Sky King II: Reborn

Chapter III

Kuujiro was awoken by hard knocking on the front door, the sound able to be heard throughout the entire household. She changed into new undergarments (provided by Lillian from back when her breasts weren't as large) and pulled on the white dress with the black eagle on the back. Not bothering to wash or brush her hair, she curiously headed downstairs and peeked around the corner of the living room wall to see Ed and Harold speaking with a shorter man in a brown shirt that had blue patches sewn on to parts of it. His pants were the same way, a size too big for him and grey in base color. A wild mustache that connected to his sideburns was proudly sported on his wrinkled face, the rest of his head as bare as could be. He saw Kuu in his peripheral vision and looked over to her, smiling and giving a small wave, then handing Harold a large golden envelope that was hidden underneath his shirt somehow. Kuu didn't want to know how, but the envelope itself peaked her interest.

With that, the man nodded his goodbyes and walked off, Ed closing the door and heading to the dining room to go over the contents of the package. Not wanting to immediately intrude, Kuu went back upstairs to shower, removing her clothing and neatly stacking it on the sink. Running the hot and cold water from the shower head to create a decent temperature, she noticed a few small cuts on her neck that she hadn't known were there. They weren't so large they'd be noticed right away and her hair covered them well enough, but she knew they were from the shooting yesterday. Either from splinters of wood or shards of glass, she didn't know, flashes of the bloodied bodies infiltrating her mind. Her chest began to tighten, feet and hands tingling to the point of shaking. Kuu got in the shower quickly and sat down, the warm water calming her panicking body, practicing her deep breathing at the same time. Only when Bartel's lifeless body lying in a pool of his own blood entered her mind that she couldn't handle the rush of anxiety. It overtook her body, the vibrations so extreme her limbs fell numb, tears streaming down her face. Why couldn't it have been her instead of that poor kid? Why not her or any other person that died that day?

The questions swam around her head in a loop like a one finned fish in a small bowl, the vibrations easing up and feeling returning to her arms and legs. Thankful that her crying was silent this time, not wanting to cause the others in the house to worry, she pulled her legs to her chest and balled up. Accidentally sniffling water into her nose and entering a coughing fit when it was shot back into her throat, Kuu regained enough of her composure to reach for the soap and lather her body, still sitting on the bathtub floor.

Something about perching herself on the floor instead of standing to shower felt very odd, yet soothing at the same time. The warm water cascaded over her body and traveled seamlessly through her long black hair while she rubbed the soap away, genuinely feeling relaxed now after such a bad anxiety attack. This was going to be another of her issues to gradually overcome, probably the most difficult one out of them all. She'd had her anxiety disorder since she was about eleven years old, apparently having developed it by not going out and interacting with classmates or making friends. It made sense, the only people she ever really interacted with were her mom and Ed, never having any interest in getting to know others. It was still somewhat the same now, but she didn't mind talking to others nearly as much.

Finishing by washing her hair, Kuu dried herself off with the red towel on top of the toilet and redressed, again walking down the stairs and very slowly sneaking to the dining room to overhear Ed and Harold still going over the contents of the envelope. They mentioned something about weapons, a growing group of "fighters," and a "flyer," that was delivered to a hangar somewhere. Kuu's hearing wasn't the best so she only got vague details, finally gaining the courage to turn the corner when they grew silent. As she entered the dining room, the eyes of Harold, Ed, and Lillian were all on her, like they had sensed she was there listening.

Lillian was standing next to Ed with her hands on his shoulders while both men had one of their hands on their chins. Kuu immediately regretted not going back upstairs or literally anywhere else in the house.