Reconnection (Nik)

["What on Earth am I going to do with all of these?"] The doctor sighed, looking at a wide array of beautiful flower arrangements sitting on the center island in her kitchen. There were ten of them, each centralized with two lilies and accented lightly with various other flowers and ferns, each designed elegantly in true Japanese style. Even though they were all from someone that greatly annoyed her as well, they were simply too lovely to dispose of.

That said, there were simply too many of them. Where could she put them all?

The reintroduction of her husband's old friend into her life had bumped things up on the chaotic level. Granted, her mood on the flamboyant individual had gradually shifted in time, but they had a certain report to maintain that suited them both well; she was consistently aggravated by his boisterous and assuming presence, and he was constantly trying to make sure she didn't hurt him and gain her approval. (As if she could hurt him anyway - she was much too frail a person to do any real physical harm.)

Not only that, but when her brother had called that week, things sounded strange with him. It sounded as if he were distracted - excited, yes, but distracted regardless. He hadn't asked to talk to the girls, and he'd spoken as if he'd see them all soon enough. Granted, the school year was close to ending at Eisai, and recruitment tended to slow just before the new term (oddly enough), but he wasn't scheduled to visit for another few weeks. Maybe he'd be on a long assignment and simply wouldn't have time to call before then? Nakia suspected otherwise, but even as she picked up one of the flower arrangements a knock on the door swept the thoughts clean from her mind.

Setting the plants down carefully, the albino woman walked from the kitchen to the door, wondering who it could be at this time of day. Perhaps Ari, though the cafe owner had not been by recently... surely it wasn't Minamori, as he had classes during the day...

Opening the door, Nik stopped and stared halfway into a greeting, almost unsure of what to say. Then her face broke out into a radiant smile and she hugged her brother tightly. ["Welcome home, little brother,"] she greeted, holding the athletic man tightly. The physician hadn't realized how much she had missed her sibling up until that point, and now there was no way that she would be any happier to see him.

["And you as well,"] she answered, pulling back from the embrace reluctantly though still smiling. ["Please, come in; you must be cold."] Giving him one more brush on his arm, the older sibling motioned for them to enter inside, closing the door behind her brother before any more of the heat could escape the small house. ["Actually, the girls decided to go into town. Cassi wanted to visit the library before it closed, and Appoline went with her. Vincent had an emergency session at the school, but he should be home before dinner."]

The doctor allowed him to take off his jacket and shoes before leading him inside, walking for the small living room. ["Sit; I'll make some coffee."] Considering that using a coffeepot was something even Nik could do, that was a relatively safe refreshment to make.

As she wandered into the kitchen to pour water into the machine, the albino woman pondered over her brother's sudden appearance. He always said that he preferred to be near the family, but when they left back in August, he'd opted to stay at Eisai for the rest of the year. Did something change? They'd been readying for him to return anyway; they had an extra futon for him to sleep on and had made the bonus room ready for guests, however it hadn't been aired out since the summer and they weren't expecting company. Shaking her head, the doctor switched the machine on and returned to her family, smiling as she settled with him at the small table in the room.

["How was the rest of the year? Did you encounter anything especially interesting?"]

["That sounds terrifying,"] the older sister replied sympathetically. Hatsu had a relatively benign ability when it came to manifestation, though he had been there when hers had rather bloodily appeared in full. Such events were shocking, even to those as old as they had been - to those much younger, it could be horrifying. ["I'm glad he found a place at Eisai; you always seem to help them understand that we're all here to help."]

She smiled at her brother once again, but the expression dropped into something more concerned as he continued speaking. ["Lonely?"] she asked, confirming the statement. ["Oh Hatsu, I'm so sorry - if you had only asked, we would have brought you with us!"] Granted, that wasn't something the siblings really did - they tended to be meticulous and spontaneous in equal measure. Plus, it often felt like burdening to her when she asked for favors without being invited to them; she imagined it was the same for her younger brother.

["Does that mean you've transferred contracts?"] she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side inquisitively. ["Will you be working for the Hammel Institute with us?"]

