[Jaykobell]

Takumi impatiently waited for Tsuneo to give him an answer, but if only to drag on this conversation even further, the Archivist wasn't replying. Instead, Tsuneo seemed to be thinking about Takumi's question, especially considering this was one of the most important decisions to make. "What about trying to adapt here?" the Archivist asked, and Takumi felt a heavy weight get lifted off his shoulders. "I could ask Patriarch Katsumi to give you a temporary two-bed guest room, where you could stay together with Aya," he explained, using the child's name to get Takumi to slowly remember it. "And we could help you while you're here, until you're ready to be alone with her." It sounded like the best course of action, and he was positive the Patriarch would grant him that request. It was for a good cause, after all.

Takumi sighed, but unlike previously, he did so with relief this time around. "Yeah," he answered, his voice echoing relief, "I'd prefer that too." Not only would Tsuneo be able to help him figure out what to do with all this, but if the kid got on his nerves, he could just leave the room and wander off without putting her in danger. Well, he technically wasn't allowed to roam the shrine on his own, but he wasn't planning on traveling from one side of the place to the other.

"I'll ask the Patriarch right away, then," Tsuneo replied, and he smiled happily at the Chemist. "I'm so glad you're willing to take care of her," he added, and his voice praised Takumi with genuine happiness. To be honest, he'd expected the Chemist to argue and to flat-out refuse to take care of Aya, but much to his surprise, Takumi was seemingly willing to try.

"Bah," the Chemist replied, looking back to the grass ahead. "No, I honestly don't want to take care of the kid," Takumi shamelessly admitted, whether or not Tsuneo wanted to hear it, "but it's not like you'd let me say no, anyway." His conscience also harassed him about the fact this was the right thing to do, and as much as he liked to ignore it, it was too loud to argue with it.

"But you're willing to try," Tsuneo argued, ever so optimistic, almost unbelievably so, "and that's what really counts." His smile hadn't left, even though Takumi had admitted to wanting nothing to do with the child. He was still willing to try, and that was proof enough for Tsuneo that Takumi wasn't as malicious as all that.

[Jaykobell]

Takumi sighed, exasperated, at Tsuneo's sickening optimism, but the Chemist had to be grateful for it. Were Tsuneo not so patient and positive, Takumi was certain the Archivist would've given up on him years and years ago. If not then, he would've given up on him now, what with the whole illegitimate hybrid child situation that was going on. And yet, despite all that, Tsuneo always remained by his side. There was something fascinating about this man, this one ninja that just refused to give up hope; this one ninja that just refused to turn his back to anyone, even if they were an enemy. Something had clicked that fateful day, that one day when Tsuneo asked Takumi to be friends. Ever since then, the Archivist had never stopped surprising and even baffling him.

"Well, now that this is all settled," Tsuneo said just as he got up, a little bit of excitement in his voice, "let me go ask the Patriarch for that room right now. I'll escort you back to your room at the same time." Once the room was confirmed, then it was only a matter of time before Takumi could actually go and meet his daughter. Tsuneo would need to confirm with Takahiro that Aya was in a good state of mind to meet her father, but otherwise, things were starting to look up for the child.

Takumi got up quietly, slowly following the optimistic and bright Archivist ahead of him. It was a good thing he'd been following Tsuneo from afar, because only a few seconds later, the Archivist was turning around abruptly to face the Chemist. "Oh!" he exclaimed, slamming a fight in his hand suddenly, which left Takumi confused. "I just remembered, what about your parents?" Takumi's blood chilled at the mention, but nonetheless, he let Tsuneo continue. "Would you like to try to talk to them? Or just to see their graves, at least?" He wouldn't force Takumi to do either of those things, but he was reminded that they'd been talking about his parents just before switching over to Aya.

Takumi frowned at Tsuneo's words, and no reply came from him. He felt aggravated when he noticed Tsuneo tilt his head to the side, feeling pressured to answer. "I don't... know," Takumi blurted out awkwardly, turning his head to look away. "I don't know."

