not, and that was sad. This might just take him a while....''I really need something to do, do I not?'' For now, he was only talking to himself, as he played around with an apple he had bought some time ago, spinning it on one of his fingers, just like one would a ball. Not an easy skill, but he was an expert at balancing stuff. One reason why he worked as a waiter. He would never drop anything, even if the gave him X amount of plates to carry. Yeah, he sure got distracted easily...He wanted to go talk to someone, not play 'spin the apple'. Well....if you expected any better of him when his attention wasn't focused, you were pretty wrong....

    "Kari! Kari, wait!" As unique as her sister's recently dyed hair was, it was beginning to get harder and harder to see the older girl in the crowd. Destiny called out her sibling's name again, urging herself to walk just a little faster. When that didn't seem to lessen the gap between them any, the blonde pulled up the hem of her yukata a little and started to run as best she could, trying to avoid knocking into anyone on the way.

    Why did she always have to do this? Couldn't Kari sit still for five minutes? Knowing her track record, probably not. She probably saw an interesting booth a ways down, or was stalking some poor boy. Whichever it was, Destiny didn't particularly care (although she'd prefer the former, for her and whoever else was involved's sakes). The important thing was finding her sister soon, or else resign herself to the fact that she'd be visiting the stalls alone tonight.

    Finally the girl slowed her pace to a quick run, then to a dead stop when the green and pink-striped head of hair was nowhere to be found. She exhaled heavily and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, withholding the urge to pout. Well, it seems like she'd been abandoned. For a moment, she had the thought of calling her sister's cell phone and insisting that they meet up again, but after a moment Destiny decided against it. Kari would just run off on her own again, wouldn't she? Then the call would be useless in the long run. No, it was better to just enjoy the festival as much as she could on her own and wait for Kari to find her. With this in mind she turned, intent on making her way to a booth that had caught her eye earlier, and ran face-first into someone.

    Stunned and embarrassed at her blunder, the girl's face tinged pink as she took two large steps back. It was a boy around her age, it seemed, with blue hair. "I-I'm very sorry. Please forgive me." She bowed, hoping her bangs would hide the blush on her face. First she lost her sister, and now she was knocking into random strangers? This festival had a poor start already. Things wouldn't get any worse, would they?

Well at least things were slowly going back to normal, people were moving on from all the bad they had seen. Some may never forget, heck Kahn wouldn't for damn sure. He was far too involved in that mess, but he was just happy to get some peace and quite for a bit. This festival seemed to be a good place to start at the very least, seeing all the people running around enjoying the games and each other's company was a nice change of pace. He would wander through the aisles of the festival looking at the stands and their wares, and partaking in a few games. The red haired young man would be wearing a red kimono with a diamond crested pattern on upper half, but a white and black stripped pants. The upper half seemed to match his hair, which would probably only serve the purpose of making him stand out a bit more.

Oh well the side effects of his dress would be what they were, no changing that. He just shrugged a bit as he walked away from a game. He lost, oh well it wouldn't be the first nor the last one he would lose. Oh well better that some of the younger kids got a chance at them, most of the prizes were more suited for their age anyways. He would scan the crowd before seeing someone who he hadn't seen for a bit. Sure he was a major womanizer, but overall Kahn couldn't give him a bad rap. Rather than just walk around being a loner, he decided to drop that act and approach his acquaintance. "Hey Daiki, long time no see. How you been?" He would give Kaede a smile and a wave as his greeting toward Daiki's younger sister. They looked a bit a like, his green eyes then looked at Tomoe, before looking back at Daiki, "Friend of yours?" He would ask gesturing to Tomoe.

Hana stared at the woman with wonder. She had never really been out of the house before. As the woman pinched Daiki’s nose, he would look at her in shock, “What was that for?” Kaede reached out her hand to pinch Tomoe the same way she had Daiki once she bent down. It wouldn’t hurt, but Kaede was ever the possessive one. Daki was hers to pick on, “My brother.” She would appear to pout after that, only letting up to search for food. She would look around at the man Tomoe had gestured to, “I need the money, Daiki.” He would let one hand off of Hana to reach for a pouch he carried just under his belt and handed it to Kaede, “Get enough to share. I’m sure you’re not the only hungry one.” She would nod and run off in that direction. She was getting old enough that she could go a certain distance by herself without Daiki needing to watch her. It made her feel like a big girl. His attention was on Tomoe for the moment though, “What a lovely name.” It was so hard not to flirt with her right now.

Oh, how he wanted to get rid of Kahn right now. He was already unable to flirt with the beauty in front of him, and his presence was not making it better. Any other time, he would love to see someone he knew, but not now. He still had to be friendly though. It’s not as if he disliked Kahn, “Hello, Kahn. It has been quite a while since we last saw each other. Sorry I haven’t kept in touch. After graduation, I had to start working and babysitting full time. It hasn’t left me much free time.” This festival being an exception. Even though he had to watch them, he was more than happy to bring them here. He had even taken the time to make both of their yakata. This was Hana’s first, and Kaede had always loved these kind of things. Those two could get Daiki to do anything if they wanted.

