Aurel Landvik's Story

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The lack of response from Kaze hinted that his willingness to assist her with her shop was slim to none. In fact, she could tell by the fact that he was brooding that the only reason he was helping her was because he was bored beyond belief. Letting out a sigh, she tilted her head back to look up at the bright lights that were built into the ceiling, casting a gentle, warm glow throughout the equally warm building. Before she even realized it, Callista was delving into the past, which was hidden deep within the inner recesses of her mind.



"Danae, what's going on? Why do you have your suitcase out? And why is your side of the room so bare?"

The young woman in question turned slightly in her position of kneeling, one hand resting on the bed she was beside, and the other lingering on the top of a suitcase.

Not even bothering to respond, she simply stood and shut the suitcase, clicking it shut. As she grabbed it and swung it off of the bed, she kept her head lowered and turned away from Callista, as though she were too ashamed to look her in the eye.

"I'm eighteen now, Callista. You and I both know that when Mama left, she was completely right to do so. I'm simply doing the intelligent thing and escaping before it's too late. You'll be fine - we both know that."

The girl lifted her head finally and headed towards the door, causing her younger sister to scramble off of her own bed, the books in her lap slamming to the floor.

"Danae, please! Don't go! Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone with him!"

The figure that was Callista's sister made no movement in response - not even a twitch to hint that it had heard her.

"Danae!"

The door opened, allowing bright sunlight to leak into the room, and then it slammed shut. The loud sound and echo of the door connecting with the frame seemed to linger, holding a dark omen to it. Callista seemed unable to lower her hand, which had been raised, as if in a futile attempt to stop the other woman.

"... Don't leave me too ...."



The slam of the door and the chime of the bell above it were what jerked Callista out of her memories. She snapped back to attention, almost flinging herself from the chair that she had dropped into, and cast a glance at the clock on the wall, surprised to find that she had nodded off for about a half an hour. Checking the watch on her wrist, she validated that the wall clock wasn't just off, before pushing herself up from the chair and stretching, her joints and bones crackling as she did so.

The memory of the door shutting and the bell chiming was what reminded her that there must have been a customer in the shop. Turning and plastering a bright - yet fake - smile on her face, she lifted her hand to wave.

"Welcome to Lekkerbiskiner! What can I-"

Callista froze as her gaze settled on the newcomer, and before she even realized what had happened, she had taken several steps to behind the counter, separating her from the new man. Fear coursed through her very veins. It wasn't the kind of fear that one feels when at the top of a roller coaster, or even when a person is in a haunted house and someone in a costume jumps out and startled them.

No. This fear was different. It was the type of fear that rooted you in place, making your blood run cold, your heart jump into your throat, and cause you to struggle to breathe.

She had never been so afraid in her life. This was nothing in comparison to what she felt when facing the wrath of her father.

Clenching her jaw, Callista clenched her hands underneath the counter, her eyes darkening immensely and fixating on the man. Immediately the room grew tense, and she was sure that anyone who entered would instantly feel the chill radiating off of her.

"What do you want?" she ground out through clenched teeth.

Before the man even had a chance to respond, however, the bell chimed again as another customer entered the store. However, this one was a familiar and a welcome distraction from the evil man who had entered before him.

"Tatum!" she called, a bit too loudly and easily betraying her tension, nervousness, and fear. The boy in question raised a brow before breaking out into his breath-taking, boyish grin.

"Hey Callista! I haven't seen you for a couple of days. When's our next practice?" he asked as he approached the counter. His guitar was, as always, strapped to his back in its' case, and his hands were shoved nonchalantly into his pockets. Either the boy was completely oblivious to the air of the room, or he just chose to ignore and/or fight against it.

"Tonight. It's at eight and it's at Gengaku's and my's house tonight," she said, reaching into the display case to remove his usual order of a Cinnamon Apple Muffin, a slice of Pumpkin Pie, and a Turkey Club. Ringing that up, she fetched him a steaming fresh cup of coffee, placed the food in a bag, and held it out to him with a beaming smile. "I'll see you tonight, okay?" she asked, winking at him.

He tossed her another one of her boyish grins, dropped his hand on her head to ruffle her hair seeing as their heights were different by insane amount of measurement, before slipping the money into her free hand. "Yeah, see you tonight," he agreed, grabbing his bag and coffee.

As he past Aurel, his eyes met the other man's. Instantly his gaze darkened, the warning clear: if the man did anything to harm Callista he'd feel an immense amount of pain - and all at once. Once he reached the door, he waved over his shoulder and called, "See you, Angel!" before disappearing out into the dimly-lit outdoors.

Turning her attention back to Aurel, she practically bared her teeth at him, her hatred for the man evident.

"Now answer my question. What the Hell do you want, and how the Hell did you find me, Aurel landvik?" she almost snarled out, her eyes narrowed.

*I thought you had gone with the sea you little brat!
**And what do you mean, "how did I find you?" I'm wondering what you're even doing here at all!
***"If anything! I wish I hadn't found this place at all you fuc-
****Finish that sentence and I will shove your head into the oven, Landvik.

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Callista had barely enough time to prepare herself before she found Aurel to suddenly be directly in her face. He was so close that she could smell his breath - which was a bit rank, mind you.

The close proximity of her and her past tormentor caused her entire body to lock, making it impossible for her to move or even step back from the man. Feelings that she had believe long-since banished and forgotten rose up, threatening to swallow her whole. What could she do? Here was the man who, as a teenager, had made her life more of a living Hell than it already had been.

When she had shown up to school wearing clothes that bespoke her poor status, he and his friends had gone after her, finding her weak and an easy target of their masochistic ways. She couldn't recall a single day that had passed that she had been able to walk home without them appearing out of nowhere. In fact, she had once taken it upon herself to carry a switchblade and mace, if only to protect herself, but they had easily knocked both weapons out of her hands and restrained her.

The fear that was now a tense ball in her stomach caused a wave of nausea to assault her body.

She flinched at his yelling, the language that he spoke being the one of their home country. It rang in her ears, and for some odd reason, gone was the current Callista. In her place was the Callista of years and years before - the Callista who lived in fear of the boogeyman, or Aurel and his gang.

If there was anyone she believed to be purely evil, it would have been Aurel and his gang, right alongside her father.

It was doubtful that Aurel even knew of what his gang had done to her on the fateful day that stung in her mind, even to this time.

He had left the beating early, claiming that he had a 'date with the sexiest piece of meat they could have seen', and as soon as he had gone, his gang set in on the rape.

Rape. Not many people knew of what had happened. In fact, the only people who did know were the boys who had done it to her, herself, and the chief of police. He had managed to keep it on the down-low and, due to the way that the government had been run at the time, the only other person to have known was the judge who passed the verdict.

Although Aurel undoubtedly didn't know of what had happened, or why his gang of delinquents had been put away for fifteen years to life, she still blamed him for it, too.

For he was the one who had always instigated her attacks, and he was the one who had left her there for them to assault.

She still had the scars from their knives, their beatings, their sticks, their lighters, and other weapons that they had simply picked up on the side of the road. Which was why she had never had consensual sex with a man, in the entirety of her life.

Shaking her head a bit, she felt a wetness trickling down her cheeks, and only then did she realizing that she had begun to cry. Sniffing a bit, she attempted to call to herself the aloof nature that she had become accustomed to, but was unable to do so. More tears escaped her eyelids, creating fat trails down her porcelain cheeks.

In an instant Aurel was gone, his hair clenched in the grasp of the only person she knew who could have such a big hand - Gengaku.

Biting her lower lip an attempt to rid herself of her tears, for Gengaku had never seen her cry - in fact, no one had ever even seen her shed a tear, other than her parents and sister - she balled her hands into fists.

"Dra til helvete, Aurel!" she shouted, whirling away and rubbing at her cheeks. Unbeknownst to her, her eyes had grown red with her tears, and her face was flush from her crying.

After a moment, she whipped back around and approached Gengaku.

"How can you even associate with this scum!?" she demanded, her entire body trembling with anger. "Do you have any idea what he and his goons did to me over the years!?" she exclaimed, her emotions obviously getting the better of her.

Taking several steps back, she wrapped her arms around herself, more thick tears trickling down her cheeks, the crying now beyond her control - the exact self-control that she had managed to keep a strong hold on for the past four years.

"They did ... So many things to me ... I have ... So many ... Scars ... Both on my body ... And on my mind ..." Her eyes were wide and staring, and a headache began to enter her skull, threatening to cause an explosion of her mind. The colors that she saw - there were too many. They kept changing, from bright red to neon green, to hot pink to dark gray - she couldn't control them. Lifting her hands to her head, she clutched her hair in her fingers, her eyes clenching shut. She dropped to her knees, a sob escaping her throat. "They ... They did so many things ... I can't ... My sanity ... I can't ... Please ... Make it stop!" she cried, the memories escaping the filing cabinet that she had long-ago shoved them into, in the far recesses of her mind. Another loud sob made its way past her lips, and she leaned forward, holding her bright hair tightly. "The colors ... Make the colors stop .... Make the memories stop!" she whimpered.

