Tea over the Bay [Shi/Others who work with Soki]

It had been several minutes since the car arrived onto the scene, and the Tsurinai household had their new guest. As Soki and Shi entered the large home that could be compared to a mansion, they were directed towards the dining room where Soki's tea sets had already been prepared thanks to a previous call. Walking into the room with a confident stride, the young woman had her hands folded beneath her chest. For once she did not look dull and half asleep, maybe because the scent of green tea was in the air. Taking a seat at the far end of the table, the young woman would fold a leg over another and place her hands in her lap. Looking towards Shi, Soki would nod her head towards one of the many empty chairs at the table. "Take a seat, Shi-chan. Let's have a chat over tea. Tell my butler what'd you like, and he'd surely prepare it for you." The young woman spoke in a calm tone as she looked towards her own cup that was placed infront of her. "To get things started, I'd like to go back over a few things. This Velvet Room, for one. I take it this is the room located behind the azure doors, instead of the crimson ones. Within them are denizens that are there to assist Users? I'd like to know, do they all look like you? Are you even human?" Getting right to business there, asking if the young woman was human. Soki was truly curious to this, because ever since coming to Ueitawa she had been experiencing events that were not in the norm. As a child she spent many years, maybe her entire childhood, studying the world of the supernatural. However, she had no recollection of reading anything about the door that lead to a room of Velvet. This was a surprising discovery. Taking a sip of her tea in a nonchalant fashion, Soki would then place the cup back down upon the table before continuing her question. Even if the young woman named Shi refused to answer the question, that was quite alright. Everyone was entitled to their secrets. After all, the Tsurinai Group were filled with them.

"Continuing on with the line of questioning, I also have to ask you something else. What is the true nature of Shadows? Are they enemies to mankind? Are they actively seeking out humans to prey on? Surely you must know something in regards to these supernatural creatures." Soki's silver hues gazed at Shi. They didn't hold hostility in the least, but instead held an immense amount of interest. After all, Shadows could be used as a source of power. The Tsurinai Group could harness that power and perform extraordinary feats with it. Atleast a discovery such as this would make her father proud. She couldn't help but shift her glance towards a painting to her right, hanging upon the wall. It was a family portrait with her father, herself, her siblings, and her mother. It had been some years since she had seen her mother after she remarried, and even longer since she had seen her brother that was sent away at such a young age. The two family members she saw most would be her younger sister, who was living with her now, and her Father who paid frequent visits thanks to the research being conducted there in the Ueitawa Region. They weren't the perfect model family, but when it came to business the Tsurinai clan knew how to pull themselves together and get shit done.

Taking a seat in front of Soki, Shi looked forward to her while she spoke, “I like Lavender with honey…” Shi had told the male before looking back at Soki, Shi’s eyes were like empty voids with her expressionless stare. It would look as if she didn’t give a care about what was going on even if she did. She started off with the Velvet Room, “Yes, You have it correct so far the ruby doors lead to limbo. As for the other ‘Attendants,’ we all look different, me being the oldest one, I would know, no two of us are alike. No, I am not human, to tell the truth, it is not clear how our ‘master’ created us. Although I know you’ve noticed my eyes. Most likely we were created by stabilized shadows but we don’t act like normal shadows either.” Shi would look down at the table in front of her, staring at Soki’s tea for no apparent reason; she just became lost in thought until the female broke her out of it.

She spoke about shadows, that wasn’t something Shi was used to. All she knew was they were controlled by ‘the god of chaos,’ the opposite god from the one who indirectly created her. But again, Shi would say exactly what she knew. “The true nature… Shadows are creatures controlled by a certain god. This god uses them in many ways. Shadows feed on a human’s psyche, you see this when a normal human faces a shadow. Their minds go blank and all they do is make sounds. The shadows use fear to take down their enemy’s. Persona-users, Attendants, and sometimes special people are able to withstand this mental attack. By special people I mean humans, who know about shadows, sometimes they can avoid it. Shadows are the enemy of mankind, again they devour on the fear they inflict to humans. They always go after humans; no normal human can fight them, only persona-users and attendants. They can only go after humans after they somehow escape Limbo… Is there anything else you need Tsurinai-san?” Shi would stare at the woman as she got stared back at, until Soki’s eyes shifted to something else, although Shi continued to stare.

