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for every minute of the rest
of my life, i will fight

──● rapunzel
TANGLED

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Kasumi was pacing. For no particular reason, honestly, other than the fact that Rhys and Sailor Armstrong would be arriving soon for their makeshift Thanksgiving. They always held it the day before, for a couple reasons. One, so that Raine, who was insistant upon cooking for them, would get the actual date off to spend with her family. Two, so that Elijah could go see his grandparents. His flight was tonight, as it was usually, so that he'd get there in time to spend the entire day with them.

The entire family knew it was important to him, and so it was important to them too. Besides, it was easier on everyone this way to have an early Thanksgiving. Not to mention, it felt special this way, like they had their own mini holiday instead, and there was the fact that if they ran out of food, someone could just go out and get some. Not that that had ever happened.

Regardless, Kasumi's father had given her permission to invite Rhys and Sailor over for the dinner. Delaney had invited Rune as well. At this rate, their house was going to be full by the next year. A small smile worked its way up her face, gait slowly to a stop as she thought about getting to know Rhys for years to come. She hoped they wouldn't fall apart - although, she highly doubted it.

An arm slid through her own. As it most often was, Yume's voice greeted her ears. "Kas- come on, we have to talk about what fairy-tale you might be!" Without much option for protest, her older sister pulled her towards the now empty ballroom, where her other siblings had gathered, sprawled out along the floor - on a number of blankets and things to keep them comfortable. For a moment, it reminded Kasumi of the sleepovers they used to have in the ballroom, where they'd make monstrous forts, and all sleep downstairs within arm's reach of each other.

Maybe they could do that again sometime. Maybe over Christmas Break, before Elijah left again to spend it with his Grandparents. Although, this year, she'd overheard him talking to them, wavering on whether to go or not. After all, it'd be the first Christmas for their Father without either of his parents, and no doubt it had been hard on him.

Even now, he felt more distant than usual, more seperated from them. Working long hours, and skipping meals. Kasumi was worried. Not quite worried enough to say something, but it was slowly getting to that point.

She sat next to Jasiri, who smiled warmly at her, snuggling up to her side, taking her arm in place of Yume's as her oldest sister skipped over to her twin, sidling up to him instead. He gave her a half-hearted look, quizzical if nothing else, then shook his head. "Okay. Theories?"

Merlene was on her back, looking up at the ceiling, "Have we considered The Little Mermaid? Kasumi doesn't talk right - and there's that thing with her voice."

Elliot seemed unpersuaded, "Yeah, but is that the only similairity? What else in her story might match up with it?"

Her youngest sister spoke up then, sitting up on her knees and peering over her brother's shoulder, Kasumi's book carefully clutched in her arms. "There's that thing with Blair, and how she might be trying to steal Rhys from Kas-"

"But Kasumi and Rhys aren't dating." Jasiri protested, adding a huffy, "even though they should be," Before continuing. "So would that even apply?" Kasumi felt her cheeks flare with heat at her sister's statement, desperately trying not to think how her heart might react if Rhys Armstrong so much as asked her out on a date. She'd probably explode. Right there. On the spot, and then Rhys wouldn't get an answer at all.

Delaney seemed hesitant about that. "Does it matter? And, also, Kasumi's mom could represent Ursala-"

"But that's just because she's a bad mother." Akiho protested. "There are plenty of fairy-tales with examples of horrible adult figures - it's like half the plot of most Disney movies."

No one seemed to be able to argue with that, and Yume frowned, thinking for a moment. "So, what other movies have examples of really bad adulting then?"

"There's Cinderella - but we already know that one belongs to Delaney. The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel - but are we considering like, absence as bad parenting? Because just because a parent died or isn't there - it doesn't mean they were bad parents." Junpei looked to Jasiri, and then Elijah, who both looked grateful for what he'd just said. Kasumi supposed he was right, but her mother had certainly been present in a bad way. Negligence had played a part it in, but she certainly wasn't the epitome of an example in any sort of way.

"Well, I don't think Sleeping Beauty makes sense at all, i'm pretty sure it's not that one." Elijah waved his hand, raising his hands up to stretch them over his shoulders. "Snow White doesn't really seem probable, even if you look at the fact that Blair sabotaged Kas. So I'd say The Little Mermaid and Rapunzel - or Tangled, whatever you want to call it, are probably our best guesses."