Gengaku Sohma

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It's raining still...

Days like this were Miyako's enemy. She was already sniffling and had a slight cough, but she knew it was nothing major. Probably just a minor cold, nothing a little soup and medicine couldn't fix. The scent of lasagna wafted through the air, but it would still be a little while until it was done. Miyako had been craving something sweet lately, and many members of her family had spoken of the bakery that wasn't that far. So, prepared this time, Miyako left her warm house to see what would be consumed for dessert.

The rain dripping against her umbrella was nostalgic in a way, it calmed the Rat on her venture. Miyako wasn't stressed, mind you, but the rain calmed her much more than she was. The Rat rubbed her tired eye, letting out a yawn to match. Maybe if she went to the market and bought some sleeping medication she would be able to get a full night of rest for the full day that lay ahead tomorrow. It was her birthday tomorrow after all. Miyako smiled to herself as she ran down the things to do. Some of the girls in her university wanted to take her out to lunch as a present. Maybe she would go out for once, Miyako would just have to be really on her toes about being near any men.

Within only a few minutes, Miyako happened upon the bakery, standing under the awning to shake off her umbrella. Once she had entered the bakery, however, she had noticed that several of her cousins were gathered there. It was really cool actually, the lot had been running into each other so much more often these days. Miyako kept her eyes down as usual, but the slick spot on the floor hadn't registered in her mind until it was to late. Miyako slipped, falling forwards and, you guess it, fell into a magenta-haired man who had been standing in front of her. She saw Gengaku pull a pink-haired woman to the back, so the only two who had noticed her transformation were Kaze and Turi. In a poof of smoke, Miyako was laying in her rat form atop her pile of clothes. She simply squeaked before skittering off to hide in the back. Miyako really hoped that no one would try to squish her. Being something that had been hated by humans for millions of years was tough. Especially when you randomly transformed and had to hide before anyone saw you.

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Yamato listened to the words coming from Tomaya's heart. But they wouldn't reach his. Something in his mind was convincing him that it was all lies, that if they all had the chance, they would run far from him and this curse. "I won't be here for you out of some sort sense of duty given to me because of the curse, and I won't be here for you because I'm the family doctor and I have to care for you. Just as your brother won't be there for you because he feels some sort of familial obligation to be so. If that were really true, I wouldn't be here right now, and your brother wouldn't talk about you like you were some almighty deity unbeknownst to the rest of us," she laughed softly, causing a small smile to appear on Yamato's face for a split second.

"Tamaki will be here for you because he adores you. Not just as his older brother, or as the ruler of the Sohma family, but because of who you are." She paused, gathering her words and attempting to order them in the correct way. "And I will be here for you because I care about you. Not just as my patient, or as my God, but as a man. Yamato, your brother and I both love you - very dearly, might I add. And no matter how fast you run, you can't escape that. No matter how far you go, you can't outrun your problems. You may still hate me because I left you for a few months due to my being in coma, but I can't help that. I'm sorry, Yamato, but it wasn't something I could prevent. If I could go back and change that, I would - you know that. I never wanted my family to die. It almost destroyed me."

"The only reason it didn't ... Was because of you. And I'll be damned if you try to pass that off on the curse, because that isn't why. You were my best friend growing up, and I've loved you since the very beginning. You may hate me with all of your heart, but nothing will change how I feel."

Yamato buried his face deeper into his knees as he felt tears escape. Yamato wasn't supposed to cry, he was the God, the strongest of all the Sohma family. So why were Tomaya's words ripping his wall out bit by bit. With every brick that fell, Yamato felt a ping of pain and a tear fell. His hands balled into fists and he clenched his teeth as tight as he could. In a way, he felt defeated, embarrassed and pissed off at the world. All he was ever told was that the Curse was the only reason anyone stayed with him. His bitter attitude and selfish ways were to much for even his own mother to handle.

Both Tamaki and Tomaya had been there for him, but he only recognized Tamaki. Was it because Yamato was in such an emotional state when Tamaki had found him? Yamato was full blown ready to die right there in the snow. Maybe then the stupid Zodiac would recognize him. But like he had said earlier, he was replaceable. He was so disposable, yet, the words Tomaya spoke reached him so deeply that he was crying. Yamato squeezed his fists tighter as he let out a long scream of frustration. He wanted to flail like an infant, these emotions he was feeling were tearing him apart. Would it have been this way if he had grown up as a normal boy with normal health to go with it.