The oldest one, huh? She looked so young in the eye of the Tsurinai. Though, did Soki really have room to talk? The Attendant was taller than her, and could easily be seen as the dominant one in their business relationship by one with an untrained eye. When Shi continued to speak about not being human, it piqued Soki's interests even more. So she was artificially crafted by a higher power? One that chose what she'd look like, and perhaps even how she'd live this life they had gifted to her. Things weren't so different between them. Although Soki was not artificially created, she did not have the luxury of choosing how she wished to live her life. No, being the heir of the Tsurinai Group, everything was pre-written for her and she was simply walking the threads of fate. She had no qualms about this, though. It was her duty, and duty always came first, did it not? The silver haired woman would grasp her cup and lift it to her lips taking a small sip. One thing did bother her about the young woman, and it was the golden hues she sported as iris. Soki had the same amber eyes, so did this mean she was artificially created aswell? No, not possible, right? It was a side effect from the experiment she failed a few months prior to this meeting and nothing more. Though, it was so strange how the dots began to connect so slowly. Placing her tea cup back upon the table, Soki would place her hands on her lip and stare back towards Shi. There was a bit of silence between them before the silver woman gave a thin smile. "So your creator crafted you, yet did not give you emotions? How strange, I wonder if they are present and you just have yet to experience them as of yet. That is something to look into. But before this.." Soki closed her silver hues and pinched her chin between her index finger and thumb in thought. Apparently she was thinking deeply about how Shadows were the enemy to mankind and needed to be tamed.

Creatures controlled by a certain God, hm? How interesting. So Gods and Devils did exist, or was their definition of a God much different than humanity's own? "God, I believe you said? Can you tell me the name of this God? I'm curious why a God would control such beings to attack mankind. Have we wronged him?" Soki would await Shi's answer to this while she continued to stare into her guest's eyes. Once the questioning was over, Soki would raise a hand and give a signal for her butler to leave. Giving a bow, he would leave the room. After all, he had already prepared both Shi and Soki's tea and had no more purpose to be there. Once leaving, he'd close the door behind him so it would be just them left in the large room. Standing from her chair, Soki would begin to remove her white gloves from her hands, revealing her soft skin that was hardly seen when she was in her work attire. "I'd like to try a small experiment, Shi, if you do not mind. I'm interested in seeing if I can claim a reaction from you. If I can, it is possible you may have some form of emotions trapped in her heart we'll need to let free." Soki placed her family jacket down upon her chair and walked over towards her guest. Walking behind her chair, the Tsurinai female would lean forward and embrace her fellow female from behind in a sort of hug. Placing her chin on Shi's left shoulder, she'd close her eyes and begin to listen closely to the Attendant's breathing patterns. "If your creator gave you a human form, I can only assume he wished for you to have a human conscious aswell. Of course, this is a basis assumption and nothing more." Soki began to nuzzle her new friend's neck while giving a sly, narrowed eye'd look to the side. "So, is there any changes to breathing or heartbeat you're experiencing as of yet, Shi, darling?"

What was Soki doing? Was she trying to kill her? Maybe she was trying to evoke the feeling of fear. An experiment, it’s impossible, she can’t bring out feelings that don’t exist. “My lack of emotions is why I’m here today. My creator tried to establish emotions for me but I refused him and he locked me away. I only just recently got out. I’ve been in there practically since the beginning of man’s evolution. So no, I have no way to react to what you’re doing right now. I will forever be like this.” She looked down at her tea and then looked forward again. “What exactly are you doing to me anyways? Are you trying to execute me?” Shi’s eyes would look down to her lap, could she be trying to ‘comfort’ her… No, she said experiment. This was a test to see Shi’s reaction.

Nothing changed, Shi was the same. “That god is Nyarlathotep. I have no clue why he does what he does, he’s pure evil. The god who created my master is named Philemon. Philemon is the god of the ego. An Ego is what is needed to summon a persona. Although Nyarlathotep makes personas to, his ‘children’ are his pawns and they summon their persona naturally, without the need of anything, they actually fuse with their personas. Children are banished from the velvet room and do not get an attendant like persona-users do.” Shi then looked at her tea again, "And I feel the same I did a few minutes ago Tsurinai-san, I'm sorry that your 'experiment' won't work no matter what you do..."

