The new Deadman..

[sunflowerfairy]

Characters: Yotsuba Koiwai and you!~
Setting: Around the Tower's steps.
Format: Starting in prose, but I'll match you.
Summary: After unknowingly eating some contaminated food on the eleventh, Yotsuba gains some strange powers, and is rather..curious about them, so she starts to search for answers.
Warnings: Yotuba will get killed by Wretched Egg, so look out for that. And Yotsuba can control her blood, so..people who don't like that should probably avoid this post.

Yotsuba dimly remembered that dinner on the eleventh had tasted odd, but since it wasn't yucky, not many people payed to much attention to it, chalking it up to the Administrators again, and since it wasn't bitter, no one thought it was poisoned. She didn't give it much thought either, since she wasn't harmed. After all, she was a little girl with much more to do and much more to keep her occupied.

However, when Yotsuba woke up on the thirteenth, she noticed that she wasn't feeling..right. Not bad, just not right. Trying to think of what wasn't right, she got hopped out of bed and started to walk through the dorm floors. When she heard a loud noise from below-probably someone fighting or a newcomer-she jumped, surprised..and cried a little in pain. Turning her head around, she saw small spikes of her own blood coming out of her back.

This..wasn't normal, and curious, Yotsuba started to walk up the Tower steps, calling out the people she knew so that she might be able to find some answers. Since she didn't know how they came out, she didn't pull them back in. They just stayed like that while she climbed and called.

"Dia..Diamud! Edgeworth?! Arada! Hibiki?! Yu..Yukki?!"

Feel free to bother her or help her out.

Comments

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid nods, hiding the sudden sadness in his eyes by moving to grab the bandages he has left nearby. She is far too young to understand the truth of things now, but once she is older, how will she react? How will growing up in a place like this change her from what she should be?

"Your home sounds like a beautiful place. What was your favorite thing to do when you had extra time? Did you like to swim or maybe fish?" Her talk of water and dolphins makes him realize she must have either lived near the sea or on an island, and it sounds like she enjoyed it a lot.

[sunflowerfairy]

What might surprise Diarmuid is that she would probably take it rather well. She would be sad..but she would probably go on. After all, she had been an orphan once before, before her 'Daddy' had found her.

However, at Diarmuid's questions, Yotsuba happily spoke as he reached for the bandages.

"Yotsuba swam a lot! But that's not Yotsuba's home anymore. Yotsuba moved to a big house on the right."

Far, far right. However, children were often more perceptible than adults sometimes gave them credit for, and as Yotsuba leaned to try and look at Diarmuid's face, she caught the sad look on his face.

"What's wrong? Does your tummy ache?"

If only it was just that..

[oathshackledbird]

Surprise crosses Diarmuid's face when she asks him about how he's feeling. He had hoped his worry would go unnoticed. He should have known better.

He reaches out and gently taps her chin, "I'm just worried about you is all. This place is so dangerous and then there are those spikes. I'm glad they went away, but what is to keep them from coming back? I wish I knew more about them."

It's not exactly a lie, but not the full truth either. Diarmuid really hates how much he seems to be doing that lately--lying but not lying. It's just wrong.

[sunflowerfairy]

Yotsuba wasn't quite used to being tapped on the chin, but it wasn't bad, so she didn't grimace or flinch at it. She smiled and thought as she spoke.

"Yotsuba would like to know more about them too..but as long as the green-haired boy doesn't come back, I should be fine!"

Yotsuba, remembering that she had pulled in her muscles when she was set down, tried to push them out again..and the spikes reappeared.

"Oh! Yotsuba has it now!"

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid can't hold back the shiver when she pops the spikes back out. While he should be glad that she seems to be figuring things out, he can't help but wish she wasn't.

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath trying to calm himself since he needs to be strong for her. He's the adult after all.

"What do you think you've figured out, little one? What are you doing to bring them out like that?"