No more medicine or cold packs, no more bedridden weeks or months. He could play with his younger brother, free of restraints or rules or risk of isolation. It seemed like a while before he let his scream end, his voice was weak by that point and it had only lead up to a coughing fit. His lungs were killing him from the running, crying and screaming. And now his streaming tears were jerking sobs that made him shake with every breath he took. Why was he, a grown man, crying? If he knew, he would say so. But he couldn't figure out what he was feeling. If it was causing so much pain, it couldn't have been good.

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Before she had even realized what had happened, Callista found herself being lifted, almost like a child, and tossed over a shoulder that, despite her rarity in touching, was all too familiar to her. It belonged to Gengaku, of course, for who else could have such a broad set of them, so much so that she was just about the perfect size for the one he had tossed her over.

Blinking, her tears did not slow but her surprise was evident. Normally she would have started pummeling his back, demanding that he put her down. This time, however, was quite different. By the color that the sound of his footsteps gave off, she could tell that his intentions were not those of perverted or evil nature, but instead that of a caring and gentle one. This only served to further surprise the robot-like girl, who rubbed at her cheeks, obviously too surprised to even whimper at this point.

She soon found herself plopped down on one of the comfortable couches in the back room that was used for breaks, with Gengaku leaning over and nuzzling his face into her hair. What shocked her even more was the thought that immediately rose to her mind, uncontrollable to her.

Thank God I showered and don't smell like sweat.

Wait, what? You're thinking that at a time like this? The man who made you contemplate suicide randomly shows up in another country at your bakery of all places, and you have time to think about how grateful you are to have showered? Get your shit together, Callista! You aren't thinking straight!

"You're gonna be okay, Callista. Just breathe. Breathe."

Pulling in a deep, shaky breath, she puffed it out slowly, the out-breath trembling just as much as the intake. Her hand numbly found a nearby towel and lifted it to her cheeks, where it was gently patted against, the wetness slowly becoming a light damp to the touch. Her eyelids fell closed for several moments as she savored the feel of Gengaku nuzzling her hand - who knew that such a simple action could provide so much comfort to someone? - before she slowly forced them open.

"The only reason why I know him is because I roomed with his ass in college and kicked the shit out of him during that time. I don't know what he did to hurt you this way, but I'll make it right for you if I have to. Okay? Or do you need the ox me?"

It was obvious that she thought about it for a moment, before she shook her head just enough so that Gengaku could notice. Just in case he hadn't, she cleared her throat and spoke.

"I'm ... I'm alright now ..." she said quietly. She slowly raised her eyes, his head removed from her hair and her face directly in his. She pulled back a few inches so that she wasn't touching his nose with her own before continuing. "I couldn't ask you to do that for me. I know how troublesome it is for you and your family to change, so I wouldn't ask you to do that. You know that," she told him, the tiniest of smiles appearing on her lips. Her cheeks still flushed, she closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm fine with you just being here to offer me comfort. You wouldn't know this - since you know nothing of my history - but I never really had anyone to give me that. And for that small action, I'm very thankful, Genny," she finished.

Lowering her face towards her lap, she twined her fingers together on her legs, clenching them tightly as her memories once again intruded her mind.

"Let's just say that although I'm not ready to tell you of my history, seeing as I don't want your opinion of me to change, I will tell you of Aurel's contribution to it."

Drawing in another deep breath, she bit the inside of her cheek. Would he change his opinion of her if she told him even of what Aurel and his goons had once done to her? Or would he grow angry? Or better yet, would he just nod simply and be there for her? Honestly, she couldn't see him doing the very first one, but she could see the last two occurring. All that she knew was that she couldn't afford to lose Gengaku - and not just because he was in her band and gave her a place to live.

Because in that exact moment, everything came crashing down around her. Frozen in place, her eyes widened slightly as the three little words slithered through her mind, despite her insistence on them staying hidden for her own emotional sanity.

She loved Gengaku.

Shit! Don't think like that, Callista! If you start to admit it to yourself, than you'll begin to believe it! And if you begin to believe it, it will make it all the more difficult for you when he, too, inevitably leaves you alone.

Clenching her hands again, she lowered her head even further.

"It ... It started when I was a first year in high school. My mother and sister were ..." She paused, mulling over how to word what she said next, without completely giving away the fact that they had abandoned her and made it perfectly clear that they cared not for the younger woman. "... They were no longer in the picture. My father ... He wasn't much help with anything - he never was, to be honest - so I was left to fend for myself."