Reysa popped her gum in her mouth, pressuring elbows against her crossed knees. "Let's look at Rapunzel then - why would that make sense?"

"Kasumi's mother was a horrible mother, for one." Merlene remained on her back, but tilted her head to the side to look at her sister. "No offense Kas." Kasumi shook her head lightly, dismissing the comment. Her mother had been horrible, there wasn't really any getting around it.

"Rhys kinda gives off Eugene vibes." Yume clicked her tongue against the roof of his mouth. "He's a lot smarter than he thinks he is, for one. Charming, a great runner, you know- and, he saved Kasumi from having a panic attack." 

Her twin nodded, and Kei looked to her. "Then Kasumi saved him too from freaking out, even though it was a little more indirect in the movie, they did end up saving each other in one way or the other."

"That's true." Jady nodded, setting the large book in the center, "But why haven't we got anything from the book yet then? Like how we got Laney's?"

"Maybe it's shy?" Elliot looked at the book, then looked to Kas, "Maybe it doesn't want to talk to us."

"I don't think the books are sentient, Elliot." Elijah's voice was flat, but borderline amused all at the same time as he tilted his head at his brother.

"You don't know that." He protested, a grin working it's way up his face. Elijah responded with a half-snort, shaking his head and saying something under his breath.

"So we have Rapunzel and The Little Mermaid." Rey popped her gum again. "Which is it?"

"Here's the thing." Junpei was quick to respond. "It doesn't feel like The Little Mermaid, because Kas isn't looking to change herself - and I don't mean in like a way where she should, but The Little Mermaid feels stuck in what she's doing, like she's not progressing. So does Rapunzel- but in a much different way. Rapunzel just feels lost, but The Little Mermaid feels stuck. Kasumi loves painting, she's already living her dream, like Rapunzel in the end, and it's not because she found a man at all - it's because she found her dream." He huffed. "Although, having a hot man probably does help a little." He shook his head. "Their similar stories at the root, but the real difference is what they're looking for."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and beside her, Kasumi felt Jasiri nod. "That actually makes sense, Jun."

"Not to mention, the mother thing." Kas sighed, "Because it isn't just an adult in Kas' life that manipulated her and stole her from her childhood - it was her mother, which I think leans pretty heavily into Rapunzel."

Akiho nodded that time. "So - we're all in agreement then, that Kas is Rapunzel?"

At his words, Kasumi's book hummed, and everything fell silent. Flashes of gold shot through the pages, and the book threw itself open, beams of sunshine and bronze droplets of liquid dawn burned in the air. In the book itself, where an empty page lay, the blazing emblem of a golden flower was painted, and in stark, bright lettering read the word:

mother.

Yellowy hues toned the walls of the ballroom, and pictures drawn and gold hovered over the book for a moment, sending waterfalls of sunshine down into it's pages. The firework display of dawn and dusk only lasted for a second, before it collapsed into the book, forcing the pages shut. Then there was nothing but silence as it dropped to the ground once again, lettering now traced in the fine light of bronze as it sat there, like it had never moved at all.

No one breathed a word for a moment, tension settling as one by one, eyes turned to Kasumi. Her own eyes were trained on the gallery of pictures before her, but she made no motion to move, ignoring the heat of her sibling's eyes on her. Finally, she spoke. A soft little thing. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

There was a snicker beside her, and Kas turned to see Jasari whipping a hand over her mouth, burying the laugh. Then another, from Yume, who buried her face into her brother's arm beside her. Keitaro managed to look annoyed, but a brief glimpse of a smile darted across his face as one by one, giggles, and smothered laughing filled the ballroom.

It only took a moment for the sound to be unleashed entirely.

The sound of laughter rang through the Morrigan house, lighting up even the darkest of hallways, untraversed and empty. It lit up the fading world outside, and sparked the rapid feeling of warmth underneath their feet. It was bright, and light-hearted, and carefree, just as laughter should always be, and it lifted even the most dreary of hearts in that house. The ballroom worked as a speaker for them, bouncing the sound back and forth between them, until it faded away into nothing but the feeling of safety. 

The feeling of home.

Before the last snicker had faded away, there was a knock at the door. Kasumi, quickly being reminded that Rhys and Sailor were coming over, ducked from her sister's grip, darting out to the front, and inevitably sending her siblings into another fit of laughter and teases. She chose to ignore them.