[sunflowerfairy]

Oddly enough, Yotsuba wasn't that scared or sickened by the spikes in her back. She was just curious about them and how to pull them back in. Having figured out half of what she wanted was a good step, so she spoke happily.

"Yotsuba has figured out how to push them in and out! It's like..pulling a bar of ice cream from it's wrapper and putting it back in!"

As further demonstration, Yotsuba pulled them back in.

"I don't know how I got them though.."

[oathshackledbird]

Despite being uneasy watching her mess with the spikes, as she speaks and works with them he does realize how they work. It's a kind of reflex, and it seems to work almost like a muscle would. It's natural and unnatural all at the same time. That doesn't make him feel any better about it than before. In fact, somehow that just makes things worse.

"And doing that doesn't hurt?" Diarmuid asks as he finishes bandaging her foot. It's nothing fancy, but it will heal and hopefully not hurt terribly as it does.

[sunflowerfairy]

It would still sting, but Yotsuba would still be able to walk on it, even if her shoe was a bit burned now. But, as long as she could walk fine and get better in a few days, that was fine. Yotsuba shook her head at the question.

"Nope!"

..Of course, she felt more tired, since she had it out for so long, but there was no way she was going to say anything about that.

[oathshackledbird]

He smiles at her, glad that they aren't hurting her at least. If she will be stuck with them for a while, at least they aren't damaging her any.

Diarmuid reaches out and ruffles her hair. She's not the only one catching onto hidden emotion, "You look tired. Shall I carry you back to your room so you can rest?"

He's going to have to make sure he keeps an eye on her, though, to make sure that boy doesn't come after her again.

[sunflowerfairy]

Yotsuba laughed a little as Diarmuid ruffled her hair, but at the mention of a nap, she..pouted a little bit.

"I'm not sleepy! I can keep going."

..Remember how you would have to deal with your own sleepy children, Diarmuid?

[oathshackledbird]

Yep, that is pretty much the exact reaction he had been expecting. No child at that age is ever really tired. Not that they will admit to anyway.

A disappointed look crosses his face, "Ah, really? That's too bad. I was looking forward to singing a song to you or maybe even telling you a story while you settled in. You were so very brave after all, but if you aren't tired I guess I just will have to do it some other time."

[sunflowerfairy]

A shocked and suprised look came over Yotsuba, and she tried to respond while still keeping up the fact that she wasn't tired. Even though..that was a lie.

"Yotsuba would like to hear a story or a song..I could try to get some rest."

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid smiles at her gently. There is a slight twinkle of victory in his eyes before it fades, replaced by a more serious look, "I don't know. If you aren't tired I would hate to bore you. Are you sure you want to hear something?"

He pauses to gather her back up into his arms, "What do you say, little one? Song or story and sleep or going back out to explore? If you go and sleep, I can stay with you for a while to make sure the man doesn't come to hurt you again."

[sunflowerfairy]

Yotsuba let Diarmuid gather her back into his arms before replying. Really, every time he did this, she thought of her Daddy.

Normally, she would choose to explore some more, but the promise of a song or a story was tempting, and the offer of protection against the bad man helped sealed the deal.

"Yotsuba would like to hear a song and sleep! And I don't want to meet the bad man again!"

[oathshackledbird]

The twinkle returns to Diarmuid's eyes. It's nice to know he still knows how to handle children.

"All right, but first a ride, yes? A zippy trip back to your room once you tell me where it is?" He shifts her up into his arms so he can look into her eyes, "And if you think you are strong enough, you can ride on my shoulders on the way there. How is that for an adventure?"

If he goes a little slower than before and holds on to her, she will be in no danger and will probably love the trip even more.

Diarmuid..why are you so cute?

[sunflowerfairy]

And Yotsuba grinned at that, her eyes widening. That sounded like a lot of fun. So, looking Diarmuid in the eyes, she chirped.