"Well, who were they? Their names, I mean," Tsuneo asked, asking for a reference so he could actually find the graves they needed. "We could go for a quick trip right now. Just a quick thing." It was up to Takumi whether he wanted to go or not, but Tsuneo was more than willing to help his friend get some kind of peace of mind or closure over what had happened.

[Jaykobell]

Takumi gritted his teeth when Tsuneo asked for their names, and his frown only got worse. "I... I don't know," he admitted, but when Tsuneo seemed on the verge of repeating himself, Takumi quickly added, "Their names. I don't... I don't know their names." Considering his father had died before his birth and that his mother had died in childbirth, he had no idea who they were and what they were called. Gorou was the only name he remembered from his family, and even that was a name he was trying to forget.

"Oh. That's not a problem: I can find that for you," Tsuneo assured the Chemist, but that only seemed to aggravate the frown. "You could finally meet them. It could give you some kind of closure," the Archivist continued, and as Takumi started to relax just ever so slightly, he added, "It's a simple matter to find out who they were and where they're buried. So what do you think?" While he looked eager, the same couldn't be said of his friend. "It's entirely up to you. If you don't feel up to it—"

"You're saying that," Takumi interrupted abruptly, raising a hand to motion to Tsuneo to stop talking, "but it's not like you'd let me say no." He stared at the Archivist for a few moments before letting his hand drop back to his pocket and sighing. "Fine, fine. I'll go see them," he added, but then Tsuneo seemed unconvinced.

"Are you sure? I don't mind if you don't want to go," Tsuneo assured Takumi, shaking his head to confirm that he wouldn't be upset if the Chemist wasn't interested. He knew that this wasn't a common mentality among outsiders, and so if Takumi felt uncomfortable over visiting his parents' graves, Tsuneo wouldn't force him. "Please don't feel like I'm—"

"Neo, let's just go," Takumi interrupted again, and this time, he took the initiative by walking past the Archivist and towards the entrance to the shrine. "I don't know what that could possibly do, but I'll do it, if only because you brought it up again." If anything, it would prove Takumi right. He highly doubted that visiting their graves would do anything; how could he talk to ninjas he'd never met? How could he possibly feel anything towards strangers? What kind of closure could it possibly bring him?

He let the questions flutter around his mind, on and off, as Tsuneo caught up to him and guided the two of them back inside the shrine. They would need to make a quick stop in Tsuneo's infirmary room in order to pick up Narumi's lineage book, and then they could be off to the graveyard.

[Jaykobell]

Although Takumi had seen a few parts of the Archivist shrine, his movements were limited to specific areas. Although he knew Tsuneo often took time to go to the graveyard, Takumi himself had never gone. As Tsuneo escorted him down flights upon flights of stairs, down into the deepest levels of the shrine, never in Takumi's wildest dreams had he expected to witness such a place.

The graveyard was located in the coldest and deepest part of the shrine, a dozen of feet underground. The room was incredibly large, spawning over miles, covered in identical slabs of stones through it all. Large scrolls hung from the walls, similar to the ones that adorned the wall of the return terminal a few feet above them. The most surprising thing about it all was the fact this wasn't the only graveyard. According to Tsuneo, there were a few others in addition to this one. What made this room stand out from the rest was the unusually natural look of it.

Unlike all the other rooms of the shrine, the graveyards actually had dirt and grass spread and planted all across the room. It was a shock to see it, especially considering they were dozens of feet underground. Once again, Tsuneo had explained that the scrolls on the wall were the ones preserving the both the bodies and the plant life. When asked why not simply bury the bodies up above outside the shrine, the Archivist replied that the family was worried over ninjas defiling the tombs. Not only that, but with how many bodies they had to bury, the graveyards would take up several miles of space, increasing the chance of hindering the other families.

Considering how massive the room was, Takumi could see a few other Archivists walking around the graveyard. The majority wore black, by far, but a few wore white, both in pink and blue and in cooper and gold. They were far enough, however, to not interrupt or bother Takumi and Tsuneo; admittedly it wasn't their goal to disrupt the others, either.