With a sigh, Nik nodded in understanding. She'd also made a point to transfer all of her long-term patients during the four-year process, and Vincent had taken on no students less than a couple years from graduation. They hadn't wanted to leave anyone behind, either; Hatsu included, though her brother had adamantly refused to impose on them in such time. In the end, it appeared that he'd just been reluctant to leave the school with his contract still viable. She could understand that; it was the same reason they were in the planning process of the move for four years.

A quiet laugh escaped her, and the pale woman shook her head in amusement. ["Surprise, indeed,"] she chided, though her smile belied the bite of her words. ["Well, at least we were prepared for it. We have a futon in the closet and more than enough room in the study. We'll just have to organize a little."]

Hearing the beep of the coffee machine in the other room, the older of the two stood and motioned for her brother to follow her. ["Since you'll be staying for a longer while, let me show you around,"] she offered. ["This house is much bigger than that little apartment we had in the city."]

Nik waved a hand as if to bat the statement aside. ["Nonsense; you're family. You'll stay right here until you're sick and tired of hanging around us. Or until you find someone of your own."] The last statement was accompanied by a smug smirk over her shoulder and a wink, the doctor's pinky stuck out in a gesture which implied (in Japan) that she was talking about a female paramour.

The ghostly woman pressed the button on the coffee machine to turn off its timer and opened a cabinet nearby, retrieving the needed cups while she listened to her brother's story. She made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat in response to government interference in the matter, as well as the fact that he and the poor girl needed to be transported in such a way. How disgraceful. ["I'm sorry it took so long then,"] she replied, pouring the cups - hers straight black, and his three-quarters full so she season it with milk and sugar as she knew he liked it. ["That poor student. I hope the trip was uneventful?"]

She didn't ask about the powers; while it wasn't something that was kept in confidence, it wasn't something that mattered either. Nik would likely see the girl soon enough, if her powers were that dangerous.

Shrugging again in amusement, the doctor poured both she and her brother a cup of coffee, then returned the half-full pot to the machine. Her brother would find someone in his own time. Just because she'd married young(ish) didn't mean she was expecting him to get hitched to some American girl right away. He had more than enough time, especially since he was the more normal of the two of them.

["That's terrible,"] Nik replied sympathetically, carefully keeping her scorn for the government out of her tone now as she doctored his coffee. Passing the beverage over to the younger Asian, she gave him a sweet smile. ["You're a good man, going with her like that. It must have been hard on her, being treated that way."]

Nik understood the system well, too. She was outcast and considered barely human by their country's standards simply for being born with albinism, even by her parents. Her brother had been the only person to remember that she was worthwhile growing up, and it was because of him and a select few at Eisai that Nakia had become a doctor. Her powers barely put her on par with others in her field, and had she not intrigued that impressionable soldier who fell for her the day she met him, she likely would have never married. Such was Japan's social hierarchy.

["Oh really?"] the pale woman asked, blowing on her coffee slightly to cool it as she listened. ["Gravitational fields? I think I heard mention of that once or twice before we moved. I'll mention it to him for when reassignments come around - I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take her."] Granted, the school could settle her with a non-Japanese trainer to avoid segregation issues (which she understood completely), and probably would. Still, if Vincent sought out the girl in his own time, she could have the chance of adapting better to such a new culture.

Goodness knows that she hadn't had much time to prepare beforehand.

["So, have you been practicing your English?"] she asked, smiling slightly. Nik had always been very good with the English language in school, and had gotten a lot of practice in her career as a practitioner in a major city hospital. While she knew Hatsu had to have a rudimentary grasp on the subject for those he brought in from India, Indonesia, and islands surrounding Russia and Australia, she had never really been sure of his mastery of the subject. ["We practice it often in the house for Vincent's sake, so if you would like a crash course in dialect, I'm sure the girls and I can help out."]

Nakia understood her brother's concern and gave him a gentle smile. ["Of course,"] she replied softly. ["I will discuss it with him when he comes home. I'm sure he wouldn't mind another student."] Even though his caseload has increased exponentially in the past weeks, she was positive of this fact.

She cocked a white eyebrow at his expression, a wry smile on her face. "Well, I suppose we should start immediately, then," the doctor replied with a hint of dryness. "I'm glad you've gotten better, though. Is there a particular area you're having trouble with, brother?" Her brother was not prone to exaggeration - if he said that help would be needed but that he had a good grasp already, she wouldn't insult him by going back to basics.