He would actually give her a look of pure shock and horror, “Sorry, but no one watches Kaede and Hana except me. What if I accidentally left them in the care of a psychopath? I would lose these two precious flowers before I could blink. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to them.” As if wanting to shut him up before his rant continued, Hana would move her hand down to cover his mouth. That quieted him instantly as he grabbed her hand and started nibbling her little fingers. The small child squealed and pulled her hand away with a smile, “Nah.” She muttered out, nearly sounding like gibberish. Kaede would run back to Daiki with her hands full of food. She would hold up something that was stabbed with a stick towards Daiki’s mouth, “Don’t eat Hana. I got takoyaki.” She had obviously already skewered them before she got there. He would take the little balls on a stick and look at her with confusion, “I thought you were getting an apple.” The caramel apple was already in her mouth as he realized what happened, “You couldn’t decide what to get.” She would nod and hand Tomoe a chocolate covered banana, waiting for her to take it. He would blow on the takoyaki to cool it off and take a small bite to check its temperature. It was just a little hot, but not overly so. He held it up to Hana, who took a small bite of her own. The joy on the little girl’s face was obvious. Kaede would then look at Kahn, who was new to her. She wasn’t sure what to give him, so she settled on the squid. If he didn’t take it, she would gladly eat it. She was starting to grow, meaning she hate more than usual lately.

    The light touch to her head caused Destiny to blink once in surprise. The feminine voice sent her head snapping upwards, her blue-green eyes blinking at the woman who was suddenly in front of her. Where had she come from? Confusion clouded her features. She was so sure she'd seen...but the boy was over...and...

    After a few seconds of staring dumbly at the woman, the blonde realized that she still hadn't answered the question. Another blush overtook her features as she nodded a couple of times. She was starting to get so careless lately. Careless and absentminded. Really, what could have gotten into her lately? Aside from a visit from an old friend, nothing out of the ordinary had happened lately. She needed to get back on top of things before something worse than bumping into people and losing track of her sister happened.

    In what seemed like no time at all there was a flurry of conversation right in front of her. When did such a large group gather? Were they all friends? Must be, if they way they were talking was any indication. The blonde had the intention to quietly excuse herself and go about her business, but just as she began walking away, a certain redhead in the group caught her eye. Was...Was that Kahn? It had to be. She'd never seen another redhead like him in Ueitawa, after all. She'd seen him around Kizuna Academy, but hadn't really spoken to him in the past year. After all the incidents were cleared up, there really was no reason to. Still, Destiny hesitated to slink away. Was there any harm in talking to him now? Besides, she'd seen a certain silverette recently, hadn't she? Maybe seeing two people from those escapades last year was some sort of sign. Or fate. Or...something she should pay attention to.

    Taking a shaky breath, the girl inched closer until she was close to Kahn. When she was about an arm's length away she reached hesitantly towards his shoulder before tapping it gently with her finger. If he didn't feel it, a look of distress would pass over her face as her hand dropped away and she stayed at the edge of the group, trying to decide whether or not to leave. If he turned towards her, she'd smile softly. "It's nice to see you again, Kahn-san."

Kahn nodded at Daiki's explanation, "Understandable, I've been a bit busy myself too, I might not have had time to hang out had you asked me to." Though seeing Daiki with a girl was never a surprise, was this young lady the next girl he would try to charm with his womanizing ways. Should he warn the young woman....nah better not to, why not let Daiki have a shot, this could be the one he hooks and stays with. ...well that was assuming Daiki wouldn't always be a womanizer, but he had a sense of responsibility if he was babysitting children. Then a kid with blue hair would appear asking if he could in on the conversation, Kahn saw no reason for him not to, and just shrugged, "Up to you man, I don't really care, feel free to jump in." This was a really diverse group that they had coming together, mostly of strangers. Though a few acquaintances here and there.

Suddenly a rather familiar blonde would run into the woman that had yet to introduce herself, was that Destiny? Well wasn't this just a gathering of familiar faces? Granted, not all these faces brought up good times, but now as not the time to dwell on it. He was meeting new people and making new friends as well as memories. Better to focus on that then to dwell on the past, when he had to face those demons....he would. It just took time and he had plenty of that...for all he knew. When the young woman introduced herself as Tomoe, the red haired man nodded, "A pleasure to meet you Tomoe, I hope you're enjoying the festival thus far." The red haired young man was always happy to meet new friends, though he would turn away when he felt a someone gently tap her fingers on his shoulder. He turned and his green eyes settled on Destiny, who seemed a bit nervous or shy, "Hey Destiny, long time no see. What have you been up to?" He asked the shy blonde, he hadn't seen her in a while. He assumed she was naturally busy like everyone else trying to get what was left of their normal lives back together.