After the initial sight of the graveyard, Tsuneo led Takumi down a few rows, and immediately the atmosphere started to change. There was something to this room; something Takumi couldn't quite explain with words. It was an intriguing feeling, but one that was difficult to explain. He kept his head down the whole time, quickly scanning over the various little tombstones. They listed the name of the deceased ninjas, along with their date of birth and their date of death. It was then that Takumi noticed how many of them had died in their thirties; their forties; even a few handfuls of them having died in their twenties. It was truly unsettling to think that, according to these ninjas, Takumi himself was getting old.

[Jaykobell]

He was distracted the whole time Tsuneo was leading him to his parents' grave. Questions swirled in his mind, tangled in a nervous mess. How many ninjas were buried here, exactly? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? The graveyard looked so massive that even the latter was possible. Not only that, the average age of death was frightening. Most ninjas died in their thirties, and then the rest in their twenties; seeing one live past his fifties were hard to find, and Takumi could count the ones he'd seen on one hand.

But then again, was it really so surprising? Only then did it dawn on Takumi that most of his own victims were often young ninjas; rarely did he go after established and older targets. Not only that, but sometimes the reasons behind the requests he got were ridiculous: petty fights that had festered up to that point of no return.

It was only after seeing so many graves, all aligned with one another, that it all dawned on Takumi. How many of these were his victims? How many of these had he killed? There was no doubt that he'd contributed a very large number. He'd always known that he'd killed a lot of ninjas over the years, but seeing that number in a physical form boggled his mind. Just how many ninjas died, every day, for stupid reasons? How many had died like his father, killed by a rival family? Killed by an assassin that had been hired by another ninja? How many had been pointlessly killed.

Seeing that graveyard got Takumi thinking, and suddenly, it all made sense. Tsuneo had always insisted that the mentality the other families had was wrong; that many deaths were for naught, and far too untimely. Over a decade ago, the Archivist had mentioned wanting to work with the ninjas above in order to change their mentality. To finally cherish their life as something important, and not simply throw it away, as well as to respect the lives of others. Takumi had always considered it a foolish, even pointless, dream: but seeing so many graves, so many names, so many dates, the Chemist was starting to reconsider his opinion. He'd always known that many ninjas lost their lives every day: but now that the numbers had been put in perspective, he found himself agreeing with Tsuneo.

How many dead ninjas did Tsuneo see every day? How many did he go pick up to bring back here for burial? How many did he save from their untimely death? How many had he seen since starting his duties for the Archivists? How many hours a day, a week, a month, did he spend here, praying for the departed? How could he handle this atmosphere; this place filled with so many different feelings? Parts felt angry; others felt sad; others felt strangely regretful; others were just hollow, making you feel empty inside.

[Jaykobell]

It was a mind-boggling revelation. Takumi found himself entirely and utterly distracted as he barely managed to follow Tsuneo across rows and rows of graves. When they did eventually stop, Takumi nearly walked past their destination, lost in thought. Tsuneo guided him along a specific row, and the Chemist followed quietly. Their trip had been done in silence, and in this strange, unreal place, it felt as though time itself had stopped.

Tsuneo soon stopped in front of a particular grave, and he invited Takumi over to it. Tsuneo stepped back to give Takumi the space he needed, and upon kneeling down, he looked over the grave in front of him. The names said nothing to him: not even the slightest of memories. His eyes immediately shifted to the dates; according to the stone, his father had been in his mid-twenties, and his mother had been in her early twenties when death claimed them both, the two dying the same year. Of course, the said year was his year of birth, and seeing it brought up a whole slew of different emotions.

He stared at the slab in front of him in silence as his emotions manifested. He felt pain, anger, indignation, sorrow, sadness, longing; and so many more that he couldn't describe. They culminated into a ball in his throat, and quite honestly, Takumi had no idea what to do or what to say. The names said nothing to him, and yet both his heart and soul were trapped in anguish: why? Was it the thought of meeting his parents, even if only in this form? Was it the thought that their physical bodies were right below him? Was it the thought he would never actually meet them? He couldn't tell what was making him feel this way, and being unable to find an answer only made him more agitated.

