Between Us

Elsa perked up on that, she always was eager to make even more friends. "I would really like that ma'am." She looked at her mom. "Is that okay?" Of course it was but old habits and all.

Rebecca smiled and shook her head. "Of course it is. That's another reason I brought you here actually. It would be a chance to meet them as well."

Issa nodded. "Akasha, I will go and send them down, I have business to attend to. It may take me a moment to get Kahlua, however. Her mother can be stubborn...."

"All right, I'll wait." Rebecca turned to address Akasha. "In the mean time..how have you been? It's literally been years since I've been here." They hadn't mentioned anything about her mate Kang, who had been alive the last time she visited. Then again, they probably heard about his death. It was a sore subject for her and hardly because they missed him. Living with them had been hell.

Akasha smiled. "I've been well, Rebecca, thank you. My daughters... they are wonderful. Kokoa has a bit of a one-sided rivalry with Ashi, but it's more out of admiration. Unfortunately, they are all uncomfortable around their eldest sister, Kahlua... she's the eldest, yet acts the youngest. The way her mother tries to raise her..."

"Hm..I see." Rebecca was curious now, but she wasn't going to press too much depending on how Akasha reacted. "Why is that? Is it because of her personality or..because the mother?"

Akasha shook her head. "Kahlua is a very sweet, gentle girl. The idea of hurting someone is terrible to her... yet her mother seems intent on raising her into some sort of assassin. Kahlua can fight now, but not without bursting into tears..."

Rebecca looked apalled. She didn't consider herself a good mother before but she was trying to do better. However, even back then she would have stopped what she was doing and think about it if it was making Elsa cry like that. "That.." She choose her words carefully with Elsa present. "..Woman..is something else. I do not mean to question your judgment, but are you sure her raising her daughter is..wise? It almost sounds like abuse, mental and emotional. I can't claim I'll be winning rewards for my parenting but even so.."

Akasha sighed. "Kahlua still loves her mother... and Issa and myself are circumventing her as best we can. If it gets worse... then Issa will take Kahlua away from her and throw her out. I'm trying to give her a chance, though..."

"You are a far better person them me, Akasha. I wouldn't have the patience." Understatment. If she had been in her situation, she wasn't sure how long she could tolerate her presence. And treating her daughter like that was disgraceful.

"On lighter news, I have Elsa attend a public school now." Rebecca said, changing the subject for both their sakes. "Originally, before my little outlook change I had in private studies at home. I since revised that. That, and she enjoys Tomoya's company. They're cute together, those two."

Akasha seemed thoughtful. "You know, I've been working on Issa a bit, trying to get him to agree to allow the girls to go to a public school as well... he's considering it, but he's bound and determined that they will go to Youkai Academy when they are older. That's fine with me, really, but I'd like them to have experiences in the normal world as well..."

Rebecca suddenly grinned. "..If things work out, then you could possibly convince him to let them go to the same school as Elsa. If Ashi and the others want to, he'd be harder press to say. If one thing I've learned from fathers, they have a hard time saying no to their daughters. The good ones anyway."

Akasha chuckled. "True enough. Issa dotes on his daughters... and part of his reason for being more open to the idea is because he wants to protect them from that.... thing, in the basement..." It wasn't common knowledge, but the Isshan clan at least was aware of Alucard.

Rebecca frowned a bit. "..I completely understand. In a perfect world, be best to get rid of that thing but not worth the potential damage it would cause. Unless there's a perfect method to get rid of it, then better to let sleepind dogs lie. I am curious of one thing. You're aware of the 'other' Alucard, the son of Dracula? Do you think the 'Alucard' down stairs having the same name is just a concidence?"

Akasha thought about that. "I'm not sure... this Alucard is an ancient being as well, but of Shinso blood. He grew obsenely powerful by absorbing the bodies and powers of various beings, turning him into the monster we know... it's possible he named himself Alucard, or that the name was indeed a coincidence... I can't say for sure."

"True enough. It's a good thing Dracula unlike the creature in the basement is finally dead." And the 'finally' part wasn't even because it was the first time Dracula had died. It had to do with him coming back to life more then once and usually killed by a Belmont. Supposedly, this was the final nail in the coffin. She remained cynical if that was truly the end but there was nothing she could do about it anyway. "Hm..you know, I would like to introduce you to Atsuko. I think you two would get along. I have respect for the woman. Technically it was Elsa who helped me, but she did her own part too."

While the adults talked, Elsa sort of zoned out as she waited. She was playing with a small hand held game called DXL that was made by Hiiragi Inventions. What game she was playing was hard to see; but it distracted her enough not to comment.

Before long, three young girls made their way into the room, two of which were practically clinging to the one with silver hair. Akasha turned, smiling. "Ashi, Moka, Kokoa... come over here, and introduce yourselves."

"I am Ashi Shuzen. It's nice to meet you."

"Um... I'm Moka Shuzen... nice to meet you."

"Kokoa Shuzen... hi."

Elsa was a bit nervous, but pushed it aside as she came running over after putting her game system away. "My name is Elsa Isshan and that's my mom Rebecca. I hope we can be friends?" They seemed nice to her, so Elsa certainly hoped so.

Moka moved closer, and shyly held out her hand. "Friends then?" Ashi simply nodded, and Kokoa did the same after checking to see what Ashi was doing, hiding behind her older sister a bit.

Elsa blinked, then smiled brightly as she took her hand. "Friends then!" She came closer, happy to be greeted warmly like this. "What do you do for fun around here?" This place was so big; they probably had a million things around here.

Ashi paused. "Play games, I guess. I like Tag." Moka pouted.

"That's cause you're faster than us..." At that moment, another young girl, a bit older than the others, walked into the room. She was darker skinned, and with blonde hair, and quite cute. SHe also looked nervous. Moka noticed her and was unsure what to do, while Kokoa moved behind Ashi. Ashi just looked at her warily. Akasha, on the other hand, walked over.

"Elsa, this is Kahlua Shuzen. She's a very sweet girl, but she's sensative. Ashi, Moka, Kokoa... be nice to your elder sister."

Rebecca smiled at the girl, hoping to get her to relax. "My name is Rebecca Isshan, its nice to meet you Kahlua."

When everyone seemed nervous or afraid of her, Elsa saw a bit of herself in her. It reminded her when she didn't really have any friends her age. She hadn't liked that feeling and didn't want someone else to go through the same thing. So, mind made up she made her way over. "Hi. My name is Elsa Isshan. Do you want to be friends?"

The girl seemed surprised, then smiled brightly, even hugging Elsa suddenly. "I have a new friend!" This display seemed to relax Moka, and Kokoa got curious. Ashi simple gave a small smile.

"Mm, let's go play."

Elsa returned the hug giggling happily as she let go. "Okay! What do you guys want to play? I can do anything."

Off to the side, Rebecca watched smiling a bit. Seeing her daughter happy like this made her feel good. She couldn't believe how she had done things before; there was no way she was going to go back to how things were. Not after this.

Ashi looked to her sisters. "...How about Hide and Seek?" The others seemed interested, and took off. Ashi took Elsa's hand, and pulled her along to follow. Akasha just sighed contently.

"Such wonderful girls..."

Rebecca watched her daughter be hauled off, smiling warmly. "Yes. Yes they are. I only regret it took me a bit longer to 'wake up' so in a sense I feel like I'm trying to make up for lost time. But I have plenty of years ahead at least to make better memories with her."