((Indeed, I am a goof sometimes. >.>))

Daiki was nothing if not lively. And Kaede was just too adorable to not love to pieces. She could only smile when she got her nose pinched, and fanned her face a little with the one she held in her hand. She would return her stance to look at Daiki with a smile. “I like to think it was to get the attention of your sisters.” Tomoe rubbed her cheek lightly to avoid the complications of any blush she might receive when getting complimented at her name. She didn’t understand exactly why she felt so appreciative of that; then again, Tomoe is a fairly common female name here. Maybe it was nice to stick out. “Well, thank you. If you tell me your name, I will compliment it,” she joked with a smile…mostly. Looking at the tall man with blue hair who decided to join, Tomoe immediately wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer to the crowd. “The more the merrier! I’m Tomoe.” She was really starting to enjoy herself. Maybe going out to be social wasn’t going to be so bad after all with all of these new people showing up. Even the red-haired man who wasn’t talking all that much greeted Tomoe, before speaking to the blonde girl she saw before.

For the moment, it seemed like the group was split almost down the middle: Tomoe, the blue man, and the man with two siblings, and Kahn and Destiny. Maybe they should all talk with each other. She was about to speak to Kahn, but she caught Destiny’s kimono in it’s lovely design. Tomoe took a moment to walk a few steps toward Destiny and place her hand near her side, feeling the fabric without any regard to her personal space…again. “It’s so pretty. I’ve never seen kimono like yours. Did you make yours or was it bought? I wish I could so that well… You’re Destiny? Tomoe, make sure not to get this ruined. It looks too good to mess up...” she said, holding her free hand out to her to shake. Tomoe was still running her fingers along the sewn fabrics of Destiny’s kimono, almost getting to the point where she was touching Destiny herself, or at least looked that way to anyone not in the immediate group. It didn’t bother Tomoe, she was just happy to talk on and on forever without a clear sign of ending.

Traits:

A small, barely noticeable chuckle would leave his mouth as Kahn spoke, “That is most unfortunate, my friend. I would rather stay in touch with the people I met than to leave them all behind. After all, what is the point of meeting if we make a joke of it and quickly forget. I tell you, I will not be the one to scoff at fate in such a way. I promise you that from now on-” He would be cute off by Hana’s tiny hands again. She had been trying to train him to keep away from the hour long rants he went on that amounted to nothing. He would move her hand aside and tickle her palm, “In short, if you call on me, I will do my best to make time. I wouldn’t want to abandon a friend.” It was time he started meeting with some of the people he met before he became a full time babysitter. After all, he needed a life of his own. Then again, he really didn’t mind watching his sisters, especially since Kaede liked to help him with his work and Hana was still too small to be much of a problem. She was usually content with stealing one of Kaede’s many stuffed animals and playing with it for hours. Besides, their father was so obsessed with getting Hana to turn out correctly that he usually took care of her. It would be a miracle if she knew her own siblings’ names by the time she started school.

His attention would quickly turn back to Tomoe. She was so cute trying to hide her cheeks. Part of him was wondering how much he could make her blush, but the big brother in him wouldn’t allow him to set a bad example for his sisters. The again, it wasn’t like they seemed to think much of his harmless flirting, “My name is Daiki Tanaka. No need to compliment it. It just means I’m a big tree. On the other hand, my sisters have lovely names. This is Kaede and Hana. The last names are all the same.” Kaede would bow to Tomoe out of respect, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” and Hana would wave again. Kaede seemed to perk up as more people started joining. She had always been a people person. As soon as the blue haired man joined, she would speak on Daiki’s behalf, “It’s always better to have too much instead of not enough. Your company is welcomed.” She was starting to take after Daiki, which filled him with both pride and absolute horror. Even he knew that he was not the kind of person a young woman should take after.

Daiki was starting to think the men in this conversation would far outweigh the women, when heaven sent another one to balance out the odds. Thank the gods. Even better, she had the cute card on her side. So now they had elegance and adorableness. What a nice mix. Even better, she seemed to know Kahn. He would lean over to Kahn, “Okay. You need to tell me how you keep finding all the beautiful woman. This is that third one I’ve seen that knows you.” Kahn seriously must have had the best luck in the world to find them all. This Destiny girl was really cute, so it was only expected he be envious. His attention was immediately drawn back when he heard Tomoe ask about Destiny’s yukata. His eyes seemed to gleam as she showed an interest in the outfit, something Daiki could get behind, “If I had to guess from a glance, it was bought. However, it wasn’t bought carelessly. You made sure it would fit you perfectly. Am I right?” Like he said, it was just a guess. He couldn’t tell for sure unless he got a closer look at her fingers. Even Daiki, who tried to keep himself as maintained as possible, had calluses from all his sewing. If Destiny didn’t have them, it meant she didn’t sew often, or she used a machine. But kimono and yukata where slightly different. There were parts you had to sew by hand, and you had to have some experience with holding a needle in order to not mess it up.