"We were never the richest people. In fact, we were quite poor. Due to this, my quiet nature, and my Chromesthesia, I was made an easy target by 'bullies'," she made air quotes are the word, showing quite obviously that they were far more than just that, "And I never fought back. Actually, that's an incorrect way to word it. I attempted to fight back, but it was really to no avail. Instead, they simply fought harder - far harder than I could, anyways."

Lifting her head a bit, she lifted the towel to her eyes as more tears threatened to spill, catching them before they made their presence obvious.

"Aurel had what I would refer to as a gang. He was the leader of them and made it a constant habit to pick on and target anyone he found to be weak and helpless. It was a coward's work, to be completely honest with you ..." The sunlight that streamed through a nearby window was slightly gray, as the outside of the building portrayed the foul atmosphere of the inside. It streamed across the two inhabitants of the small break room, casting an ethereal glow over them. Reaching up, she grabbed Gengaku's wrist in a hard grip, her head still lowered. She tugged on it, showing that she wanted him to sit beside her on the couch.

"He and his lackeys would find me, every day after school, and they would jump me. They used so many ways to torture me, some of which were their own inventions. Teenagers ... Can be quite creative when they wish to be," she whispered, her voice cracking a bit.

Drawing her legs up and onto the couch, she wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in her knees.

"In school, they would push me against walls and lockers. They put gum between my books, hid my belongings, and graffiti-ed my locker with horrible words ..." Her accent grew thick with emotion, causing her to pull in a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm herself a bit before continuing. "They actually got a lot of people at school in on it. They conned some girls into taking my clothes after gym class once while I was showering. I had to walk to the principal's office in nothing but a tiny towel, and I was the one who was in trouble for it. 'We can't allow students to walk around and flaunt public nudity', they said. 'We're giving you three days of out of school suspension'."

A shake of her head was all that she did when she paused to gather her story and wits once more.

"They would throw my lunch in the garbage or on the ground, and at the time, that was often the only food I would have to eat all day. They would take it and force me to do embarrassing things in order to get it back, and in the end would simply chuck it to the floor and spit in my face. Their laughter still echoes around me ... And it haunts my nightmares ..." she choked out, lifting her hands to her ears.

"The colors that I would see ... They showed me true evil. My classmates - they weren't even human. They were the devil's spawn ... And Aurel was the devil ..."

She shoved her hand into a nearby bag, withdrawing a wallet and flipping it open. After searching through it for a moment, she held it up for Gengaku to see.

"This was the only family picture we ever had taken. It was before everything went down-hill ... But we were happy at the time, and it brings back the only good memories of my childhood that I could ever have." Directly beside that picture was the only school picture of herself that she still had, which showed just how nerdy, poor, and easy of a target that she had been, once upon a time.

Lowering the wallet, her shoulders slumped.

"Aurel didn't play a part in the dirtying of my body on the fateful day that broke me. In fact, he wasn't even there, and I doubt that he has any knowledge of what they did. Needless to say, his goons were put away for fifteen-to-life, and Aurel got off scott-free." Pausing, she bit her lip. "I know it isn't right, but I can't help but blame him. If he hadn't made me a target in the first place, and if he hadn't left me alone with them to go on a damned date, they never would have done it. So I still blame him for it. Plus, there's all the years of torture that he gave me ... Even while he attended college. He didn't go far - simply went to the next town over. I had to go to that town frequently for school, seeing as I pushed myself to be my best in what I did. I earned a lot of academic achievements and often had to attend ceremonies for my awards," she explained.

Her hands rose and her arms clutched her body, as if to hold herself together.

"The only reason I was able to stay sane when my sister and mother left the picture, was that when Aurel left for college, an ox appeared and offered me comfort." Blinking and turning her face towards him, her brows drew together. "In fact, that ox looked an awful lot like your ox form does," she said, her puzzlement evident. Shrugging, she looked back down at her lap, shuddering out a sigh. "And the only reason I was able to be sane when I came here, was because I met the band ... And I met you," she said, the last part so soft that it was almost unheard by even herself. "Otherwise ... I would have killed myself a long time ago ..."

Letting out a soft chuckle, she wiped at her watering eyes and turned a small smile to him. "I'm sorry to have burdened you with my boring life story, but now that you know it, you won't ever have to listen to it again. It was nice, though ... To finally tell someone ..." She pushed herself up, grabbing a nearby bottle of Ibuprofen, musing over the fact that he was the first and only person who knew that story about her, or even that much of her history. "If you decide to change your opinion of me and wish for me to move out, I'll understand. I can just crash here at the bakery until I find other arrangements, okay?" she asked, tossing a large, forced smile over her shoulder at him.

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