Past, Meet Present [Jacob x Lenn]

Critical · Aug 3, 2015

"Fifty-three sign-ups?!"

"Perhaps you should've come forward with this idea sooner."

"Yeah. No. Then we wouldn't have had a surprise!"

Judging by Yumi's nodding, the woman was honestly impressed with the news of Lenn's new (side?) job. As inconsiderate as it may have sounded, Yumi though that teaching was a better job than posing semi-nude in some magazine. Again, she had nothing against models or nudity, but being a teacher sounded more legitimate in her mind.

Before Lenn even finished her sentence, Chiru was already gathering up the equipment for some practice shots. She returned with two pairs of bows, arrows and wristguards for the two of them.

"Alright. Now you two, you know the rules. No spectators on the range while people are shooting."

Chiru playfully shooed her parents away to the designated spectator areas, where they could safely watch Lenn and Chiru loose a few arrows. They were far enough away that Lenn and Chiru could talk without either parent hearing them. She was already loosening her shoulders and plucking at her bow string as she took her position facing the targets.

"Oh yeah. These are some good bows here. Perfect weight balance."

Another aspect of Jacob showed through Chiru as she closer her eyes, bowed her head and took a long deep breath as she brought herself into focus. After two deep breaths, the girl notched an arrow and pulled back with perfect form before loosing an arrow at the target. She was right on the edge of the bullseye. Jacob could be heard cheering Chiru.

"Not used to doing this in plain clothes."

She waited for Lenn to take her own shot. Her voice sounded calm and serious.

"Be honest with me, Miss Lenn. What are you doing with my dad?"

JioJio · Aug 5, 2015

"Thanks hon," she took up the equipment and geared up. The guards were never necessary, but she didn't want any attention drawn towards her body's ability to heal things in a snap. Pain was also never an issue thanks to previous events in her past. Regardless, she still strapped up the guards and made sure the bow was in proper working condition as Chiru gave them some space. This was their time alone. This was the time where Chiru could really come out and say whatever she really wanted to say.

Lenn remained quiet as she observed Chiru. The girl was in her zone and the way she focused her concentration on a single moment... Jus' loike her dad. Her stance was perfect and her focus was deadly. Chiru had been doing this for years. After all, the Japanese were disciplined people. Her life practically revolved around perfection. Although Lenn will never admit it out loud, Archery demanded more focus and precision than marksmanship. The teen was very good at what she did and Lenn was happy that her skill wasn't used for dark reasons.

"Well you coulda' fooled me. Blimey, you almost hit dead centa'," she complimented and readied her arrow. It was tough to pull her shots in competitions. Too much strength and the arrow would either explode into splinters or punch right through the target. The string was tight as Lenn aimed for the bullseye. Should she pull her shot or not? It was an odd thing to think about. After all, she didn't want Chiru to look bad or anything of the sort...Also, she didn't want them getting too suspicious. Why would a lingerie model know so much about weaponry? They were sharp, especially Chiru who asked her the very question Lenn had been waiting all day for.

"Becos'..." She released the shot. The arrow lodged itself just a few inches above Chiru's mark. "Oy' luv' yer dads. Thas' woy. 'Es a sweet man an' we take care of each 'otha..." Lenn's gaze fell upon Chiru and there was a sense of ...Well, she couldn't put her finger on it. She reminds me so much of 'im... It almost felt like that day where she confessed to him in the park. No matter how far apart they were, Chiru loved her dad and like any child, she was protective of him. It was understandable, she supposed. It probably wasn't normal to have such a huge age gap...Or it seemed like it anyway. She wasn't exactly human, but she passed as one. A deadly one. Lenn was happy to leave that as is.

"But..." she said slowly, "Tha' ansa' isn't good enough. Thas' not what yer lookin' for..." Chiru probably felt as if Lenn had dark intentions. Perhaps...To use him?

Critical · Aug 5, 2015

Back in Hokkaido, after Jacob had left, Chiru had been pushed into the sport of archery by Yumi as a way to distract the girl from the divorce and to focus her mind on something "traditional". Like any other young teen, Chiru had initially rejected the whole idea and resented the hours and days of practice that took away from other things should could be doing. However, any chances there were for her to back out were quashed by her innate talent for archery and, eventually, the sport grew on her. She came to enjoy the serenity that came with getting into the Zone. The trophies, accolades and scholarships were another big plus too.

Chiru did indeed find Lenn's ability with a bow a little strange. Nothing about Lenn alluded to the kind of expertise that would lead her to teach a marksmanship class. But then again, Chiru had only know Lenn for less than a day now. Lenn could easily have been shooting as a hobby for years.

She pulled another arrow and notched it, but did not shoot.

"Considering what I know of you so far, that answer should be enough. You seem to be genuine and dad obviously loves you a lot. I hope you'll forgive me for being unable to completely shake my apprehensions though..."

Another swift and elegant pull, and Chiru managed to place her next arrow near her first, but fully in the bullseye circle this time. It was one thing to be accurate. It was another thing entirely to be consistent, and that was what she often focused on.

"... I don't want to pin you as some gold-digging woman. Mostly because I don't think dad is that rich anyway. But..."

She twirled the bow in her hand idly.

"...Here's the thing: I've been watching girls hit on my dad since I was in middle school. That includes my fellow middle schoolers. So I've built up this kind of reflexive dislike of younger women getting with my dad. And I know dad wears his heart on his sleeve, and it leaves him open to heartbreak. I don't think I need to tell you that I don't want to see that happen again."

JioJio · Aug 5, 2015

She had no idea children could be this... foward. Well, then again Chiru was the only child she had ever come across. Lenn understood the slight animosity towards her. It normal. Sort of. She didn't know what it was like for situations like these. Lenn merely guessed that it was probably strange to see another woman on her father's arm-- a young-looking one at that. Lenn herself recalled seeing those types. They were hanging onto old, fat men who were oblivious to their real money-grubbing intentions. "Not at all..." she shook her head as Chiru took her second shot dead center this time. Not bad...

As Lenn readied her next shot, she listened to Chiru. Apparently she had seen the works when it came to women and her father. Young women were stupid. They really were--especially when it came to heart throbs like Jacob. They became too nosy, too clingy, and too god damn jealous when it came to men. Chiru had every right to be protective. Hell, Lenn didn't blame her. Lenn was silent for quite sometime. She didn't require much concentration to hit her target. Instead, she was trying to think of a way to convey her message to Chiru without...Revealing too much. She wanted Chiru to understand that Lenn was here to stay, but at the same time she didn't want Chiru to be so alarmed. Conversations like this sucked. "Oy' undastand...But you don't need to tell me that. Yer dads and I...We've been through a lot togetha...An' in that toime, y'tend to build something...A bond, but...It's a special bond tha' nobody can break." her tone was not hostile, but extremely calm. Talking about their relationship always made her feel at peace.

"Yer dads...He saved moi loife. He turned me away from th' dark place tha' we all hav' in our hearts... If we hadn't met in tha' noightclub..." as she talked, she had pulled the string too far back. The arrow was released with a whistle and it struck through Chiru's own arrow that split apart as Lenn's pierced through and punched into the target's bullseye. It was dead center and...Well damn, she lost an arrow. " Jacob is th' centa' of moi world. He's shown me the good things in life loike love, peace, and..." she looked to Chiru with a gentle smile. "Let's jus' leave it at that."

Critical · Aug 5, 2015

"Wow! A straight-up 'Robin Hood' shot. Nice job."

In all of her time practicing and competing in archery, Chiru had never seen a split-arrow shot before or even heard of anyone doing it on accident. From everything she had ever heard about that kind of trick shot, it had to be planned and prepared beforehand. Regulation arrows were too tough and competition arrowheads were not strong enough to allow someone to pull it off. Seeing Lenn do it with almost no trouble was genuinely impressive to Chiru, if her raised eyebrows were any indicator.

But even a rare sight like Lenn's splitting arrow was only a small distraction from their little private talk out on the range. Chiru still needed to process everything Lenn was saying about herself and Jacob. At first hearing, Chiru liked everything overall. Lenn was passionate about their relationship and what they had, and everything seemed to come from a genuine place in her heart. Unless Lenn was a super-good, bordering on sociopathic, liar, then Chiru had little reason to doubt her words.

"I won't pry. Don't worry."

She drew back another arrow, but then the wind picked up across the range. The breeze was strong enough to make her drop her arrow and wait for it to calm down.

"I'm happy to hear what he's done for you. That's what he always did. For me. For mom. For other people. It's what makes him a great man to some people, but it's also kinda... kinda why mom and dad aren't together anymore..."