Tsuneo had mentioned praying to them, but Takumi wasn't even sure how to go about that. Was he supposed to voice it out? Was he supposed to simply think to himself? Was there some kind of protocol to this? But had there been anything, Tsuneo would've informed him. Considering the eerie, time-freezing silence of the place, Takumi figured the prayers were probably done quietly and spoken only to oneself internally.

He could do that, but now, what was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to ask for forgiveness: for them to apologize for leaving him? Was he supposed to unload his emotions to them, to tell them how miserable his life had been without them around to protect him when he was little? Was he supposed to justify his life and his actions? What was he supposed to say?

The more he asked himself questions with no answers, the tighter his heart got. The situation was too overwhelming for his mind to take.

[Jaykobell]

The silence was crushing for his conscience. As the questions and the anxiety mingled together endlessly in a chaotic choir, Takumi started to choke on the emotions that were struggling to stay down in his throat. He sighed a shaky breath, and his hands balled up into fists over his lap.

He tried to take a deep, shaky breath to calm himself down. He lowered his head, but his eyes never left the small stone in front of him. The names meant nothing, and yet they meant everything. His mind was stuck on the thought of death and life, of his parents and lineage; as much as he tried to think of other things, the atmosphere was so heavy and overwhelming that his mind was crushed under the weight. He was literally unable to think of anything else, and his mind soon started to panic with yet another million and one thoughts.

He took a few more breaths; and eventually, he tried to tell himself to just go with it. To talk, to think; to simply talk to himself, in his head. To say how he felt, to be honest about everything. To will these things to echo all the way to his parents, wherever they were. If Tsuneo was right, then they were still alive on a different plane of existence, silently watching over him. Had they seen him grow up? Had they seen him live that miserable life? Had they seen him grow to leave the family, grow to kill others for a living? What did they think of that? Were they proud? Disappointed? Angry? Did they hate him for it?

The questions continued to come, and the words continued to echo in his head as he mused to himself internally. There came a point when the ball in his throat made him breathe loudly, and that was the point when he was unable to hold it in any longer. He gritted his teeth as tears started to stream down his cheeks, but his pain was only silent. He sniffled back some of it, but even though he was still trying to hold it in, the bottle cap had come off. They were coming out quietly, the feelings streaming down his face as he took deep, shaky breaths, trying to hold them back. He felt embarrassed and weak, especially with Tsuneo watching. Kind as he was, the Archivist wasn't saying or doing anything; he was letting Takumi have his moment, and he did nothing to interrupt his immersion and his prayer.

In this overwhelming, crushing silence, where time itself seemingly did not exist, Takumi silently prayed to his parents' grave up until his heart couldn't take the weight anymore. He stayed kneeled in front of the slab, his emotions coming out seemingly endlessly, dripping on the grass and on the stone itself. They had done so until that festering bottle had nothing left to unload, leaving only a feeling of emptiness in Takumi's heart.

[Jaykobell]

There was no telling how long the two had stayed by the grave, but it was only by Takumi's words that Tsuneo escorted the Chemist out of the graveyard. He'd already noticed a change in Takumi's behavior, and part of him wondered whether that was a bad or a good thing. The Chemist had clearly let out a lot of emotions, and his tired, heartbroken complexion admittedly worried Tsuneo. While they were in the graveyard, however, he didn't want to talk. This wasn't a place for conversation, and Takumi looked emotionally and psychologically exhausted. It seemed wiser to escort the Chemist back to his room before asking him about anything.

