Chapter 8: The Visit: Meeting the Family
After a while, Shirohana helped the exhausted Karma out the door. He was only able to really do all the moving and fighting thanks to his other side. His body gets extremely fatigued when he reverts and the damage he took from the fight still lingered.
It was cold. The sky was already dark and the area wasn't really well lit. Shirohana pulled out her phone.
*7:30, huh?* She thought.
"I can walk myself home now..." Karma said, moving away from Shirohana. His legs gave out and he fell to the floor.
"Oh no you're not," Shirohana said firmly, "You're still not well. I am NOT letting you go home like this. I'm taking you to my house. I'll call my family."
They headed to a park that was nearby by. There, Shirohana sat Karma on the bench and called her family. A few moments later, a fancy black car arrived. From the driver's side stepped out a handsome tall gentleman. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a red tie and black dress pants. He had short, smooth black hair. He walked over to Shirohana and bowed.
"Greetings Lady Shirohana. I am here to pick you up," the man said.
"Thank you, Frank," Shirohana said, starting to help Karma stand.
"Oh no, I will do that, m'lady," Frank said as he grabbed Karma and holstered him over his shoulder. "Shall we go?"
"Oh please be careful with him. He is pretty tired," Shirohana said, looking at Karma worryingly.
"Understood," Frank said, carrying Karma to the car, with Shirohana following behind. Frank put Karma in the back seat.
"Thank you," Karma said.
"I only did it on the request of my mistress," Frank said sternly. "You should thank m'lady."
"O-O..k," Karma said, frightened by the butler's tone.
"Frank!" Shirohana said. "Don't be mean to him."
"With all due respect, m'lady, but I don't believe I have the obligation to be "nice" to a commoner," Frank said with a subtle undermining tone.
"Then I guess you don't have the obligation to be nice to me since I came from a commoner family and was taken in by my father," Shirohana said in a slightly angry tone.
The butler was taken aback but quickly regained his composure.
"I apologize," Frank said, bowing.
"It's a-alright, Karma replied.
Frank stood up and gave Karma a final stern look before entering the driver's seat.
"I'm sorry, Karma," Shirohana said. "Frank is the head butler and he's very protective."
"It's all right, " Karma said.
The drive to Shirohana's house wasn't long. As they neared the house, Karma's eyes widened.
It was a big mansion.
As they exited the car and walked through the open pearl gates, Karma grew more and more astonished.
The area was filled with an abundance of nature. Trees, flowers, you name it. There was a large fountain in the middle, with a statue of a lady with a vase that was pouring water into the fountain. The moonlight shined beautifully on the statue.
"T-This is your house?" Karma said in awe. He had never seen a house quite like this one.
"Yeah. Sorry to surprise you like this," Shirohana replied.
"It's no problem. I kinda had a feeling you were a privileged person...," Karma said. "I-I mean that in a good way, that is."
"I know. Thanks, " Shirohana said, smiling. Karma blushed and looked away. He heard a sudden "tsk" and looked up. He noticed a slight movement from the butler.
*Was...that him? He is friggin scary...*
When they got to the front door, the butler opened the door and Shirohana and Karma walked in. They were greeted by a myriad of butlers and maids.
"Welcome back, Lady Shirohana," they said, bowing.
"I'm back," Shirohana replied, smiling.
"Wow..." Karma said, mesmerized. The mansion was on a whole new level. There were gold plated furniture, walls decorated with expensive paintings, and much more.
"Welcome back, Shirohana," a woman called. Upon the stairs stood a beautiful lady. She, like Shirohana, had long, smooth silver hair and wore silver earrings. She wore a purple kimono that had flowers on it.
"Hello, Mother," Shirohana said, smiling.
*M-Mother?* Karma thought to himself. The woman looked to be around Shirohana's age, so he thought she was Shirohana's sister or young cousin.
"And you brought a friend!" Shirohana's mom said, running down the stairs. "My, my. You look exhausted. Frank, please guide this young man to the guest bedroom."
"Yes, Mistress," Frank said, bowing. "Come, boy."
"O-Okay," Karma said, following him. They went up to the stairs and took a right. After a few moments, they arrived at a huge door.
"This is it," Frank said.
"T-Thank you," Karma replied. Then Frank grabbed Karma by the collar.
"Listen here, you low life," Frank said. " I have seen too much of your kind. You pretend to be nice and then you backstab Lady Shirohana. If you ever hurt her, I will chase you to the ends of the Earth and make you regret the day you were born! So it would be in your best interest to stay away from her."
Frank threw Karma on the ground and walked off. Karma was just in complete shock at what happened.
*What did he mean by that? What has Shirohana gone through that would make the other people in her life hate me this much?*
He got up and opened the guest bedroom door. The inside was well furnished. It had a queen size bed, a nightstand, table, everything you would find in a bedroom, just ten times better and more expensive. Karma couldn't really pick at the fact that he gets to stay here for a while.
He laid down on the bed. It was soft. Very soft. Like he's sleeping on clouds. As soon as he laid down, he fell into a deep slumber.
However, just moments after he fell asleep, the door opened slowly...
Meanwhile in the living room...
"N-No, mom! He's i-isn't my boyfriend!" Shirohana said embarrassed.
"Now, now. Don't have to get all flustered," Shirohana's mom said, chuckling."He is quite a cutie, wasn't he?"
"Mom!" Shirohana said.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you," Shirohana's mom said, smiling. Then her face goes stern.
"Now tell me. What happened to you? You have a bruise on the back of your head and that boy seemed to be in a bad condition," Shirohana's mom asked firmly. Shirohana's mom doesn't let anything go past her. No matter how small, if it concerns her daughter, she will dig out the truth.
Shirohana touched her head, which sent a shock. She didn't even realize she was bruised.
*This must be from when Karma pushed me down...*
"I..." Shirohana began. She told her mother everything. About Karma. About the fight. Everything.
"I see..." Shirohana's mom said at last.
"But he's not dangerous! He's... He's... suffering. He lives alone and has no friends. Whenever he turns back to his original self after fighting, he's crying all alone. He's a good person. He saved me twice, even though he said he didn't want to get involved with me," Shirohana said.
Shirohana's mom looked at her daughter. This was the first time in a while she said something this strong for the sake of another.
*That boy might just be the one...* Shirohana's mom thought.
"Then you better be by his side, alright?" Shirohana's mom said, smiling. Shirohana smiled.
"Yes!"
Then, suddenly...
-CRASH-
"What was that?" Shirohana asked as she exited the living room. "It came from upstairs."
The two ran to see what the whole commotion was.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone