Guardian Angels
"Daddy, let's play at the lake today, I wanna feed the fish there, I have lots of bread here, look~", the little six-year-old Kaori eagerly asked her father to take her to the lake at the park near their house, while showing off her large bag of bread slices that she received from her mother.
"What a big bag you've got there, Kaori. Daddy will take you anywhere you want! Now let's put your boots on, okay?", the head of the Shimizu clan carefully put on the cute pink boots on his daughter's feet.
"But I want to wear my new shoes mommy gave me! Please~~", Kaori begged with her cheeky voice.
"Now now, Kaori, it rained yesterday sweetie, you don't want to slip and fall over.", her mother reminded softly as she adjusted Kaori's jacket.
"I'm going now mommy!", Kaori spoke as she waved at her mother, her smile shone brightly. The head mistress waved back at Kaori and smiled warmly. At that time, the little girl couldn't sense the slight sorrow behind her mother's eyes.
After arriving at the park, Kaori dashed towards the edge of the lake while looking back at her father, and just like what he feared, she slipped and fell on her bottom. Fortunately, the boots were able to keep Kaori safe on the ground and prevented her from falling into the water. However, after that day, Mr. Shimizu experienced damage to his health, he constantly went through severe headaches and muscle pain; other times, he even coughed up blood and had difficulties breathing despite receiving treatment from head doctors at prestigious hospitals. Although the maids tried to prevent Kaori from seeing her father's condition, the little girl could still hear the sound of his coughs and her mother's crying. The only thing she could feel was worry and utter helplessness.
As tears ran down on her cheeks, Kaori eyes wide opened as she saw her father's ice cold body flashing through in the last moment of her nightmare. She found it hard to breathe and stood up to get some air from the window. It was already 1:30 AM, the moonlight tenderly shed on the young girl's pale skin, but her eyes were sunk in deep sadness which she could not put into words. As she glanced down at the fish lake, the painful flashback came back to her, back to the terrifying moments when she saw her father's immobile body and her mother's explanation of his current state.
-UwU-
"M-Mother,...what do you mean by not knowing when father will wake up?", Kaori muttered weakly as she kneeled down by her mother.
"Dear, your father,...he froze himself, and I'm at fault for his decision. Or, to be precise,...my Vision.", Mrs. Shimizu explained, her tears finally stopped.
"Your Vision? Then, was there someone dead in your Vision? Was it the reason why father was in so much pain that he had to freeze himself? Was it my fault?", now it was Kaori who cried, her face turned grim.
"Pardon? No dear, it's not your fault...it was…", as her mother struggled with what she's about to say, Kaori continued her doubts.
"Back when I was 6 years old, it was because of me that father had to go through pain, am I right, mother?", she uttered the heavy words.
"Kaori,...in the morning of that day, a Vision of you drowning flashed through my head, your father was not there, and you fell down the lake because of the slippery ground. After hearing it from me, father decided to save your life by accompanying you to the lake, he even told me to make you wear boots to prevent you from falling. But, if fate has been changed, then the person responsible must pay the price for defying the will of God. That's why,...your father went through all the pains.", the head mistress's voice shook as Kaori buried her face in her palms, covering the helpless tears that wouldn't stop falling.
"But it was not your fault, Kaori. If not for your father's sacrifice, we would feel guilty and broken forever, and the same went for Hideki, too. That was probably the only time that I thought my Vision wasn't a deadly curse that haunted me all my life. So, please don't cry my precious one.", Kaori's mother expressed her thoughts as she gently embraced her trembling daughter.
"But then, sniff...why is he like that now?", Kaori wiped away her tears, her eyes got all red and puffy.
"Your father's sacrifice this time, is for Rei. That's why he asked you to give that protection charm to Rei before the fight.", Mrs. Shimizu spoke with an uneasy voice, as if something was troubling her.
"Rei? So what would happen if father didn't help him?", Kaori asked curiously.
"If so, then Rei would die because the youma would suck away all of his power and stamina, he wouldn't be able to recover in time.", her mother's voice dimmed down.
"I, I see...but father will definitely wake up, right mother?", Kaori tried to stay calm as much as she could, her voice just kept shaking due to all the uncertainty that was swamming her.
