Tsubomi entered the kitchen and looked for her 'family' but the room was strangely deserted with even the kitten missing from the now empty bowl. She went to the sink and put the tray next to the other breakfast plates. The back door was open so she stepped out into the late morning sun to see if anyone was there. The backyard was quiet with a lone bird on a branch guarding its nest protectively with beady eyes watching the girl with caution before flying away when its mate appeared.
There was no fence or gate separating the house from the forest allowing the odd creature to wander in but at the time none came. To the right of the door there was a garden lining the house and some vines growing up the exterior walls of a shed in the corner but other than that it was fairly wild area. A park bench with faded paint had been placed beneath a large tree and, to Tsubomi's delight; the kitten was taking a nap on it with its tail swaying off the edge of the seat. She walked with soft footsteps towards it as to not wake it up but the feline sensed her approach and lifted its head yawning then took a good stretch before jumping down and running into the forest.
Tsubomi followed it although weary at where the kitten was going. The course the white kitten took, at first didn't seem familiar but soon she recognised it as the path Ayano and her had taken yesterday from the playground. Then at a bend in the trail Tsubomi lost sight of the kitten and was worrying about how to get back and what to do because the kitten had taken quite a few detours along the way.
What would she do if she couldn't find her way back? Would they look for her? Would they find her? She panicked as she stared to walk back but surely turning at the wrong junctions. Her breathing started to get faster and shorter as her fear started to creep back. The trigger for her eyes to begin their phasing.
She had frozen by this point hidden in the shadows of trees looking desperately for anyone, for anything that would help her. But nothing came.
The sun hid behind the clouds making the forest even darker and more frightening to the child. It made her remember the darkness that came when the fire caught her. The red flames that reminded her of her sister's hair and of her final wish that echoed out to Tsubomi as she ran from the burning trap.
Curled up in the fetal position beside a tree, the girl closed her eyes and quietly drifted between states of visibility while the tears streamed down her cheeks as the burn spread from her eyes to the rest of her body.
"…ido…"
The girl raised her head with her eyes still closed in the direction of the voice.
"Hey Kido, are you around here?" the voice said as the rustling of leaves got closer. Then they stopped and Tsubomi opened her eyes for them to gaze back at Shuuya's face though she knew he couldn't see her.
"Ne, Tsubomi Kido what do you want me to call you?" he said as he smiled back at her with his own eyes changing to match her own as if to reassure her that she was not alone. Then he pats her head when she finally visualised on front of him.
"So what do you want me to call you? You can call me Kano you know? It's the name nee-san calls me when we play heroes"
She stared at him her bright eyes making her face more of a glare than that of a face of confusion.
"H-heroes?"
"Yeah! It's a really fun game we made up" said Kano his voice getting louder with his excitement "How 'bout if you join our game I call you Kido but for now I call you Tsubomi?"
Tsubomi slowly nodded then Shuuya grinned cheekily as he took the girl's hand, pulled her up and started leading her away from the shadows.
"Ne, Tsubomi-chan?"
"…Yes?" The girl answered
"Could you do me a favour and not tell nee-san that you got lost? I'm sorry you were alone. See its my fault and I was supposed to lead you" Shuuya apologised
"Lead me where?"
"Kaa-san and nee-san have a surprise for you. And it's meant to be a surprise so act like you are when you see it. You know how nee-san goes for her walks a lot? Well one day she came across this huge tree and asked tou-san to build her a tree house, her base for heroes. She really likes helping people and wants to recruit as many people as possible to save the world.
"This was before I came here but even though nee-san likes helping people and being nice to everyone she doesn't really have any close friends so she was really lonely and would stay up in the base a lot and make these plans for when the new members arrive.
"And then I came and started to help her with her plans and now you've come here. So, guess what she's going to do?"
"She wants me to…join?" Tsubomi asked hesitantly.
"Yep. You'll join us right?"
"Um but what do heroes do?"
"Well we haven't done anything big but last week we helped clean someone's car and the week before, nee-san helped an injured bird. So we're going small first but soon we'll do bigger stuff like-er-like rescuing people"
"Really?"
"Definitely" Shuuya said confidently.
The long path the two walked on shortly lost its trees and gave way to clear grounds. Her sudden gasp made him look back to give her an encouraging glance as he saw her eyes had returned to normal then he let go of her hand and stepped back . Then Ayano tackled Tsubomi in a fierce hug.
"Welcome to the base!" Ayano exclaimed, arms gesturing to the giant tree behind her.
The actual base couldn't be seen as there were numerous branches with puffs of leaves covering the whole tree which made it look almost like a dozen bushes jumbled together but just under the lowest branch was the beginning of a ladder, which Ayano climbed up after telling Tsubomi to follow her.