The trip was a silent one, as such, and it felt like the route back had taken more time than going to the graveyard. Tsuneo was relieved when the two reached Takumi's room; walking from the graveyard in silence had pained the Archivist, since it felt like his friend wasn't feeling well. As they reached Takumi's room, Tsuneo turned to face the Chemist, who looked positively drained. "Takumi," he spoke quietly, and he was concerned when the Chemist didn't look up at him, "are you okay? How do you feel?" Apart from anger, it was rare to see Takumi express any other kind of emotion. Seeing him shed tears on his parents' grave had really surprised Tsuneo, but the Archivist hoped that it had helped.

Takumi didn't bother to look up when Tsuneo spoke to him, but his answer proved that he had, in fact, heard the other. "I'm fine," he answered almost immediately, but his voice betrayed just how tired and exhausted he truly was. "I feel... empty," he added afterwards, and the answered seemed to worry Tsuneo. "But fine," he repeated, but that wasn't enough to convince the Archivist. Admittedly, the whole experience had been surreal; so much so that not everything had sunk in yet. Still, regardless of anything, Takumi felt surprisingly light. It was a strange feeling in and of itself, but he had to admit that it wasn't unpleasant.

With Takumi so exhausted, Tsuneo felt like this wasn't a good time to talk. It was getting late to begin with, and he wanted to speak to the Patriarch as soon as possible with respect to that new guest room for Takumi and Aya. "If you say so," Tsuneo replied simply, and as he did so, he slowly opened the door to Takumi's room. "I'll let you sleep on it. Let's talk tomorrow, all right?"

Takumi finally looked up then, but he said nothing. He simply nodded as he slowly walked to enter his room; at that point, Tsuneo gave a short bow to wish him good night. "Sleep well, Takumi." With that, Tsuneo turned to head off, leaving his friend to recover from the experience.

"Neo," Takumi called out shortly after, a little ways into his room, with his back turned to the Archivist. Tsuneo turned to look in his direction, but no further words came. It was only after a few seconds that Takumi quietly added, "Thanks," before closing the door behind him.

[Jaykobell]

The next day came quickly. As he woke up in the morning, Tsuneo's first order of business was to go check on Takumi. After eating breakfast and getting dressed, Tsuneo made it a priority to head for Takumi's room. There were some matters they had to settle, and tackling everything early in the morning was the best way to go about things.

He'd asked the Patriarch about giving Takumi and Aya a room, and he'd explained the whole situation to his superior. Unsurprisingly, Katsumi had agreed to his request. The Matriarch had been far less thrilled, but apart from glaring at the Pathfinder, she didn't say or do anything against the Patriarch's decision. This meant that Takumi could soon meet Aya, but before that, Tsuneo wanted to make sure the Chemist was genuinely feeling okay. His reply from the night before had hardly been convincing, and the Archivist couldn't help but to worry.

He was once again grateful for the short trip to Takumi's room, and after giving a few loud knocks, the Archivist invited himself in. "Takumi," he spoke as he opened the door, "it's Tsuneo."

He'd expected Takumi to be awake, but when he walked in, there was no response. Instead, he noticed Takumi still sleeping soundly under his covers, seemingly not having heard the Archivist calling out to him. He noticed the Chemist shuffling a bit, but it was hard to tell if he was awake.

When Tsuneo bothered to walk further into the room, he noticed the mess on the table and even on the floor. Takumi's vials were out, with some of them turned over and empty, and others filled with peculiar liquids that looked like nothing at all: not like antidote or any kind of poison. He'd seen concoctions from Takumi before, but those mixtures looked vastly different. Some herbs and things were scattered on the floor, and Tsuneo could only wonder what had happened in the room. Had the Chemist literally just fallen asleep?

There was no way to tell, and so Tsuneo figured asking wouldn't hurt. The Chemist was usually up at this hour, so if anything, the other probably expected it. He approached Takumi's bed quietly and carefully put a hand over the Chemist's shoulder so he could shake him just a little bit; just enough to stir him awake. "Takumi?" Tsuneo called out, looking this way and that over his friend to figure out if Takumi was reacting at all. "It's morning," he added, giving a bit more of a shake. Takumi did react to his touch, groaning sleepily and shifting positions.

