(This used to be a single chapter with the first, but I split it into two. Ha! Like I'd update this fast! I'm seriously way too lazy for that.)

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I robotically, without even thinking about it, raised my hands over the fire, warming them up. I was dry thanks to a towel from Moolinda Wu, and - at her goading - had changed into a spare T-shirt and pants I had found in my bag. I had no idea where her house even was - but really, I didn't care, as I was taken to staring down at the floor every time I walked past a window. As far as I could tell the furniture inside was simple, with only one or two things that seemed like they belonged in MooShu. Sitting at the edge of the most uncomfortable chair I could find, having rigidly dragged it over to the fireplace ten minutes earlier, my whole mind was numb, and even after getting out of the cold my legs and arms lacked any feeling either.

Deep down, I didn't want to think about anything at all, because I was afraid that I would break down into pieces if I did.

The sound of a chair scratching against wooden floor. Moolinda Wu eased down into a chair next to me, staring at the fire like I was. After a while of this, she said, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I didn't respond. If she was upset by this, she didn't show any sign of it. "You'd think that a Life Professor wouldn't enjoy seeing wood go up in flames." Moolinda Wu shook her head. "The circle of energy - showing how inward life can blossom outward and spark into something new, everyday. But of course, you already know that from Professor Balestrom, young one."

She leaned forward on her chair, making it creak at its joints. "Growing up in MooShu," she said, wearing a sad, twisted smile, "I had never seen fire. We lived in small straw huts along the main road, trying to survive against the creatures living on the road. We didn't have time to discover fire, and it would burn up our huts anyway." She paused. "I was the youngest of three in my family, only seven. My oldest brother was forced to join the emperor's samurai army at his age, and my parents were dead, so it was only me and my older sister Yui defending ourselves. We assured Ryuji it was fine, we could take care of ourselves..."

She stared with a blank look into the fire. "...If we were lying through our teeth, it didn't matter, because it meant he would not put up much of a fight with the soldiers."

I stayed silent for a long time. Finally, I muttered, "Why are you telling me this?" I didn't want to hear her sad life story about her family during the civil war in MooShu. If anything, it reminded me of the family I didn't have, which I was keen on not thinking about at the moment.

"...Hunter, child, if you want to tell me anything, I am here."

It was plain by her tone and the motherly look on her face that she was really worried, and in all honesty, I was touched that she was trying so hard. But if she really thought that sappy, sad stories worked like a trade, then she had another thing coming. I didn't deserve that worry anyway. "...Thanks, but no thanks," I said coldly. Finally finding the strength to move, I stood up, still looking into the fire. "May I please leave now, Mooli- Professor Wu?"

"...Do you have a guardian you're staying with currently, Hunter? I'm aware you don't have a dorm registered for yourself in the Boy's Dormitory."

I didn't move. She couldn't possibly..."I do, my dad. Keith Legend." The name felt foreign in my mouth now, an empty pang in my chest.

"Hunter," her serious tone alarmed me and I turned to see her eyes like steel once more, "I think we both know very well that he isn't here right now."

It was like she had slapped me in the face. After a tense moment of silence, fire crackling between us, I turned away and said quietly, "...No, I don't. Have a guardian."

"...You are aware that without a legal parent guardian, Ravenwood Academy is forced to unregister you?"

"I know."

"Do you have any relatives? Sisters, brothers, a mother? Aunts or uncles, perhaps-?"

"I'm an only child. My mother died a long time ago. I never met my mother's side of the family, or I don't remember them. My dad was an only child, and his mum and dad passed away a while ago."

An awkward silence. "...Do you know any friend's parents, or neighbors, willing to take care of you?"

"No."

"Do you have-?"

"Moolin- I mean-"

"Moolinda Wu is fine."

"...Moolinda Wu, please, just stop. I know that you're trying hard to keep me in the school, and I'm flattered, I know that Ravenwood is a nice place, I just-" I ran a hand through my half wet, half dry hair, agitated. "I don't care if I'm in Ravenwood or not. I'm fine without it. Really."

I made a move to leave towards the door of the room, and she grabbed me by the wrist. Not this again-

"This isn't a matter of Ravenwood or not. Though that is important, I am worried for your wellbeing."

"Well, I'm not!" I snapped, jerking my hand out of hers and stepping away before she could grab anything else to stop me like before. Besides, the outburst seemed to surprise her, her black and white speckled arm still outstretched and hesitating in the air, so I kept going. "It's not as if I'll die out there - I'm already thirteen, a teenager, I'm old enough to take care of myself from now on, so please-!" And if I did die, it's not like it would matter to me or anyone else anyways,I added silently.

"Just because you are, child, does not mean you should-"

"Just because I haven't taken any responsibility in the past couple of years, just because I want to do something on my own for once, just because relying on myself and working at least as hard as Dad did would have stopped-!" I clamped my mouth shut before I could say anything more. Not for the second time that day, I felt like punching myself.

Expecting her to show pity on me, pity I didn't even want to see, I was surprised as Moolinda Wu's arm retracted slowly back, and trembled as she looked down. I wasn't able to see her expression as she looked into her hooves, folded in her lap, and said softly, "That... reminds me so much of what I thought that day, Hunter-kun."

I hadn't been expecting that one. Nor did I expect it when she suddenly turned towards me, determination blazing in her eyes, and said, "Stay."

"Wha-?"

"Stay," she repeated simply, getting up from her chair. Moolinda Wu clopped towards the kitchen - a cluster of wooden cabinets with a sink and a countertop stove in the corner of the room - and turned the stove on with the twist of a rusted metal knob, reaching above to open a cabinet and pull out an oriental teapot.