The girl reached the top of the ladder and popped her head into an opening in a wooden plank to a hidden room. The base was actually like a small house with individual rooms for each hero, explained Ayano when she showed Tsubomi around. They first went to Shuuya's room that had a carpet on the floor to sit on and some sheets of paper tacked into the wall. There was also a cat basket in a corner that Tsubomi disappointingly found was empty.
Then they went to Ayano's room that was just a miniature of her bedroom without her bed, with even more paper on the wall visible than the wall itself. The three then went to an empty room that Ayano proclaimed would serve as Tsubomi's hideout. The room was bare but was painted with the lightest shade of green and had a window that looked above the forest to streets and houses.
"We haven't done much yet but will you join us? And become a hero?" Ayano's eyes bright as she almost pleaded to Tsubomi.
The younger girl couldn't say no and nodded with a quiet yes that was immediately drowned out by Ayano's shout of happiness. Then the smiling girl shoved Shuuya out of the room and gave Tsubomi a summer dress to wear instead of the hand me down shirt and shorts she currently wore then left the room to let the girl change.
A bit confused with the order, the girl stood stunned for a moment then started changing. The dress was white with a sunflower pattern embroidered on the skirt. Then as soon as the girl finished changing a car horn sounded three times and Ayano burst through the room, holding Shuuya's hand then grabbed Tsubomi's. She then led them towards the ladder, down it then raced through the forest back towards the house.
"Now before Tsubomi starts her duties we need to get her room and supplies ready." Ayano said turning around so the other two could hear.
The three somehow emerged at the front of the Tateyama house and the younger two were lead towards the car with Ayaka waiting in it.
"Haha so I'm guessing you've got a new member ne, Ayano-chan?" Ayaka said, feeling pleased that her daughter has another friend as she reversed out of the driveway and entering the busy road.
"Yep" Ayano said with a smile that only grew brighter "Oh yeah. Tsubomi-chan your code name is Kido when we go on missions, alright?"
"Ok. Um but what do I call you?" The girl asked.
"Hhm how about eto...how about what Shuuya-kun calls me?"
"..."
"Its ok if you don't want to!" Ayano said trying to get of the topic "Ayano's good too"
"...A-Ayano-nee-san?" Tsubomi said softly
"Hai Tsubomi-chan?" The smile returned, threatening to break her face again.
"Where are we going?"
"We're here" said Ayano as the car stopped and she opens the door to get out.
They stood in the carpark of a shopping complex that was moderately filled with shoppers walking around to continue their quest or lazing about in cafes for well-deserved breaks in the heat of summer.
"Alright let's start off with buying light things first then we'll send it to the car and go for lunch. Sound good?" Ayaka announced as they made their way towards a shop Ayano was pointing to.
The shop was a relatively small one but was packed with items of all kinds mainly stationary and craft materials. The lady at the counter welcomed the family and then told Ayano that her order had come in. The girl clapped her hands happily and followed the lady to the storeroom at the back.
"Ok, why don't you two find something too? Maybe a project for the summer?" suggested Ayaka to Shuuya and Tsubomi "Here's some money to pay for the things you want to buy. I need to buy some items for dinner tonight but I'll be back in about half an hour"
This left Shuuya and Tsubomi wandering around the shop. Shuuya said he was going to look at some art kits at the next isle and left Tsubomi in the sewing section. Her eyes caught onto a certain shade of red string. Tsubomi didn't really have much experience with sewing but she remembered once when Hana first showed her how to sew a button back onto one of her dresses and that Hana said she was a natural. She looked at the thread curiously, deciding whether or not she should get it when the lady at the counter appeared again.
"Do you need some help, dear?"
"Um I-I want to try sewing something but I don't really know how"
"Ah then what about you get this?" The lady said pointing to a kit on one of the shelves "It's a DIY kit for beginners"
Tsubomi nodded and the women handed her the box then returned to the counter when she heard someone ring the bell at the counter. The girl continued to roam the shop, choosing bits and pieces here and there for her project. Then she found Shuuya reaching for a kit on the shelf, and not quite reaching it. There was a step stool next to her so carefully balancing her items she brought the step stool to Shuuya.
"Thanks" He said as got on it and took the kit from the shelf.
"What are you getting?" she asked as he hopped down with his kit and returned the step to where it was.
"It's a painting kit" he said "I just need one more thing then I'm done. What about you?"
She showed him the sewing supplies she chose.
"Kaa-san can help you with that. She's really good at sewing, she taught Ayano too and now she can even make clothes."
Tsubomi made a note of what he said then followed Shuuya as he searched for his last item. Then he stopped at a display of masks and made a motion to choose one.
"Ne Tsubomi-chan, which one looks good?" He asked her with his back turned.
She pointed towards one with cat shaped eyes. He smiled then took the mask she suggested.
Thank you for reading! Hope this was paced out ok and sorry for any mistakes. Reviews are always welcomed :)
I'll try to update soon!
- Wing :)