[Jaykobell]

Given a few more minutes, Takumi turned around towards Tsuneo, and the Chemist looked nothing short of exhausted. The bags under his eyes were striking, and not only that, but his eyes looked slightly red and swollen. He looked exhausted, and Tsuneo felt bad as he watched Takumi slowly and awkwardly force himself to sit up.

Tsuneo felt bad for waking him up, but the Chemist didn't look upset or aggravated over having been woken up. "Are you okay, Takumi?" Tsuneo asked after Takumi had been given some time to sit up, yawn, and rub his eyes. The Chemist looked worse than the night before.

Takumi scratched the back of his head slowly, and while his eyes and face looked fairly emotionless, it seemed to be because of exhaustion only. "Tired, but fine," the Chemist answered quietly with a raspy voice, clearing his throat a bit afterwards. "I thought about a lot of things," he admitted, but he said nothing beyond that.

Tsuneo hardly believed that Takumi was fine, but what the Chemist had said afterwards picked his interested. "What were you thinking about?" he asked, but whether from tiredness or from being reserved, Takumi didn't seem interested in talking about it. Part of Tsuneo wondered if bringing Takumi to the graveyard had done more harm than good, in the end.

Takumi seemingly ignored Tsuneo's question, instead moving on with a question of his own. "What do you want?" he asked, but the words were spoken only with curiosity, and not with impatience or irritation. Tsuneo had woken him up, but he was honestly very exhausted still, having been up for the majority of the night thinking and working on things. If Tsuneo really wanted to talk to him, then he could do so; otherwise, Takumi would like the chance to go back to bed.

"I'm sorry," Tsuneo apologized, shaking his head. "I didn't expect you to be so tired. I just wanted to tell you Patriarch Katsumi approved giving you a different room so you can learn how to take care of Aya," the Archivist explained, to which there came no reply from Takumi. The Chemist was staring at him quietly, seemingly urging him on. "The room is ready whenever you are, so I wanted to know if you're ready to meet your daughter," he continued, and admittedly, the last few words sounded a little out of place. Never before had he expected to speak to Takumi about his "daughter".

[Jaykobell]

Takumi continued to stare at Tsuneo as the Archivist spoke, and his lack of reply was making Tsuneo nervous. Takumi's behavior the night before had been strange, and the cause of his exhaustion was strange, as well. Had he been up all night thinking about taking care of his daughter? Had he changed his mind about the whole thing?

Fortunately, Takumi did eventually answer, if only in the form of a sigh and the shaking of his head. "Whenever," he replied simply before letting his body fall back on the bed. "Can it just... wait until later?" he rasped, putting an arm over his face, closing his eyes under it. "I fell asleep maybe two or three hours ago."

Hearing an actual time frame left Tsuneo blinking, surprised to hear it. "What were you doing all night?" he asked, and although Takumi had mentioned staying up to think about things, that answer hadn't explained much. Tsuneo also didn't remember the vials on the desk, which led him to believe Takumi had been up working during the night on some kind of tonic. "What were you working on?" he added, wondering if rewording his question would earn him any kind of concrete answer.

Takumi kept his arm over his face, but he did raise it up a little so he could squint in Tsuneo's direction. "Bah," he spat horsely, pulling the arm back down over his face, as if in defeat, "they're just failed experiments. They were a waste of my time." He'd stayed up all night to try some mixtures, only for them to be completely useless. Either the ingredients just didn't give him what he'd been looking for, or they simply couldn't be merged together. The whole night had been a huge disappointment, together with the fact his conscience had kept him up for hours.

"What were you thinking about, then? Why were you doing these?" Tsuneo kept on asking, looking over the wasted vials with curiosity. Takumi was a mixing genius, so clearly this meant he'd been working on something that was new to him. What had brought on such a sudden outburst of work?

While he didn't particularly mind talking to Tsuneo, Takumi could only breathe in and let out a deep breath as the Archivist insisted on talking to him. "Neo, can we talk later?" he asked, turning around to curl up under the covers and to let his back face the door. "I need to sleep."