As water pounded on the windows behind me, I slowly sat back down and watched her numbly, having no idea where this was leading. "I will register as your parental guardian, dear child," Moolinda Wu said, turning on the sink and filling up the teapot, "and you can reside with me in the guest room until the two-month minimum guardian time is up and you are allowed to rent a dorm."

I stayed silent as she placed the teapot on the stove. I had just yelled at her that I wanted to take care of myself for once, to stop any of this from happening again, and she offers me a room? What the heck?

Pity. I had gotten enough of that, even while Dad was here, looks of "what a shame, his father's a freelancer", and "he's all alone, since no one wants to become friends with the son of someone like that", and now that he wasn't coming back that would only make things worse. Already, someone was offering me things I didn't need. Bitterly, I replied, "You don't have to do that for me, Moolinda Wu. I can't accept-"

"Hunter-kun, do not mistake this as an act of pity," Moolinda Wu interrupted, seemingly reading my thoughts word for word. "I am doing this for my own personal gain."

"Own... personal-?"

"This is something I want to do of my own will, not out of empathy for your situation. There is nothing you can accept." She paused, stirring the teapot with a metal spoon. "I won't force you, child. I won't pay for food, or clothing. You would have to figure out how to get the money yourself. The only thing I'm offering you is a place to stay." The spoon clinked against the teapot as she dropped in some sugar. "Even then, dear, you'll have to do some chores for me around the house.. perhaps, sweep up the backyard, move furniture, clean windows and so."

If it was true that she felt the same way I did before, she'd know exactly how to word her sentences to convince me. "If not pity, then why?" Another thing struck me. "And can't you do those things with magic?"

"Why?" she asked softly, not even turning around. "It is true those things you can do with magic, but it always comes out better when you do it by hand. I enjoy yard work and housekeeping of course, but now that the winter frost has faded away and the cherry blossoms are in bloom, there are more assessments to grade, and things always get too busy... There is only so much time I have to relax."

"After so many years of teaching, it has been lonely. It would be nice to have someone to do a bit of cleaning for me, to fill the empty space in this house. And..." Moolinda Wu turned on a hoof, holding a simple tray with two empty MooShu teacups and the teapot from earlier. Gingerly placing it on a nearby wooden stool, she poured the tea into both cups and handed me one, the heat of the ceramic warming me up as it rested between my hands. Steam rising into the air in a hazy wisp, I stared into the murky color fixedly as she sat down into her own chair. "...you remind me of what I was like when I was a child."

I looked up at her blankly, and Moolinda Wu gave me a soft smile. "I want to keep you around, Hunter-kun, if only for a little bit. Maybe this is something similar to giving you what I never had in my childhood... a form of self-satisfaction." She took a sip of tea. "Isn't that greedy?"

I watched the tea dregs swirl at the bottom of the cup. "...I can't."

"Why?"

Why?

It was tempting.

It wasn't pity, but it wasn't obligation. It was an honest reason - she wanted me to stay.

But somehow... it felt like the easy way out.

I wanted to rely on myself. I'd be able to figure out a way by myself, not living by leeching off of other people. Get a job or something. I needed to, otherwise...

...I don't know. There was just this gaping, empty hole in myself, an empty space where Dad had been, and I needed to do something about it. I shook my head, as if that would help clear it a little. The one thing I did know was that I wanted to be at home. Living here and having to see Moolinda Wu and make awkward small chat everyday, raking leaves and whatever - I wouldn't be able to handle it for a month. It was too much effort to put on a mask of a polite smile and a happy expression at school, let alone at home. I had only been here for an hour and it was hard for me to think.

Home, that's where I could really think. Home in Cyclops Way, where my bedroom was, big rooms with the sunlight filtering through in the morning... the rooms here just felt suffocating. Home was where my memories were, and was the closest thing to Dad anyway.

Moolinda Wu was looking at me expectantly when I jerked out of my thoughts. She was waiting for an answer. "I- I just..."

"...I can't. I'm sorry, Moolinda Wu, but... I can't do it. I'd - well, no offense, but I'd rather live by myself," I said bluntly. Standing up abruptly, I placed the teacup gingerly on the tray, tea sloshing back and forth within it as I faced her. The rain pattered dismally against the window panes behind me, the sky still stained a dark gray. "...Could you not tell anyone about this?"

Moolinda Wu didn't look the slightest bit offended, but more surprised. "...It is not my place to tell anyone outside of your knowledge, whether you are staying with me or not. That is for you to decide yourself, child," she slowly replied, placing her teacup onto the tray as well. I could tell by the way she said the words that she was sincere in her answer, although I was sure I wasn't going to do something that would earn me more pitying looks and harsh criticism than what I already had anytime soon. "However..."

"...From what I know of you, I think that you are capable of handling much by yourself, Hunter-kun," she finally said. "I only wish for you not to do anything reckless."

"I won't," I said bitterly. What could I possibly do now that Dad was gone, anyways?

"Dear child, how do I know that I will not find you again outside in the pouring rain?"

"...That won't happen again."

Moolinda Wu paused. "There are expenses-"

"I'll figure it out."

"But- I won't stop you- But would it be possible for you to stay for a week, at least-?"

"...I don't think I could stay here more than a day." It was obvious that this wasn't going anywhere. "May I go now, Moolinda Wu?"

"...Hunter-kun-" she tried.

"I'm sorry to inform you Moolinda Wu," I muttered, getting annoyed by this, "but just because you're giving me something that you wanted in your childhood doesn't mean that I want it too."

I had managed to stop myself from teleporting away out of courtesy all this time, but it was clear to me that this conversation was finished. Teleporting away to my house in a flash of electric bolts and storm clouds, I left Moolinda Wu sitting on her chair in front of her fireplace, the tea sitting cold and untouched on the wooden stool next to her since she had poured it for me.

As my form dissolved into the air, I almost didn't hear the quiet "I know" she whispered into her lap before I left for good.