The breeze began to abate but not before some leaves from trees off range began to blow and fall across the range. Chiru raised her arrow again and spent awhile adjusting the draw and angle.

"... Mom said it was like he cared too much. When he tries to help people, he often gets very close to them. He has no ill-intent but it's easy to read what he does as cheating. That's what happened with mom."

She finally let go of the arrow after much adjusting. The arrow landed within the bullseye again, but this time it had pinned a leaf to the target as well.

"I'm not trying to sabotage you two, by the way. But I feel you should know that. My father has a lot of love to give, and he gives it to lots of people sometimes. That doesn't make him a bad man. It's just that..."

Chiru's eyes turned down and she had to slowly shake her head a bit.

"... It's just that he sometimes gives too much. It makes me worry about him. For both his heart and his safety."

JioJio · Aug 8, 2015

Aw shit... When Lenn realized what she had done, she chided herself for getting too carried away. It was one of the reasons why she disliked participating in archery tournaments. Being questioned for taking illegal substances to boost performance was a common misunderstanding before she showed up to Manta Carlos. Guns were just a better path for her to take and it was tough to question about performance boosters when all one needed to do was aim and pull the trigger.

Still, Chiru's skills were very impressive for her age. She even took the time to calculate her next shot with the wind going against her. She also talked about her father and she was correct in every single way. That was Jacob in a nutshell. Even when he knew what she was when they first dated, he refused to left her side. That didn't even budge him. He still stayed and...Even through New York...

The arrow landed with a faint thunk in the distance, but her attention was more on Chiru now as she talked. It... All made sense now as to why they were now a separated family. Sometimes good intentions led to paying a price. Jacob probably realized that all too well in New York. You couldn't help everyone in the world. Lenn was just a special case that happened to stop what she was doing and listened. That dark underworld she used to dwell in, ate people alive like him. In a way, it almost consumed him. Almost. If he hadn't come with to help cut her ties, she probably would have been in a deeper hole than before. Lenn knew exactly what Chiru was talking about. Jacob had almost been consumed because he tried to keep the peace in the underworld. Till' this day, she still blamed herself for that. New York...Was something she would never share. It was going to be locked up and stored away with all of the other things she kept inside.

Instead, she put a reassuring hand upon Chiru's shoulder. " Yeh, oy' unda'stand...Thas' yer dads in a nutshell pretteh much. The bloke has a big heart... S'wot oy' love about 'im," she set her bow aside and lifted Chiru's chin to settle her gaze directly onto that cute face. "Don' you worry about yer dads. S'wot oy'm hea' for.. To make sure he don' git hurt in anyway wotsoeva'. Oy' promise. Yer dads is in good hands."

Critical · Aug 8, 2015

Lenn's hand on Chiru's shoulder was enough to get the girl to look upward again, and directly at Lenn. The fingers on chin felt like a little too much to her. That kind of gesture felt like it should have been reserved for a cute boy trying to kiss her. As sexy as Lenn was, Chiru was not feeling the mood enough to lean upward and plant her lips on her. Especially not when Jacob and Yumi were standing just off range watching them.

In all honesty, Chiru did get the meaning of the gesture and she smiled at Lenn with confidence. Her own hand came up to pat Lenn's hand, and she nodded.

"I believe you. Don't forget to take yourself too."

Chiru was feeling that the session was over too, and she set her bow down.

"Just don't expect me to call you 'mom'. Can we both agree on that?"

The thought made Chiru all kinds of weirded-out. Even if Jacob decided to take that step with Lenn, and even if Chiru had grown nice and close with Lenn in the process, Chiru could not picture herself calling her "mom". They were way too close in age, and she hoped Jacob did not insist on it like she heard some second-marriage dads did. She doubted any of it would come to pass, but it was better to air her concerns beforehand.

Seeing that both bows were down, Jacob and Yumi had begun to approach the two of them.

"That was some excellent shooting from both you! Chiru, you're even better than I imagined. And I imagined a lot."

"It was all well met, and it's wonderful to see that you two have a common passion."

JioJio · Aug 18, 2015

Lenn's hand dropped from her chin. Having common ground made conversations like this much easier. She felt like herself and didn't even need to pretend to be something else or tip toe around certain issues. Chiru was a young woman and a very mature one considering her age. Lenn appreciated the honesty and she was positive Jacob's daughter did as well.