No change in breathing patterns or heartbeats. Interesting. Tsurinai Soki made a mental note of her findings before listening more to the Attendant about the two Gods, and the difference between users. So apparently Kogami was a follower of this Nyarlathotep? Strange, was he an enemy? Regardless, Soki would release Shi from behind and shift to her front. Sitting down sideways on the Attendant's lap, Soki would wrap her arms around her from the front, pressing her chest against her own, and leaning into her neck. Her ears, eyes, and body once again searched for any changes in body temperature, breathing, or heartbeat. So strange how something that wasn't human look so human. Though Soki had hardly any room to speak for herself. After all, she wasn't human, even though she had no clue of this. Finally speaking back to Shi, Soki would talk in a rather calm, yet playful manner. "No, Shi, I am not attempting to execute you. Quite the opposite, believe it or not. Here.." Soki removed one of her hands that were wrapped around the young woman and took Shi's hand in her own. Pulling her hand, Soki would drop it down upon her own hip and would scoot closer to the blank faced Attendant. Experimentation was fun, especially when she got to use her own perverted side for it. For someone who hasn't experienced emotions before, how would she even know when she did? That was a question Soki had not thought of, and it caused her to pull back from Shi and close her eyes. Was this all a waste of time? Was she doing all of this just to fulfill her own fantasies? That could be true, but when Soki was in one of her cute phases, she didn't think that rationally. Instead, she snuggled back up to Shi with a sly smile. "So Nyarlathotep and Philemon, huh? I'll need to do some research on both of these names. Surely someone has had to document some findings on one or the other. Seems like I need to pay the Tsurinai library another visit. Its been some years since I used our database for anything other than documentation regarding my current studies. But you wouldn't be interested in any of that. I'm sure you're more focused on getting back home, hmm?" The Mistress of Death would give a tired yawn before cuddling with her new to- guest of the household.

Again, what was this; her arms were wrapped around her. Although Soki had let go for a second, she quickly continued. Was Shi supposed to do something, was she supposed to return the ‘wrapping of hands around one’s waist,’ was she being rude not to. Or was she supposed to just let the shorter woman continue without reacting. Maybe this was just to see Shi’s reaction, see if she would return this gesture or do something more. Although Shi knew a lot about the mortal world, she had seen men and women participating in this activity, but, those men and women were usually ‘together.’ There was the occasion where an older woman would do this to their offspring. It was a sign of affection if her assumptions were correct.
 
Shi’s arms would slowly wrap around the other woman’s waist. She pressed herself closer to the woman, pretty much mimicking what Soki was doing to her. Now breathing on the other’s neck, Shi began to speak softly, “Tsurinai-san, is this a sign of affection? What is this action called? My interest is peeked.” Soki had given a soft yawn, was she tired? Was this situation boring? Had the young ex-attendant done something wrong? Either way, to follow up on what Soki had mentioned earlier. “I do hope you find something, I know with all this information I carry, one might call me crazy.”

When Soki felt the young woman's arms wrap around her, and their bodies became dangerously close, the silver haired woman's dull eyes had a bit of flair for once. Was Shi learning as she went along? Could this be taking advantage of both her innocence and ignorance? Pulling her head back, Soki looked towards Shi, unconsciously inching closer as if she were abit to give the girl a kiss. Suddenly the door to the tea room would open, causing the Mistress of Death to pull back and hop off Shi's lap. Coughing into a gloved hand, she looked towards he doorway to see her younger sister rubbing her eyes. Did she just wake up or something? Soki placed a hand on her hip while tilting her head. "Miki-chan, it's three in the afternoon. I hope you're not just waking up now." The young woman spoke with a kind tone towards her younger sister before looking towards Shi. "Oh yes, I forgot to introduce you. Shi-chan, this is Miki-chan. Miki-chan, this is Shi-chan. Shi-chan will be your new caretaker when I'm not here." Soki grasped Shi's hand and pulled her in close so she could gently press her lips close to her ear. "If you do not mind, Shi-chan, I brought you under this roof so you could act as my younger sister's playmate while I'm busy. Of course, this does not mean we will not be "playing" together. I'm interested in seeing how many responses I can get out of a young woman with no personality or access to emotion. You have piqued my own interest today. I'll make sure your living quarters are closer to mine, so we may have a few more experiments with one another." Was it truly experiments or was Soki simply a closet pervert using Shi to fulfill her own sexual fantasies under the premise of research? Good question.