"He will,...but I don't know when, it might take longer than a month or even more than that. Because, when the youma got more powerful, it destroyed the city and caused several casualties, there might also be deaths. Many lives might be saved by your father and so he had to pay for his action with his own life span.", the mistress explained.
"Then, when can he even wake up? If so many lives were saved, it might be years until he woke up.", Kaori asked hastily, her voice trembled.
"For that, we owe a huge favour to your little friend there, who's still deep in his sleep. Shiro has actually been my supervisor since the day the Vision was awakened in me. That's why you saw him around me when I practised my power, Kaori. When your father saved you back then, his life was at stake, but Shiro decided to give away his years of life to pay back your father's debt.", the mistress slowly explained the story.
"Then, does Shiro do the same for father this time?", Kaori raised the question, she felt almost relieved and also guilty.
"Fortunately, Shiro agrees to help us this time. Your father and I have thought things through before we made this decision; therefore, we are indebted again to Shiro. Kaori, we are greatly blessed to have Shiro as our supervisor, as his duty is to only observe and make sure that the person with Vision ability does not abuse the power. However, Shiro has saved your father's life twice without asking for anything back.", Mrs. Shimizu continued as Kaori fell silent, her tears dried up as she looked at the silver dragon sleeping peacefully.
"Shiro, I'm sorry,...and...thank you so much...!", Kaori uttered her gratitude as she tightly hugged the water pole where her friend resided, still lost in his slumber.
Mrs. Shimizu stood up and hugged her daughter, she held back her tears as she knew if she became weak, her children would be worried about her. "Please take care of the kids when I'm away, I'll be back soon. Take care, my love.", her husband's final words came back to her and unlike the first time, the mistress felt stronger, her tears finally ceased and she decided to patiently wait for her dear husband to come back smiling and healthy again.
-UwU-
In the same afternoon, Ayano was on her way to Kazuma's place, she was in her casual clothes, a new blouse which she recently bought and her favourite mini skirt. And with the delicious food wrapped neatly in her hands, she happily marched towards the elevator to go up to the 15th floor.
"Kazuma? Are you home? I'm coming in.", Ayano decided to open the door after a few knocks.
Just like his former hotel room Ayano once visited before, Kazuma did not have much luggage, there was nothing much except for the hotel's furniture and Kazuma's jacket hung on the armchair. The owner of the place was still asleep though, still in his black shirt and pants. He must be really tired to not even change his clothes. Ayano thought as she came closer to the "sleeping beauty"; as she drew her face closer to his to check his temperature, she could smell the sense of smoke and there was still some ash stuck on Kazuma's hair. Oh gosh, he needs to take better care of himself. The thought came by as Ayano nervously brushed out the ash from Kazuma's hair so as to not wake him up; she could feel her hand burning hot as if Kazuma's hair was the flame itself, her ears turned bright red and she backed away. I'd better unpack the food, any more of this and my heart might explode. Hence, the young lady started setting out the food and heated them up with the microwave, she tried to do it as quietly as possible. After finishing preparing the food, Ayano sat down at the sofa as she glanced at the clock, when should I wake him up?, she exercised the thought and Kazuma's jacket caught her attention. Oh, the jacket was burned and torned, does Kazuma have other jackets to replace this? Maybe I should go buy some new ones with him…
"Yosh! I shall wake him up now!", Ayano made up her mind and almost had a heart attack when the "sleeping beauty" suddenly woke up.
"Oh, Kazuma, you're already up? I was just gonna wake you.", Ayano jittered.
"Yeah, the smell got to me, you brought food?", Kazuma asked as he stretched.
"Yeah, come and have some while it's still warm.", Ayano urged.
"Sure, coming~", Kazuma spoke while washing his face, the towel turned grey as he wiped his face dry. Geez, I definitely need a shower after this. The thought went by as he sat down at the table, Ayano also joined and sat next to him.
"You eating, too?", Kazuma invited openly.
"Oh, no, I already ate, so go ahead.", Ayano refused shyly.
"Okay, then I won't hold back. Itadakimasu!", Kazuma replied as he started eating.