She also chose to ignore the prologue to the rush of butterflies she'd be feeling in her stomach the moment that she opened the door, and saw Rhys Armstrong in all of his wonderful, handsome, glory. Instinctually, she felt her cheeks heat at the thought, and threw open the door, immediately deciding she'd blame the color on the cold if he asked.

There he was, in a deep blue sweater that made his eyes stand out all the more, with a boquet of the most beautiful yellow flowers she'd ever seen. Of course, it could have just been the fact that Rhys was holding them, but that buried warmth once again exploded in her stomach. As if often did around him. Behind him, Sailor was wearing a simple navy sundress, a white coat over it, hands clasped behind her as she half hid behind her brother, looking at Kasumi with analyzing eyes. 

Her gaze once again returned the the flowers as Rhys held them out to her, smiling sheepishly. "Hey Kassy, uh, these are for you. Well - they're for your family, but I did specifically pick them out for you, so.." He shrugged, rocking back on his heels as he stuck his hands in his pockets for a moment.

Kasumi allowed herself a moment to sit in that lovely warmth, staring at the flowers that were now enclapsed in her hands. She looked back up at her best friend, and wordlessly, he seemed to understand what she was going to ask.

"They're Sundrops - they're Sailor's favorite, and she said that you'd like them. I wasn't entirely sure, cause they aren't your favorite color, but I don't buy flowers a ton unless I buy them for Sailor - you know for her academic awards and things, and that's what I usually get." He seemed to hesitate. "I could have gotten Roses, but-"

"They're nice, Rhys." Kasumi stopped him before he could say it. Because she knew. She did, that his financial situation wasn't all that stable, and the fact that he'd bought her flowers at all said a lot. "I love them." And she did. They were pretty, and sweet, but that's not why she loved them. No, she loved them because they were from Rhys. Kasumi shook her head slightly, realizing that she was still standing in the doorway. "Oh- you can come in-"

"I- actually, I wanted to ask you something, Kassy. Just- real quick here." Rhys rocked again on his heels, a nervous habit that she'd come to notice this past month of knowing him. Kasumi frowned a little, anxiety biting at that warmth that swirled into her stomach. She nodded regardless, waiting for him to continue.

Rhys took his hands out from his pockets, staring at them for a moment, and shakily - very shakily - began signing to her.

' Will you go out with me? '

Kasumi's eyes stayed on his hands, wide-eyed now. Rhys hadn't known sign language. He didn't know sign language - because she'd tried communicating that way when they first started. He'd been apologetic, but had said he hadn't known it. There was no reason for him to learn it, because she could talk, and they had communicated fine before, so why would he-

"Kas?"

Kasumi's eyes shot back up to his, realizing he sounded half-panicked. Rhys stared right back, then looked back down at his hands, then looked to Sailor behind him, and then to her again.

"Oh fuck, did I say it wrong? Shit- uh, Kassy, I'm trying to-"

"You want to go out with me??" She hadn't meant to inturupt him, but at last the question hit her with full realization. Rhys wanted to go out with her. Like on a date. He wanted to go out with her, romantically. Kasumi let out a breath, then pointed to his hands, "Since when do you know sign?"

"I don't- exactly- I just wanted.." He hesitated. "It's just, you worked really hard to communicate with me, and I realized even though we understood each other, you had to adapt to everyone else, and I thought - I don't know, I thought it might be nice for you to see that I want to talk to you too. I want to try for you just as hard as you were trying for me."

Oh.

Oh.

Kasumi's heart melted a little, heat flaring into her cheeks as Rhys stared at her, waiting patiently, as he always did, for her response.

"Yes." Her words were bubbly, and behind her somewhere, she heard the celebration of her eavesdropping siblings. Kasumi didn't care. "Yes, I want to go out with you."

Rhys had noticibly brightened, and in that moment, Kasumi wanted to be brave. She wanted to have a little bit of courage. 

"Rhys?"

"Yes?"

"Could you kiss me?"

And he did, the moment she asked, he cupped her face in his hands like he had when she'd been crying in that art gallery, and kissed her.

Kasumi thought he tasted like sunshine.

✦

✦ OPHELIA ✦

- part three is finished !

- let me know how you felt
about his arc <33

- also fun fact: the golden flower
from tangled is actually
a sundrop flower ! I didn't
even know that <33

no question today ! as part
three is finished , and we'll be
moving to part four shortly !
so i need all opinions on akiho
done as soon as possible <3
if this is already done feel free
to just comment as such !

──● answers