Miki walked to the edge of the table where Soki was previously sitting, and sat down. Swinging her legs, the silver haired young girl would take a sip of the tea and give a sigh. "A playmate, Nii-san? I am not a child, I do not need such things anymore. My thirteenth birthday is right around the corner you know. If you have brought her here to use in your various experimentation, just say so. I will not tell Father." The younger girl spoke with a calm tone, just like her sister, yet looked much more frail than Soki. After all, she was suffering from an illness that made her body weak, and naturally caused her original hair color to turn a deathly greyish silver. To remedy this, Soki's entire family dyed their own hair the same color, just so she did not feel out of place. Even their Father, a man who preyed on the weakness of others, dyed his hair. Though he always spoke as if it were different reasons than making Miki feel like a member of the family. Soki gave a tired yawn before rubbing her head and looking towards Shi. "Well, Shi-chan, I hope you can cope with her. She acts older than her age, and she's a fighter, but don't push her too hard. Would you like to come with me so I can show you your room?" The young Mistress extended her soft hand down so Shi could take a hold of it. Perhaps it wasn't safe letting them be in a bedroom together for an extended period of time. Especially since Soki did not hesitate to take what she wanted, even if it were a person. Shi's innocence was in danger here.

They were getting closer, why was this happening. So many things Shi was yet to understand. Did Soki ‘love’ her was something happening that she couldn’t understand? The heat between their bodies was rising the closer they got. Their faces were nearing each other yet the situation was hard to understand. But they were interrupted by the door flying open, a small female mortal entered the room. Soki jumped out of Shi’s lap and stood, acting as if nothing had happened. The little girl was introduced as Soki’s as her sister. Apparently, Shi was now her caretaker even though she did not volunteer for the job. Great, children.

“Nice to be meeting you. I am just sorry I won’t be that fun to play with.” Looking towards the child Shi’s face had the same emptiness that it usually did; her voice was still as soft as it always was. Soki extended her hand for Shi to take it, although upon taking said hand, Shi held it for an unneeded amount of time before pulling herself up. She had lost herself in thought for a second. Mostly about the situation that had happened in the seconds before the sister’s arrival. “Well I am older than I look, I’m sure I can deal with a child. And I would be fine with the couch if a room is too much trouble, I don’t want to intrude like I stated before.” Shi looked Soki now, although she hadn’t let go of the female’s hand. She proceeded to let go and looked towards the sister once again, her golden eyes shining with the lights of the room, “It’s been nice meeting you, really.” Shi would reach for her tea, bringing the cup to her lips and tasting the tea before tapping Soki’s shoulder. “You can show me a room now if you want, Tsurinai-san.”

Soki folded her arms beneath her chest and gave Shi a tired smile. Leading her out the room, the silver haired Tsurinai would glance at her sister, as her sister returns the glance with a sinister grin. Just how much did she know? Regardless, once they left the room, Soki would lead her guest towards the stairs. Towards the opposite wall was a large expansive window that gave a clear view of the Nokawia Bay. Standing infront of the window, Soki would observe the people of Nokawia enjoying their time at the bay with narrowed eyes. "Ueitawa is a very beautiful place. There are rare treasures here that people can find just by chance alone. To think such a looming cloud blots out the sky, and such a mystery of disappearances is becoming more and more popular, I wonder how the people will adapt to it. Will it not bother them since it has nothing to do with them directly?" The Mistress pinched her chin between her index finger and thumb while in thought. Looking towards Shi, the scientist would give a sly smile while purposing leaning agaisnt her. Twirling a finger on Shi's chest, Soki would look up towards her new toy. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to see what happens, hmm, darling? I'm more interested in seeing what makes you tick and tock. I wonder, how much do you know of intimate encounters between two people? I suppose I'll have to find that out myself. I am neither God, nor the Devil. It will take some steps before I can get you to express true emotions back to me your own way, hmm? If I do anything too drastic, I'd be taking advantage of you." The silver haired woman gave a tired yawn as she removed herself from Shi and did a light stretch. Continuing up the stairs, she would lead her Attendant to the second floor's hallway of rooms. At the end of the hallway was Soki's own room, and to the right of her own was Miki's room. Soki would lead Shi to the room that was across the hall from Miki's and to the left of her own room.