[Jaykobell]

With Takumi insisting that he needed more time and more sleep, Tsuneo didn't impose more questions on the Chemist. He let his friend return to sleep, especially considering he'd gotten an answer to the most important question. Since Takumi had confirmed that he was fine with meeting Aya "whenever", that was enough to get Tsuneo started on setting up their meeting.

He hadn't seen Aya since he'd brought her back to the shrine two weeks prior, and a quick, thorough briefing with Takahiro over her current state of mind and her recovery was in order. Before Takumi could meet his daughter, Tsuneo had to make sure the child herself was ready for it as well. Not only that, but he needed to know how to take care of her if something went wrong. For obvious reasons, Aya was wary of ninjas from the Chemist family, and her father just so happened to be one of them.

His morning was spent doing just that. Setting up a meeting with Takahiro, the two male ninjas had decided to check on Aya together. That had allowed Tsuneo to see the girl again, who seemed to be doing relatively well. According to Takahiro, her recovery was slow, but steady and smooth: nothing had gone wrong thus far. Tsuneo was given a thorough summary of what had happened over the last two weeks, and he'd been given a chance to observe Aya's behavior.

The girl looked relatively happy, if still shy and a little insecure. Still, she could demonstrate her illusion abilities slightly, and she was willing to talk, even if she had a hard time with direct eye contact. Overall, the meeting went smoothly, and everything was settled to allow Takumi to come and visit later in the day. The time gap was necessary to allow Aya to get mentally prepared to meet her father, and also to allow Takumi to sleep. If the child was too nervous to meet her father, or if the father was too exhausted to meet his daughter, neither of them would get anywhere.

After their briefing, Tsuneo had decided to do some of his duties to pass the time. It was only later on in the afternoon that he checked on Takumi again, and he was pleased to see the Chemist up and about. He gave him word on the meeting, and while he looked reluctant, Takumi did eventually give his approval to meet the child that same night. They'd settled to go after dinner, after which the entire night would be theirs to do as they pleased.

[Jaykobell]

Shortly after dinner was served and done, Tsuneo picked up Takumi from his room. Although he met hesitation again, the Chemist did willingly follow the Archivist down the many halls and doors of the shrine to their destination. The trip was a silent one, and for Takumi, it was also particularly nerve-wracking. He had very low expectations, considering the child was a girl, but regardless of anything, he had no idea what to expect at all. Living on his own for so long meant that he'd had very little contact with children. He wasn't sure what to expect, nor what to do or what to say.

When they finally reached the room, Tsuneo stopped and turned to Takumi before opening the door. "Are you ready, then?"

Takumi frowned and groaned, if only because Tsuneo was making this whole thing harder by delaying it. "Open the door before I change my mind, already," he asked, and much to his relief, Tsuneo was satisfied enough with that answer to move on and open the door. Takumi noticed his heartbeat racing as the door opened, a simple action that had seemingly lasted an eternity to him.

When the two stepped into the room, Takumi's attention was determined to find the child right away. There had been enough mention of her that he needed to put a face to her. The room was so bare that nothing could distract him from the two bodies that were already in the room. One of them was the child: a little girl with short blond hair, green eyes, and an outfit that carried familiar colors. The other was an older male Archivist who was missing an arm: a ninja he'd never met before. Although a quick glance hadn't been enough to truly observe the child, he was strangely focused on the other Archivist. Meeting a ninja who was missing an arm was a common occurrence.

While Takumi's reaction to meeting Takahiro was curiosity, the Scriptwriter's expression wasn't as welcoming, frowning at the Chemist. He was holding a peculiar scroll with his hand, one that seemingly listed different ninja techniques. As for Aya, unlike Takumi, seemingly couldn't take her eyes off her father. She looked unsure, and seeing, with her own eyes, that he was a Chemist made her all the more nevous.

"So you brought him," Takahiro stated flatly, addressing Tsuneo specifically as he turned his attention away from Takumi. Although this matter had been discussed, the Scriptwriter was wary of letting the child in Takumi's hands. Tsuneo, however, had managed to convince him to give the Chemist the benefit of the doubt.