It took a moment for Chiru's request to settle in. Just don't expect me to call you 'mom'.

Mom.

Mom.

"Ah--!" she visibly flinched at what the girl was saying. T-To have anyone call her 'mum' wigged her out on all kinds of levels. She was in no way whatsoever fit to be called such a title. Bloody hell... She put a hand to her head. Lenn just couldn't see herself being called that from someone who looked close to her age....And the idea of a little runt running around their living room... "Yea'! A hundred percen'!" That idea just-- no. It flustered her too much. Before Jacob and Yumi had a chance to approach and ask why she looked flushed, she wiped at her face and quickly put that idea in the back of her head. Way back. Soooo far back-- "Aw yeh! She's top notch! Even betta' than me with th'bow!" she chuckled and checked the time. It was evening already??

"Well...Oy'm bettin you two would wonna get some rest, eh? Unless there's some otha' place anyone wos curious about?"

Critical · Aug 18, 2015

Their day together had come to a close rather quickly. Jacob was a little disappointed that they lost sunlight so quickly, or it at least felt very quick. But their plane had landed in the afternoon, and all of their talking and merry-making made the time just fly by. They would have many more opportunities to be together, as a group of four or smaller. For now, however, they would need to wind down.

Chiru looked like she could use a rest. As she put the bow away, she rolled her shoulders and neck as a small yawn escaped her. She and Yumi had been on the plane a long time and, as always, long plane rides were strangely exhausting.

"Oh, there is plenty we want to see on the island, but I need to get off my feet and into a shower. Plane trips and all."

"I kinda figured that. I bet you two could really go for a nice bed, huh?"

Yumi nodded, as did Chiru, and they all began to make their way to the car. The car ride had much less awkward conversations this time around. Chiru still dominated most of the talk, just with a little less energy. She talked about tournaments she had been and general schoolgirl stories. It seemed she had opened up and was okay with talking about some of her personal life around Lenn.

At the hotel, in the lobby before they went up to their room, Chiru gave Jacob a long loving hug. Yumi gave him a respectful bow and smile, as she did to Lenn.

"It has been lovely meeting you, Miss Lenn. I look forward to spending more time with you."

"Me too. Oh! Lets get a picture for this!"

Chiru waved everyone together into a tight group, with Jacob in the back where he could put an arm around both Lenn and Yumi with Chiru in the front. She held up her phone and started framing all of them for a selfie.

"Smile~"

Using her superior teenaged skills in selfie-taking, Chiru managed to get everyone in frame using her phone. Jacob was more than happy to have a picture with all of them in it. Though he did have some misgivings about her putting it all up on social media. He let them go, knowing that at least they had a good family picture with everyone smiling. After that, Chiru gave him another kiss and hug, and a hug to Lenn as well.

"See ya!"

"Have a good night, Jacob. Miss Lenn."

With that, the two of them got on the elevator and went up to their room. Jacob sighed happily and looked at Lenn.

"So that's Chiru and Yumi... What do you think, hon?"

JioJio · Sep 2, 2015

Lenn was relieved that she had pretty much proved to Jacob's family that she really was there for him. The car ride was much easier to deal with and everyone seemed to loosen up a bit more. Not to mention, Lenn genuinely found Chiru's high school stories quite interesting seeing as she had never gone to high school to begin with. She was relieved that the day was over yet bummed at the same time. Things had finally started to get really interesting, but there was tomorrow to get to know them and plenty of things to do with their stay.

In the lobby, Lenn stood aside and just...

She couldn't help but smile. Yes, they lived separately, but it really was nice watching them. Jacob looked so happy to see Chiru. So thas' wot a family looks loike... She could hardly remember hers. What bits and pieces she could recall, it never felt good. They didn't matter anyway. They never have, but speaking of family...What if she had her own with him? The thought of a little Jaclen running around made her shake her head of such thoughts. All these warm, touchy, woman-ly feelings were really coming out now. Was this what peace and love and...family felt like?

Thankfully, both Yumi and Chiru snapped her out of it. What? Picture? Suddenly she was pulled into the group shot. She gave her best smile and even had a moment to look at the picture. It looked...really good. She even asked if it was alright that Chiru send the picture to her phone as well before they said their farewells and headed out. "I think they're wonderful!" she replied with a smile and held his hand. " Your family...They're realleh great. Yer a lucky man."

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Past, Meet Present [Jacob x Lenn]

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