Leading Shi into the room, the Attendant would be showing a large window overlooking a bay with a master bed, her own private bathroom, and even a large closet for any clothes she'd need to move in aswell. Soki looked towards the young one with a tired smile as her eyes slowly closed. "These will be your living quarters, Shi, darling. My room is right next door, and Miki's is across the hallway. I hope this room isn't too expansive for you. We do not have anything smaller here. Also, the beds are defaulted into King sized here, so you'll have plenty of room to stretch your legs while sleep." Soki lifted her hand to her lips as she gave an even wider smile. "These beds can also hold two, but we'll need to keep that in mind for our next experiment, no?" The young Tsurinai heir was being more playful than serious, as she stepped aside to allow Shi to walk into her new room. "It probably isn't as nice as your previous home, but I do hope you think of staying with me for some time to come. You know, I'm interested in your anatomy, but also I may be interested in you as a person, aswell. You're intriguing, Shi-chan. Also quite adorable with how little you may know of our world. I'm sure we'll teach each other many things in these days to come. So do stand by my side as long as possible." The Tsurinai would raise her hand and rub Shi's head with a tired smile.

Touching, everywhere, even after they had left. Was this a custom? Was this supposed to happen? Ah, she would have to read those books tonight. Human affection wasn’t her thing. It was hard to understand knowing each action held a reaction and with that there was the chance she could screw up although she didn’t know how to react. Although it seemed returning the ‘wrapping’ of arms around Soki had gotten her a positive reaction. Were there other things she could do? Well, thinking about it, it seemed Soki was the experiment with the way Shi was thinking, although pushing those thoughts away, she looked out the window towards the bay.

“It’s so… Beautiful…” Shi stared out towards the bay, it seemed couples and children were enjoying their days together. Having what seemed to be ‘fun,’ yet another thing Shi could not experience. “I’m sorry to say I just have no emotions, there for I can’t have ‘true’ emotions to show you Tsurinai-san.” Shi looked into Soki’s eyes before looking back into the bay, although the sigh of affection was slowly broken and the two continued upstairs. Taking advantage of Shi? What was that supposed to mean? Was she taking advantage of her being powerless or of her not knowing about the world around them?

But walking into the room, she looked around. Even this was bigger than the velvet room itself and the. Although, the ‘collective unconsciousness,’ where she was held, was far bigger, this room was very ‘decked out.’ It was supposed to be right next to Soki’s, maybe that way Shi can learn about ‘affection.’ Either way, she felt that this whole experience would help revolutionize the way Shi thinks, for the good or for the better. She mentioned that the beds could hold two people, Shi looked at the other and began with, “I’m sure I don’t take up the space of two people, so the large bed will have to waste space with just me in it although I don’t really sleep.” Shi again scanned the room; there wasn’t a lot of blue. If this was a static home, blue would have to be added, although she could live without it. “It’s far better than my home, except my home was fully velvet colored. I’m still grateful you let me stay here, Tsurinai-san.” Shi’s mouth twitched a bit, was it a smile? Too bad that almost smile went away instantly. “Thanks I would like to learn about human ways as well, you just might help.”

Soki's keen silver hues caught notice of a slight change in Shi's disposition for just a split second. Perhaps her advances were making an impression on the young woman that wasn't so human. The scientist gave a tired smile while having high hopes for the rest of the experiment. "Mmm, well I'll let you get settled in Shi, darling. Its been a long day, and I'm sure you don't wish for me to hover over you for the remainder of the day." The Mistress of Death would exit Shi's room and head to her own. "If you're lacking clothes, you can borrow some of mine. Though it may not fit you, and the skirt may be alittle bit high on you since you're slightly taller.. Hehe.." Was this all according to plan? Regardless, Soki looked back towards her guest and gave an innocent wink before heading into her own room and closing the door. Things were going to get rather interesting in the days to come, yet for now the tired scientist would fall face first on her bed and drift into a light sleep.

[We can end it here]