2014.01.13 - No Longer Lost in Translation

On their last outing, Emma had promised Kurenai the one thing that was holding her back in the school. The girl had to finally learn English. It just wouldn't be easy for the young girl otherwise.
After classes one day she invited Kurenai to her office. Emma was currently dressed in a simple grey suit with white pinstripes, with a low cut white silk shirt underneath. She was sitting at her desk currently going over some paperwork.
Kurenai arrives precisely at the appoined hour, still dressed in her uniform, having ome straight from classes. She knocks, and after having been given permission to enter, she then bows, low and respectful to you. She is holding a white box wrapped in a black ribbon in her hands, and after approaching your desk, she gently lays it down and says. "This...is-a...foreyu. Heado-Misteres-u." God bless her, she's still been trying to learn. Certainly her pronunciation has been getting better, and it's clear she understands English better than she can communicate in it. While she's doing well in her classes at present, it's only due to her high intellect, and the tremendously long hours she constantly puts in to translating things back and forth, essentially doing her work twice over in order to keep up. She isn't quite sure how you plan on catching her up so quickly...but at this point she trust you implicitly, and you can feel her barely supressed eagerness at finally breaing through this barrier.
Emma smiled when her bright student came into her office, <Kurenai. You've made excellent progress on your own. I can't imagine it's been easy.>
On the side of Emma's room is a small seating area and on the coffee table is freshly brewed green tea, ready for consuming, <Please have a seat.>
Kurenai smiles softly at the praise, brushing back a few errant strands of hair. She's been allowing it to grow out, just a touch, from the severe pixie cut that came with her when first she arrived at the Academy.
She sits down in front of you, looking over at the cup of tea with anticipation, and finally says <I have...tried my best, Frost-Sensei. It is a strange language...but I suppose Japanese can seem strange to someone whose never had to speak it before.>
Assuming that the cups have already been poured, she waits dutifully for you to pick yours up first. If the cups are empty, she will try to serve you first.
The cups are empty, but as Kurenai is a guest Emma would have made the move to pour them first. She nods, <It is. And the two don't share many borrowed words. But if you allow it, I am offering my services.>
She took a tentative sip from her tea, thankfully it wasn't too hot, <Unless you want to borrow my copy of the Rosetta stone, however.>
Kurenai pauses for a moment, as two ingrained cultural habits war with each other...it is customary for subortinated to serve superiors at the table...but at the same time, it would be bad form to try and disuade the Headmistress from running the table as she sees fit. Biting down on her bottom lip for just a moment, and then nods, taking a sip of tea after you have gone first. Her eyes widen at the joke for a moment, and she shakes her head. No...she has had quite enough of programs and wearable computer devices and any number of gizmos and gadgets to try and fill in the gaps of comprehension. She's already had some issues where demon hunting in this country was almost compromised because of her inability to fully communicate...in that sense, it's not really cheating, not taking a shortcut, so much as taking every advantage, so as to be performing at peak efficiency.
Emma knew that, but she did love to break the rules, and was quite skilled at doing that.
Emma took another sip of her tea and rose, <Excellent. I think this will help you a great deal. Of course, we can speak in your native language after this at any time you wish. Please finish your tea and then lay onto your back.>
She moved towards her windows and drew the curtains, making the light in the room much softer with just the lamps left over for light.
Kurenai finished most of the cup, mindful to leave at least some at the bottom, before lying back as instructed, resting her hands on her abdomen. Still not quite sure what to expect, assuming it had something to do with whatever mental powers you had exhibted to her. She took one deep, cleansing breath, and then waited expectantly.
Emma's voice was very soothing then, softer than it normally was, <Keep breathing and stay relaxed. Close your eyes.
Emma moved to sit next to Kurenai, her hips just next to Kurenai's head. She closed her own and focused her thoughts into Kurenai's.
And then, words inside of Kurenai's mind started to change. First simple ones like cat, dog, him, her, etc. What you first learn when growing up. And then the words become more complicated. When Kurenai learns these new words, she also sees the written English language. As this is going on she sees flashes of younger versions of Emma learning these things, and looking completely different. When it finishes, she see's Emma on a private jet next to a Japanese man.
By the end, Emma tells her in English to open her eyes. The room is darker, and the tea is now cold.
As you make contact in her mind, you realize that this technique is going to prove especially easy to implement...it's clear she has a very strong photographic memory. Her mind soaks in the new base changes and comprehension like a sponge. There is a little bleedthrough, as her mind responds by matching certain life experiences of her own, chaining her most basic understanding of various words, and matching them to appropriate life experiences as able...cat becomes linked to a memory of feeding the feral nekos that kept the temples clean of mice...the large, friendly inu in nearby Noboribetsu. Mother chains to various elder women in the temple, once in particular named Midori, as well as a few flashes of yourself as well. Father...seems to be mostly a conceptual word in her worldview.
Finally it's over, and her eyes snap open. She is silent for almost a full minute before she suddenly sits up, and begins to speak English, in an absolutely perfect rendition of your own accent and diction. "But why a K? It's pronunced like night, but it has a K?" She blinks again, and then suddenly, it dawns on her "Because it used to be pronounced k-nikt, but the K became silent. Ah! How strange!"