"Yotsuba lives on the second floor! And that sounds like a great ad..adventure! I'm strong enough!"

LOL! The sad part is...I actually have a real explanation for that. X.x

[oathshackledbird]

"All right, then off on an adventure to the second floor we go!" Diarmuid lifts her up so that she can sit on his shoulders. "Hold on tight now! Don't worry. You won't hurt me."

He gets a strong, though gentle grip on her legs to make sure she won't fall, and once he is sure she is all secure, he takes off for the second floor, though he's not going nearly as fast as he did before.

Why, with the grin on his face, one might even think he's taking his time to make sure it lasts.

Oh? Mind telling me?

[sunflowerfairy]

As Diarmuid put her on his shoulders, Yotsuba gripped the back of his shirt so that she wouldn't fall off.

"Yotsuba is tall now!"

After she said that, the other arm would get used to punch the air upwards.

"Off we go!~ Onwards on an adventure!~"

As Diarmuid ran, Yotsuba looked around, taking in the sights and the sheer speed, not noticing that Diarmuid was going slower. This was still great to her.

Sure, I'll Plurk it to you. :-)

[oathshackledbird]

Her comment about being tall actually makes Diarmuid laugh. He's had so few moments in this place when he can say he has actually been happy, but this is definitely one of them. Doing this reminds him of all the times he'd spent giving such rides to his own children. It might be a very simple thing, but that thing had never failed to help him forget the stresses of the world for a while.

He's sad when they inevitably reach the floor with her room on it and drops to a walk so that he can search the nameplates by the doors for her name. Diarmuid could just ask her for the room number, but looking for it like this stretches out things even if just a little bit.

Ah, thank you! ^^

[sunflowerfairy]

Yotsuba noticed the reduced speed, but she was even enjoying that. After all, she was still so tall..and her leg was feeling a bit better.

As Diarmuid walked around and looked on the nameplates of the dorms, she would eventually pick out her name on a plate outside of room 2-07.

"That's my name!"

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid stops by the door looking at the list of names. For good or ill, none of the names are familiar to him. Still, he takes a moment to commit them to memory should he ever need to track them down, and then opens the door to the room, ducking slightly as he enters so that Yotsuba doesn't hit her head on the door frame.

Once inside, he looks around the room, "Which bed is yours, little one?"

[sunflowerfairy]

Yotsuba, not knowing that Diarmuid would duck as he walked, ducked down her head as well as they walked in the room and straightened herself out before she replied.

"The middle one on the left!"

[oathshackledbird]

"As you say, Lady Mine!" He bounces her lightly on his shoulders, ever mindful of her injury and then carries her over to her bed. Once there, he somewhat reluctantly sets her on the bed, crouching down so he can be on level with her. "Do you need to do anything to get ready, or shall we move right to the tucking in?"

[sunflowerfairy]

Yotsuba normally would have asked what 'Lady Mine' meant, but that was quickly forgotten when Diarmiud bounced her and made her laugh.

When Yotsuba sat on the bed, she looked up a first, thinking that Diarmuid would keep standing normally, but since she didn't know that he would crouch, she adjusted her eyes so that she did look at him. She was so used to everyone being taller than her.

"Oh..Yotsuba has some pa..pajamas in her trunk. Should I put them on?"

She was talking about the uniform all newcomers woke up with, but, sadly, she had no idea that they weren't pajamas. If Diarmuid looked into the trunk, he would find a sketchbook, a box of crayons..and a photo of her Daddy, along with the 'pajamas'.

[oathshackledbird]

Diarmuid nods and moves to the trunk. His happy expression fades a little when he sees the 'pajamas,' "Little one, do you really want to wear these? You don't have to. They aren't actually pajamas." He folds the suit, setting it on the end of the bed. If she is actually comfortable in it for sleeping, he will let her.

Not that it means he will like it.

As he moves to shut the trunk, he notices the picture and can't help but pick it up to look at it, "Is this your daddy?"