The fight probably wore him out, he ate so calmly even though he's hungry. Ayano thought as she searched for a glass and poured out some juice for Kazuma and herself.
"Juice?", Ayano offered as she returned to her seat.
"Thanks.", Kazuma didn't say much while he's eating, whether it was due to politeness or Kazuma being tired, the silent awkwardness rubbed onto Ayano as she also wanted to bring up the topic.
"Hey, Kazuma, you fought really well during the fight. Without your help, I think it will be hard for us to think of a way to defeat that youma. And,...I actually,...really want to fight alongside you during that battle; I want you to see that my power has improved much more than before.", Ayano tried to put her feelings into words, which to her, was much more difficult than fighting a thousand youmas.
"More importantly, what I want to say is,...you have always left me behind during our missions lately, I felt very frustrated. I don't want to be your burden, Kazuma; I can fight with you so let me show you what I'm capable of, or else.", Ayano suddenly lost her cool and ended up on an angry note.
"Or else?", Kazuma smirked jokingly.
"I'll fire you, hmph!", Ayano answered stubbornly.
"Are you sure? I won't come back even if you beg me to.", Kazuma teased the young milady.
"O-Of course. Baka Kazuma!", Ayano's voice shook a bit as she looked away.
Kazuma didn't say anything, he just laughed like a child at Ayano's childishness but also her cute side. Then, he uttered the words that Ayano had been waiting for:
"To be honest, Ayano, I never think of you as a burden. Sometimes, you even helped me out by acting as the bait. But, it's probably my style of working that made you feel left out. I'll work on it so both of us can have a fair share on the mission.", Kazuma voiced his opinion honestly which lightened Ayano's mood a bit, since the "bait" part really caught her off guard.
"And besides, I have contributed a lot in this fight, too, you know.", Ayano tried to prove her points.
"Yes, milady, your power has improved a lot; keep up the good work, Ayano.", Kazuma suddenly gave out a half joking half serious compliment which surprised Ayano.
"I-I see. If you realize that then it's all good. Oh, and Kazuma, do you want to buy a new jacket? The one you're using is all tattered from the battle.", Ayano blushed as she remembered the jacket.
"Well, I have replacements so it's fine.", Kazuma spoke after finishing his miso soup.
"But they all look the same, you should get something different, you know, changing your style once in a while.", Ayano insisted.
"I guess...", Kazuma replied, still uncertain.
"Then, let's go this weekend, I'll show you around.", Ayano decided happily.
"Guess it can't be helped, once in a while then.", Kazuma smiled softly while looking at Ayano who already started searching for some stores on her phone.
"Ayano,-", Kazuma called out her name as he gently pulled her closer and pressed his forehead onto hers. Ayano was frozen stiff while her face slowly heated up.
"Really, thanks a lot for your help this time, I wouldn't have made it without you.", Kazuma's quiet but sincere voice was strangely familiar like in a dream Ayano had after she got back home from the battle. In her dream, Kazuma was carrying her like a princess while saying the same gentle words. However, Kazuma's sudden honesty, plus the extremely closed distance between them, ignited inexplicable feelings in Ayano. She was not only filled with happiness, but also sensed that the gap between them had narrowed down tremendously, since the moment their eyes met and their foreheads pressed against each other.
"Your forehead is getting warmer, are you having a fever?", Kazuma asked worriedly as Ayano suddenly stood up as she couldn't take it anymore.
"It-It's nothing, I'm fine. You are the one who should take better care of yourself, Kazuma! I-, uh, gotta leave now, don't forget this weekend, alright?", Ayano stumbled through her words while hiding her flushed cheeks, as she hurriedly dashed through the door.
"And...she's gone.", Kazuma spoke to himself, his gaze followed the girl's crimson hair till she vanished from the doorway; she got angry again, but that's very much like Ayano, the thought went by as he smiled warmly.
The afternoon came by slowly as time seemed to stay still for the young hearts that were drawing closer towards one another. Meanwhile, the night already overshadowed the spirit of the young milady from the Shimizu clan. What would Kaori do with the truth about her father's condition? Would she let it out, or accept to stay quiet forever?