Part I
Chapter 15
Minamo took a quick glance at the trophy, one of many that lined the top of the small cabinet.
-Coach's Award-
-Girl's Soccer-
-Minamo Kurosawa-
Her hands continued to shift through the top drawer in it, picking up a few of the medals that were inside as she read them.
-3rd Place-
-Girl's Swim Team-
-District Finals-
...
-MVP-
-Women's basketball-
She took out one more, her eyes wincing from the sheen it gave off, the morning light striking it sharply through her apartment window.
-1st place-
-12th District Track meet-
-200m Sprint-
-Minamo Kurosawa-
The award dangled from her hand, Minamo just watching it sway back and forth before her. It had been a good while since she had last gone through her old silverware, of all the medallions and trophies that she had earned way back in her high school and college days. Her talent at athletics had always been quite considerable, her abilities allowing her to easily excel at whatever event or sport that she participated in, and the great breadth of her prize collection was firm evidence of that. But while Minamo always did feel some amount of pride whenever she viewed her old accomplishments, her victories themselves weren't the most important thing to her about them.
For most of this Sunday so far, she had been preparing herself to meet someone, an individual who, in recent years, had been the source of a great number of frustrations for her, a castigating presence in her adult life that never hesitated to critisize her now. But her relationship with this person hadn't always been that way, and as Minamo continued to gaze at the medal in her hands, she could feel the joy of those old times of when they had both gotten along so well, of when she had received her praises rather than her disappointment.
It was those memories then, of the love that she had received from this person, of the love that Minamo still had for her despite their disputes, that she had been extracting from her awards. She could still see it in the gleam of every single one, that approving smile that she was so fond of, etched upon the face of the woman who had given her the talent to win them all, and of whom she had dearly wanted to win them for.
"Stand up straight, Minamo, and look at people when you talk to them."
Her head went up, her arms still around her mother's leg as her eyes slowly connected with the two people around her. They were speaking at once now, their words all aimed towards her.
"She's so cute, Ms. K!"
"She looks just like you, Kurosawa."
"Minamo...how old are you? Can you tell me?"
Minamo stared over at a woman who was looking down at her in earnest.
"Go on and tell her, dear."
She glanced up at her mother, nodding slightly, and then addressed the question. "I'm seven, ma'm."
"My, how well mannered you are!"
A man next to her spoke. "She just started elementary, right?"
"That's right."
The woman clapped her hands. "Oh, wow! I bet you're really doing well in school, huh, Minamo?"
"I...umm..."
"You must be really smart like your mom, I bet! You're a little scholar, aren't you?"
Ms. Kurosawa smiled. "She does alright. Sports are her real interest."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. She's always watching and playing them." She looked down at her daughter. "She's good at everything she tries so far, mostly running and swimming. She quite the competitor at both of them, even at her size."
The man laughed. "I'm not surprised. Maybe she's going to be as good as you were, then."
"Well, well..." The woman leaned down, looking straight into her eyes. "Are you going to be a sprinter, then, or a swimmer? Oh, what else could you be...?"
"Something on a track, I bet."
"Or a field! Like a winger. They have to be quick down the lines to pass the ball, you know."
"Let's ask her. What do you want to do, Minamo?"
She looked back and forth between the pair that was questioning her, their focus on her now causing a sudden rush of bashfulness to come over her, and she hid herself behind her mother's legs.
Laughter erupted. "She doesn't act like you at all, Kurosawa."
"She's so timid! Like a little mouse..."
The people around her continued to speak, and Minamo became even more embarrassed about herself when she heard her mother's chuckling.
"Yes...she's very shy. Too much like her father. And she's quite self-conscious already, so I'm a bit worried about that..." She put a hand on her child's head. "But I suppose she'll grow out of it. She's different when she's playing sports. She's confident then, so I think that she's going to make me proud someday with her talents. Aren't you, Minamo?"
Minamo hugged her leg in response, the conversation and environment around her now weighing down upon her mind, confusing it. She wasn't exactly sure of what was going on today, of where her mother had taken her, but the large interior of the gigantic building that she was in was beginning to disorient her. Groups of people traversed around the place as well, all of them wearing suits and giving off this aura of importance, and Minamo found herself wanting to run from it all as she felt their eyes upon her.
"...anyways, we'll watch her for you while you present, Kurosawa."
"Thank you. Sorry to burden you both. She had no school today, and I couldn't find anyone to watch her since her father's out of town."
"No problem at all." The man leaned down on a knee. "You can sit with us, Minamo."
She looked up at her mother with an anxious expression.
"It's alright, dear. They work with me. When I leave, they'll take care of you until I get back, alright? You'll be able to see me up front, anyways, so don't worry."
She hesitated, looking at both people around her until she nodded, and then stood silently by her mother as the group began to discuss subjects that she couldn't really follow. Their conversation seemed to go on for a large amount of time, her mother instructing the man and woman about something until they all started to walk down the large hallway that they had been in.
"I have to go now, Minamo. When I'm done, I'll come sit with you. Listen to what they tell you in the meanwhile, alright? Behave well. Here." She removed a brown leather jacket off of herself, revealing the business suit that she wore underneath, and handed the item to her daughter. "You can take care of this, Minamo. I'm trusting you with it."
Minamo took the jacket, hugging it dearly. "I will, ma'm."
She waved at her mother with apprehension as they separated, not wanting to be apart from her at all in such a strange place, but her nerves settled down as the man and woman conversed with her genially, reassuring her that things would be alright in the meantime.
The three of them then navigated their way to a large auditorium, Minamo gasping as she in took in the rows of seated people that were there inside. At the front of it all was a raised platform, a podium and large projector screens upon it, and the whole place looked as if it were a giant theater to her.
