<div style="text-align: center"><b>Kenji Avery – White</b><br/>
Mid-June, 2022<br/>
12pm, From Zero University to the Manor<br/>
Present: Chris, Addy<br/>
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</div>Now that he felt that longing for his family, Kenji was intent on seeing them again if only to confirm what Emmy had told him. Still, parts of him ached for the comradery he had felt those scant few years when they all had a purpose, and that purpose had been with each other.<br/><br/>Part of him felt guilty for leaving so quickly. True, he had been young himself, barely 22 and just figuring out where the line between boyhood and manhood was drawn. But the three Littles, Alissa, Iris and Emmy, had been children. He should have stayed as well, but at that time it felt like they were better off with the oldest siblings, and he was certain that just the sight of him was causing the youngest great distress. He could still remember those last few days as if they had just happened.<br/><br/><i>"Stop trying so hard! Why do you have to be like this?"<br/>
"Really – can't you just leave me alone?"<br/>
"Find someone else to bug, won't you? God! You're so annoying!"<br/>
"I don't want to go for a drive! Just leave me alone."</i><br/><br/>Kenji turned off the shower in his apartment and toweled off, dressing in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. A light jacket was stuffed into his old leather messenger bag in case it was cold on his ride home. There was no reason to believe he'd be staying more than a few hours, anyway. This wasn't a party; it was a simple show-and-tell.<br/><br/><div class="bbImageWrapper bbImageAligned--left js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/attachments/out-2014-11-nov_page_76-jpg.135780/" title="out-2014-11-nov_page_76.jpg">
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</div>He didn't know why he was bothering with taking a shower when he was just going to jump on his bike and ride through the city to the manor. Unlike his siblings he was going human-powered; cycling through the city, dodging traffic, dogs, and other obstacles as he made his way across the densely populated maze of crime and debauchery. There were a couple of close calls. There always were. But Kenji instinctively used his power to repel danger, lighten himself to make near-impossible jumps, and glide over oily, treacherous asphalt with enough friction to keep him in control.<br/><br/>When he finally arrived at the manor, he took a few moments to let his emotions settle. It had been a long time since he had come to this side of town. The manor skirted the edge of the city, sitting apart from most of the crime downtown, but even its massive acreage couldn't protect it from everything. He was surprised to see it looking well-kept. For some reason he had expected more of a haunted house look to it, but the shrubs were trimmed, the grass mowed, and the trees pruned lovingly by a groundskeeper who obviously took pride in their work.<br/><br/>He saw a woman standing to the side and realized it was Alissa. He felt his throat close, but managed to wave a hand as he came to a stop. "Hey! Alissa!" Strangely she seemed to barely acknowledge him, which he realized was more than he should have expected. Who was he to her, anyway? He was just someone who used to live in the same house...maybe nothing more.<br/><br/>Slowly lowering his hand, he turned to punch in the gate code. It open to the same numbers that had worked so long ago. "Some things never change," he said to himself as he peddled along the driveway to the front of the home, seeing an impressive number of high-end cars and motorcycles and one old Civic that looked like it was on its last leg. Then his heart felt like it had doubled its gravity when his eyes lit upon a redhead and someone who could only be Chris. He could hear his blood in swishing in his ears with every stroke of his legs, turning the pedal and propelling him closer to the inevitable.<br/><br/>That pang of saudade hit him and spread across his chest like a flame.<i>"Damn it," </i>he thought,<i>"not that again." </i>He wiped angrily across his eyes with the back of one hand as he prepared to see two of his siblings for the first time in much too long.<br/><br/>He swung his right leg over the saddle as he came to his feet, striding beside the bicycle and approaching the two. They seemed to be in the middle of something that involved cigarettes, a scent that immediately took Kenji back to Uncle Creepy and his pals. It was something that no therapy or conditioning could combat – cigarettes and Jim Beam equated a time in his life Kenji would rather forget.<br/><br/>"Hey," he said as he leaned the bike against a stone column. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He looked from Chris to Addy and back again. It seemed there was still something there. Even after all these years, some thing didn't change. Sliding his hands into his front pockets, he felt suddenly awkward and intrusive, but a small, nervous smile flickered across his lips. "Crazy, huh? After all these years?"