And then she realizes, HEY! You're speaking perfect English! More importantly, she's now 'thinking' English if she so desires. She covers her mouth in surprise.
She then lowers it, and starts to smile, laughing softly in utter bemusement and delight. "Hey...hey I'm speaking English. I'm actually speaking it! The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. I get it! Oh! I actually get it now!"
Emma had a small chuckle, there were now six girls in her school with a similar dialect now as Emma. Funny how that works out. She rose and smiled at her, "And now, you can read or write English. This language is a tad odd, but you will get the hang of it."
Just then Emma's new personal assistant came in to replace the tea with a new set, and poured both of their glasses before leaving the room silently, "I think this will make study time a tad more easier, hm?"
Kurenai slowly rises, nodding as if in a daze. Her eyes fall on to some of the books, and her mind immediately parses the words, the way a native raised from birth in the language would do so. Then grips at her forehead, a sudden burst of cognative dissonence reverberating through her brain, as phonetic and ideogramatic based mindsets clash for a moment. She wobbles unsteadily for a moment, but then makes the transition successfully, stealing a peak once again at one of the books, mouthing "The Complete Works of William Shakespear" as she reads the title off the spine.
She then looks over to you, her eyes shining and somewhat wet, and you can tell that she is absolutely fighting the urge to give you the biggest hug. She simply bows once more, very low at the waist.
"Yes! Yes Headmistress! Thank you! This is....this is an amazing gift! I'm so....oh! And...on that note, that is..." she points at the box on your desk. "Gift, for you. Oh! I said that before, didn't I? This gift is for you, Headmistress. Yes. Except now I'm not just aping the sounds, I'm fully understanding it all and...yes. Alright. Sorry. I am becoming overly loquacious now, and I'm going to..."
At which point she simply covers her mouth with her hand again, trying not to laugh too hard at herself.
Inside the box appears to be the head from a classical style marble statue. Well, half a head. The left half to be precise. Cut diagonally, very cleanly, as if sliced by some impossibly sharp blade.
This girl was much too adorable. She went to the desk to open her gift. It was an unusual one, but she quite liked it. She smiled to Kurenai, "Thank you, it's lovely."
She placed it in the bookshelf that Kurenai was just admiring, it fit perfectly next to one of her bookends. Emma then moved next to Kurenai, placing her hands on her shoulders, "You might feel a little jittery for the next few hours, I'd recommend finding a book or movie to get a feel for the new language."
Sensing the girl's thoughts, she brought her in for a soft hug, "And you are so welcome. I was glad to do this for you."
Kurenai sighs contentedly as you give her a hug. She then smiles back up at you. Blushing slightly as you give the item a place of honor on your bookshelf. She quickly explains, "It is a piece of the remains of a statue that had been possessed by a demon. I helped one of the local demon hunters subdue it. So...my first official hunt here in America. I thought it fitting you should have a keepsake of it...for all you've done for me since the day I arrived."
Emma smiled at the statue, as it's origins now were known. It was an excellent and fitting gift now, she had known from the start that Kurenai was going to be among the most talented at her Academy, "It's brilliant. Thank you, I shall keep it always."
She turned to face towards her and placed a hand on her own hip, "And I've heard you've been tutoring under Daimon as well. I hope you are learning much from him. And do tell me if he does anything inappropriate. He won't like /that/ punishment."
Kurenai nods once. "Yes...he's quite the letch, but he seems to know much about Western Demons. And yes...he has been...behaving himself. He actually created a ritual binding between us so that...well...I do not think he could ever take advantage. Not...that I would allow it."
Her cheeks redden a bit at this.
Emma had a wicked little smirk at the corner of her mouth, "Yes, he is. But he's brilliant in his field, one in which I know so little about. It's why I brought him here. I'm glad you two were able to meet."
She moved to sit back onto the couch, "Is there any other subjects you find yourself lacking in? You already have two handsome tutors. Well, three gorgeous ones if you include me."
She laughed and winked at the girl.
Kurenai joins you respectfully, and nods. "I must admit: he's arrogant, and infuriating...and not not mention quite handsome..but...ah. Yes, he is very skilled at what he does, and his intentions to fight the minions of s Father seem honest and pure. And as for subjects, I believe that now that I possess a full command of the native language, I should be able to catch up on almost any academic subject, except for...well. The culture. But that I would like to learn the long way around, please."
She smiles brightly at that last part. The blushes at your words...it's clear in her mind she agrees with the sentiment wholeheartedly.
Emma let out a soft laugh as she sipped onto the freshly brewed tea, "That he is. And I wouldn't just 'mind dump' for lack of better terms general life experiences like that. You'll get to know the culture, just within these walls you'll learn plenty. Now that you have the language you are properly stepped in the right direction."
Kurenai gently sis her tea in a similar fashion, legs crossed in a rather ladylike fashion...it would seem you rubbed off on her a fair bit, although in the days to come, Kurenai better learns how to integrate the mind transfer. She nods and smiles brightly once again. "Yes...I think this will be a whole new beginning for me. Thank you...once more."
Well then Kurenai and the Cuckoos are going to have loads in common. Another warm smile from Emma, as she leans back onto her couch, her head resting against the back of her head, "You are very much welcome my dear Kurenai, a bright mind like yours needs the tools to learn. My door is always open to you, even if I am not here at the school."
Category:Log