"We're going to sit near the front, Minamo. Let's go!"
She followed her chaperons, sitting between them as they took their places.
"So...do you know what your mother does for a living, Minamo?"
"Umm..." Her hands clutched themselves nervously. "She...fixes things, I think...sir..."
The man chuckled, and the woman began to speak. "Sort of...how do I explain it? Basically, Minamo, we go to companies, like this place, and make their computers and technology more effi-...better."
"...is she going to make it better now?"
"Well...today we're going to tell them what's wrong with their stuff, and then help them after that. All these people here work at this business we're at, and they want to hear our findings. You understand?"
She nodded slowly.
"'course you get it. You're her kid!" The woman folded her arms. "...but, this place is actually the biggest we've done yet. It's kind of overwhelming when you look at it all...but since your mom is doing the presentation, it should be alright. Your mom is really smart, did you know that, Minamo? That's why she's our boss."
"She's a tiger."
Minamo looked over at the man. "A tiger...?"
He nodded. "Yup! Like this." He placed his index fingers at the corners of his mouth, pointing them down like fangs. "Grrr!"
She stared at him with a blank face, the woman laughing.
The man frowned. "...well, you'll see what I mean."
"See, Minamo, later...when your mother tells them what's wrong, well, some of them..." The woman pointed towards a row of men on one side of the chamber. "...will get mad, and..." She laughed again. "Well, it's always fun."
Minamo stared at her as well, not at all understanding what either person was talking about, and then took her gaze back to the front stage. A man had finally appeared on it, talking to the audience as he began to get things underway. He introduced himself and the others who came up beside him, each talking about something or other, until...
Her eyes widened, her hands tightly gripping the jacket she held. "Mommy!"
A touch of applause came about, Minamo's mother on the stage now as the large screens behind her lit up. On them were words that seemed to go along with what she began talking about, of how the people that she was addressing could improve their company's technology, what was wrong with it, what was right.
And as Minamo watched her, she felt herself starting to become excited for some reason. Even though she had no real idea as to what was being explained, she just couldn't sit still from knowing that everyone around her, all the important-looking people that dressed so smartly, had come to see her mother speak. They weren't all just listening idly either, because she could feel the respect in the air that was growing towards her parent, the crowd becoming impressed by the clear, perfect way in which she spoke, her queenly voice ringing so solidly through out the room.
The presentation went on, her mother eventually wrapping things up before taking questions from those in attendance. Most of the people who took the opportunity conversed politely with her, but some of the others seemed to be quite angry.
"See, Minamo. She just told them what they're doing wrong, and now they're mad, because it might cost them their jobs."
She kept her eyes on her mother. "...she's going to fire them, ma'm?"
The woman laughed. "No, no. All these people don't work for us. Someone asked us to come and...examine them. You know what that means? We look at their insides and try and fix things, but not everyone always likes to hear what's wrong with their stuff, you know? Because it might be their fault in the first place."
Minamo didn't really pay attention to the woman's words, her entire focus on her mother now. The people that were upset with her seemed so frightening, but her mother didn't appear to be fazed by them at all. When they raised their voices against her, they would be met back by one that contained even more volume, the authority in her mother's words flattening them completely, handling them as if they were children.
"All those old men don't want to change how things work for their company, Minamo. But they have a new boss that called us..." The man pointed to someone at the far end of the room, an elderly gentleman. "...and he wants us to make things better, even if those other people don't like it. Your mom is putting them in their place now."
"Is she mad at them, sir?"
The woman answered first. "Well...no. That's just how your mom is when she argues." She laughed. "That's why she handles our big jobs, Minamo. She's not afraid of anything, and she's always right."
Minamo looked at her for a moment, then back towards the stage. She knew firsthand of how commanding her mother could be, but had never seen that strength of hers reach a level like this. It was as if she had transformed into another person entirely, the sheer confidence and intelligence that she was exuding absolutely amazing her.
And with every word that her mother continued to speak, every comment that the man and woman next to her kept on making about how incredible she was, Minamo could feel her heart swell with a sensation that she had never really experienced before.
"She's done now, Minamo. Here she comes."
She watched her mother come down the stage stairs, shaking hands with some people along the way, the man next to her moving over so that she could sit by her.
"You nailed 'em, Ms. K."
"Yeah! This account is really going to get our name out there."
Ms. Kurosawa smiled and then looked down at her daughter. "We have to stay and watch the rest, Minamo. So, di-"
The man and woman chuckled.
"Aww, look at her. She missed you!"
Minamo held her mother's arm tightly, resting her face against it.
"She's really attached to you, isn't she, Ms. K?"
Her mother sighed. "I suppose so. Did she behave?"
"Of course! She's a pretty quiet kid."
Ms. Kurosawa looked at her daughter. "...she's always been like that. I wish she wasn't so reserved, but..." She placed a hand on to her head, patting her child gently. "I guess that's just how you are, Minamo. "
Minamo grinned widely, enjoying the sound of her mother's voice as she accepted her for what she was, the wonderful new feeling inside of her continuing to flourish. The intricacies of it were still a mystery to her, but she was, at the very least, beginning to understand as to what had initiated it.
Her eyes glanced up to her mother's face, adoring her completely. She had always been the most important person in Minamo's life, the one that she loved the most, but now, after having seen her perform in the way that she had, that bond with her had subtly changed. There was now this need inside of her, a desire for all the others around her to see how she, out everyone else in the entire world, was the closest person to this incredible individual.
And she wanted them all to know, to witness it first hand, that she alone was her daughter, the only one who had the right to grow up and become exactly like her.