//------------------------------// // Arc XX Episode IV: Understanding Each Other // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// What was going on with Keiji, anyway? Well, the vampboy had spent most of his time resting to recuperate from the amount of energy he had expended from that fight. And now? He knew he’d be fashionably late for school, but it didn’t bother him--not as much as what was currently nagging at his mind as he flopped out of bed into his messy room with clothes strewn about the floor. “Agh…gotta get up. Another day, another potential attack on my friends and family…” In reality, there was a reason why he wanted to be late… “If I get there last, it’ll stop anyone who’s potentially looking to cause trouble. I can’t afford to let that happen. Not anymore. I’ve got too much to worry about and too many people to look out for.” But before he could walk down the street and make his way towards school… Honk-honk. A familiar limo pulled up to him from the side of the road, and stopped once the tail end of it lined up with him, earning a confused, raised brow from the vampboy. “...The hell?” The window was rolled down, and the door was pushed open to reveal Diamond Tiara. “...Hey, Keiji. Want a ride to school? There’s something I’d like to talk with you about that I’d prefer to do here.” He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately saw no harm in it. “May as well. Not like I got anything better to do.” With one hand on his backpack, he hopped in, and took a seat, closing the limo’s door behind himself. “Alrighty. I’ll bite. What’s going on, Deets?” That nickname caused her to double-take, and tilt her head. “W-wha--’Deets’?” “Got a problem with it?” Keiji asked earnestly, “If there is, then I won’t call you that.” She chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, it’s--you’re fine.” With a clap of her hands, the driver started the limo once more, pulling away from the sidewalk and into the road. “Anyhow…I just wanna say thank you.” “For…?” Tiara folded her arms and crossed one leg over the other. “Uggh! Don’t play dumb. This is like what, the third or fourth time you’ve saved my ass? I’m…super grateful for it. Hell, my parents are too. It honestly makes me feel kinda…” she looked down at herself, her eyes dropping along with her tone, “...terrible.” Keiji paused, then leaned forward with a confused shrug of his shoulders. “...Eh? Why would you feel bad over something I did?” “...” Tiara simply placed her hand against her forehead and sighed. “Agh…do I need to spell it out for you? The fact that you’ve saved me so many times makes me feel like a burden--like dead weight that can’t do anything for herself. Do you know how that makes me feel?” “I…oh…” Admittedly, Keiji had never considered such a thing. All the boy could do was idly rub the back of his neck as he muttered aloud. “I guess I’ve been so focused on staying to myself that I never really cared about how others felt…until recently anyway.” Tiara looked up at him and shook her head, folding her arms once more. “Gah…you’re so naive. Guess I can’t be too mad at you for it since you’re still getting used to how the human world works. But yeah…it’d help if you started to think about others--or at least the people close to you, ya know?” “I think I get it,” Keiji replied, “I’ll try my best. So…you feel like a burden, huh? What do you wanna do about that?” “...Well I’m hoping I can get magical powers of my own,” she went on, “I don’t wanna be caught in another situation like that again. I’m sick and tired of being a useless little rich girl who just sits on her ass and waits to be saved like some princess in a fairytale. Do you get what I’m saying now?” Keiji shut his eyes for a moment as he rationalized what she had to say. “You wanna be more proactive. Take charge of your own life and protect your parents in case shit gets bad.” “...Yes,” Tiara replied in hesitant disbelief with a small gasp as her eyes shot open. “You…that’s pretty much it. But that’s why I wanted to talk to you about it before we got to school. These magical abilities can be kinda dangerous…so I wanted to let you know in case something happens to me.” The vampboy opened his eyes, and nodded. “Alrighty then. If that’s what you wanna do, I’ve got no room to stop you.” Tiara scoffed and raised a brow. “Pff--what? That’s it? No lecture about how dangerous it is or anything?” “...The magic in this world seems to inhabit whoever it wants,” he replied while looking out of the window of the limo. “The people here are gonna start gaining powers at random even more frequently now. Someone has to keep things in order and make sure those powers aren’t abused.” “You think you’ll be able to manage fighting against it?” Tiara asked with a concerned tilt of her head. “Oh no, screw that,” Keiji gave a snappy reply as he turned to face her again, “I’m no authority on who should and shouldn’t use magic. But if someone starts trying to hurt people with it, I’ll be there to beat their asses.” Tiara glared at him for a moment with narrowed, flat eyes. “Of course. Typical Keiji.” Unable to remain stoic for long, she started giggling. “You’re such a lovable dork you know that?” “Is that a compliment or what?” he raised a suspicious brow. “I mean it in a good way. You’re…eccentric--it’s hard to describe, but I like how blunt you are. Makes it easy to have a conversation with you. You just need to learn how to comprehend how other people feel around you. Not everything can be solved with sarcasm. Okay?” “Yeah…” Keiji muttered as he started to think about the other people that had recently come into his life. “...I’ll work on it.”