[Jaykobell]

"Yes," Tsuneo replied simply, holding his ground despite the fact Takahiro disagreed with this course of action. Takumi's infamy ran deep, and many ninjas, both from the Archivist family and from the other clans, knew of his name and of his actions. Despite that, no one had come to know the Chemist as well as Tsuneo had. People were free to doubt his words, but the Pathfinder knew that he was right in giving his friend a chance.

The two Archivists stared each other down for a few seconds, Takahiro more adamantly so; until eventually, the Scriptwriter sighed and rolled up the scroll that had been sitting on his lap. After that, he got up from the bed as he got ready to leave. "I will leave you to it, then," he stated simply as he continued to avoid Takumi's gaze, despite the Chemist curiously staring at him. Most likely the arm: it had brought on many stares over the years, so much so that Takahiro no longer felt the need to address them or to feel bothered by them.

"Thank you," Tsuneo replied as he gave a nod and a brief, small bow to the older Archivist. "I'll stay here and make sure that nothing happens," he assured the Scriptwriter, but only to give the older ninja peace of mind. Tsuneo himself was determined that nothing would go wrong, especially if he stayed close to help the two communicate.

"I'm sure," Takahiro replied bluntly as he started making his way towards the door. "Tsuneo, once this is done and the two have been moved to their room, please go meet with the Monarchs," the Scriptwriter instructed, standing between the hallway and the room. "There is a certain matter they wish to discuss with you." With the message relayed, he ignored Tsuneo's surprised look as he took his leave from the room, closing the door behind him.

After the Scriptwriter's cold exit, Takumi turned to Tsuneo. "What's this guy's problem?" He had to give Takahiro credit for not being as bland and as emotionless as all the other Archivists in the family, but that didn't make his exit any less rude.

"It can be hard to get along with Takahiro," Tsuneo replied slowly, trying to angle his focus back on the task at hand, "but he's an incredible Scriptwriter." His words were bothering Tsuneo, but there would be time for that later. "Regardless, this isn't why we're here."

[Jaykobell]

While Tsuneo's optimism was almost overwhelming, Takumi's wariness was just as tangible. It didn't help that Aya was still staring at him intently, her small eyes burning right through his soul. When the staring got a certain point, he looked down to stare back at her, himself. When he did so, that got the child to stop staring as she quickly looked away.

Seeing the two off to a rough start, Tsuneo tried to guide them. "Why don't you sit down next to her, then?" he suggested, pushing Takumi towards the girl's bed. "There's enough space for the two of you." He felt Takumi struggle against his push, even giving the Archivist a look. With enough force, though, the Chemist did eventually agree to sit down next to his daughter.

Takumi let himself flop down on the bed, and with him now being so close, Aya got even more nervous. The child visibly shuffled away from her father a little, her arms stuck to her sides and her eyes unable to look at Takumi again. Takumi himself wasn't looking at her, either, instead staring ahead of him at nothing while his hands subconsciously intertwined, the thumbs twiddling idly. The tension could literally be cut with a knife, sharp and clear as it was. The silence made it worse, as Tsuneo simply sat on the floor in front of them.

After a few minutes of awkward, nervous silence, Takumi was the one to break the ice, but not with his daughter. "Now what?" he asked Tsuneo, angling his head down to stare at the Archivist instead of looking at the wall.

"Isn't there anything you'd like to talk about?" he asked, looking back at Takumi and then turning his attention towards Aya. The child met his eyes for a split second before looking away again.

"Like what?" Takumi asked, trying to urge Tsuneo into giving him a few leads. He was nervous enough as it was, and Tsuneo's questions were only making him more aggravated. "We don't even know each other." The point of the meeting was to get to know the other better, but without any leads, they were seemingly at an impasse. Meeting the child wasn't like meeting an adult, and he typically wasn't the one who started conversations. People came to him, and not the other way around.