Will we meet for dinner in elysium, my dear(Ami and Natsume)

[Bean Bandit]

Ami smiles and shakes her head. "No, don't be. I'm not..." Ami hesitates, pondering her words carefully. It wouldn't be fair to say she hated her father. Indeed, she rather admired his abilty, from what her mother told her, but...

Well, to a little girl who desperately craved affection, the absence of a father figure did rather raise a certain amount of resentment. "I'm not upset about it. I would be lying to say I didn't care, but it was a long time ago."

[Midnight Sun]

"I see," Natsume says. "What's his name, maybe I've heard of him?"

[Bean Bandit]

"Kyoshiro Mizuno." Ami replies, smiling a little. "Though, father is relatively well known, you probably wouldn't have seen anything of his unless you frequent art galleries and small showings."

[Midnight Sun]

"I most definitely don't," Natsume admits sheepishly. "Even though you don't see him, its nice that you least know what he's doing right now."

Natsume's face turns wistful. Not really deep in thought, more like being struck by a memory out of the blue.

"Kurumi and I don't really know our parents very well," she says finally. "They...went away when we were very very young."

[Anastasia]

Natsume's Grandfather nods, "I've been raising them for a long time now," he adds in, studying the blue haired girl carefully. Not pryingly, but you get the sensation that he's keeping an eye on you all the same.  His face is poker like, composed, polite but not really giving any emotions away right now. The face of an old samurai, perhaps.

[Bean Bandit]

Ami nodded, shifting slightly and forcing herself not to squirm under the older man's scrutiny. She turned Natsume's revelation over in her mind, feeling slightly embarrassed about expressing Displeasure with her father, and she nodded.

Her younger sister assumed a mothering role because she had to. Natsume-chan is devoted to bettering her skills, and Kusanagi-san...

"I'm sorry." Ami murmurs softly. "I can't imagine what that must be like...though, you're fortunate to have each other, and your grandfather." she ventured, smiling uncertainly.

[Midnight Sun]

"Yes, we are, though he can be incredibly strict at times," Natsume said smiling. "Fortunately, we learned to get used to it....eventually."

[Bean Bandit]

Ami giggles softly, and nods. "That's how you can tell a parent cares." she opined, delicately continuing with her meal. "Or at least that's what mother tells me."

[Midnight Sun]

"Oh? What else has your mother told you?" Natsume asks curiously.

[Bean Bandit]

"That making faces will make my face freeze that way, and that brussel sprouts build character." Ami replied glibly, blushing inwardly at how easily she'd relaxed with her speech.

[Midnight Sun]

"Brussel...sprouts?" Natsume repeats before breaking into laughter. "Its amazing the kinds of things parents will tell their kids to keep them in line. Grandfather would tell us that if we didn't brush our teeth every night, demons would fly into our mouths and possess us while we slept!"

Though that wound up being more traumatic than it should've been, then again she was only seven years old at the time...

"Anyway, Kurumi and I should go get desert," she says as she stands. "If you liked dinner you'll love the mochi we made."

[Bean Bandit]

Ami laughs outright at that, smothering her mirth behind her hand as she nods to Natsume, smiling in affirmation. "I can't wait, if it's as good as this..."

[Anastasia]

Kurumi nods in agreement to Natsume, rising herself and waiting for Natsume.

Grandfather simply stays quiet, seemingly content to let the two chat away.

[Midnight Sun]

She and Kurumi disappear into the kitchen for several minutes, then return with a plate full of the confections. Half of them were perfectly formed and baked...while the other half were malshapen and slightly burnt..

'Eheh, l hope she doesn't figure who did what too quickly...' Natsume thought nervously.

[Bean Bandit]

Ami finishes the last of her meal, glancing at Natsume's grandfather nervously, but keeping quiet, as she had no clue how to make conversation with the older man.