Chapter 2: A new life

It has been one week since I appeared here in Hinamizawa. Mion has been taking good care of me while I've been recovering. Finally, Dr. Irie says that I've healed enough to start moving around again.

"Just be careful not to do any strenuous activities, ok?" He warns me.

"Yeah, I got it. No problem."

I'm just happy to be able to get out of the futon. Since I don't know my way around, Mion offers to give me a tour of her place. I accept her offer, of course. Not like I would turn down an opportunity to spend time with Mion. I am also curious about where she lives. After we visited all the rooms in the main building, we head out to the garden.

"Ah, it's really nice out here." I comment.

"I bet. It's probably no fun to be cooped up in a room for a whole week."

"You got that right. It was easier though since I had some company." I say as I start to smile.

"Yeah well, I only did it because I had to." She teases.

"Oh you're nice. What happened to the duty of the Sonozaki's you were so proud of?" I reply sarcastically.

"What's that? I don't know what you are talking about." She rebuts to my sarcasm with her own.

We both laugh as we walk through the garden. "Seriously though, I really appreciate you coming to spend time with me while I recovered."

I say as my cheeks begin to burn.

"It was nothing really. Haha." She scratches her head in embarrassment.

Mion had grabbed some bento's before we came out to the garden so we decided to eat there. It was a wonderfully peaceful afternoon. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The smell from the garden was amazing, as to be expected from a garden of one of the three top houses. What smelled even better was the bento Mion had made for us.

"Itadakimasu!"

I follow her lead.

"Itadakimasu."

We dig in to our bento. I had not had much Japanese style food before my accident so I had no idea what I was eating, but all of it tasted amazing. We both talked and ate for about an hour.

"That was really good Mion! I wish I could cook as well as you can." I compliment her.

"Ha ha, well I wasn't born with the talent. I had to learn it like everyone else."

"Ah, I bet that I could learn to make great food like you if you taught me how." I suggest.

"Yeah, that would be good. That way you could make your own food instead of relying on me all the time to make your food."

"Ah, Mion-chan. You're soo mean." I complain.

"Haha, just kidding."

I stick out my tongue at her. She begins to laugh which causes me to do the same.

We begin to walk back to the house together.

"Now that you're up and about, I think it's a good time for you to meet my family."

I make a sour face at her.

"Oh come on. It won't be that bad." She tries to comfort me.

"Okay okay. Guess if I have to meet them at some point, now would be better than later."

We head to the living room. Mion has me sit at the end of a table.

"Wait here. I'll go get baa-chan and Ka-san."

After about five minutes Mion comes back and sits next to me. I am a little nervous about meeting her Grandma and Mother. I'm glad that she will be sitting next to me for support though. A couple minutes later, Oryou Sonozaki and Akane Sonozaki enter the room. They both take seats opposite me and Mion.

"My name is Micheal. It is a pleasure to meet both of you."

Oryou speaks first.

"I am Oryou Sonozaki. This is my daughter Akane."

From what Mion has told me, Oryou is the head of the Sonozaki family. She also said that she can be a little rough to talk to. It's easy to tell why I would be nervous.

"Ah well, I would like to thank you for taking me into your home while I healed. I appreciate it very much."

Akane speaks this time.

"We are glad that you were able to make a good recovery while staying in our home."

I feel less tense when it's Akane that's talking.

"Yes, if there is anything I can do to repay you for letting me stay here; I would like to do so."

Akane starts to open her mouth to say something but is interrupted by Oryou.

"Hmm…well there might be something that you could do for us."

I look at Mion for a second. She seems to have a surprised look on her face.

"I will try to do whatever task you ask of me to the fullest extent I can do it."

Oryou smiles.

"Very well. I would like you to be a bodyguard for Mion."

The silence last for only about three seconds before….

"WHAT?!?!"

Both Mion and Akane spout out at the same time.

"Baa-chan you can't seriously mean for him to be a bodyguard for me, can you? I mean, I don't even really need a bodyguard!" Mion complains.

"I agree. We can't ask this boy to become a bodyguard for Mion just because he is using our residence to recover." Akane adds.

"Silence!"

Daughter and Grandchild both shut their mouths.

"What do you say Micheal-kun?"

The way she asks me makes a tingle go down my spine.

"Ah well, I don't really have any problem with it or anything, but I haven't really been trained to be a bodyguard." I explain.

"Oh that won't be a problem. I will be teaching you."

I am just about to burst out like Mion and Akane earlier, but I restrain myself.

"Alright. When will we begin?" I ask.

"Meet me here tomorrow at 5 a.m. sharp."

"Yes ma'am." I reply.

"Oh and call me Oryou-sensei from now on."

"Yes Oryou-sensei."

With that Oryou declares that she needs here meds. Me and Mion are shooed out of the room by Akane. Before we leave, Akane says to me, "I'm sorry Micheal-kun. I will try to reason with her."

In response I say, "It's ok Akane-san. I truly do want to repay you guys for taking care of me. If this is the way Oryou-sensei wants me to do it then I have no problem with it. Honestly I am actually pretty interested in what Oryou-sensei is going to teach me."

"Very well then. All I can say is please don't make her angry. You won't like the results."

"I'll try my best not to."

With that, Mion and I leave.

We ended up walking back to my room. Mion is totally pissed at her grandma. I can understand the reason, but I did kinda choose this. Mion takes a seat on a pillow.

"Man, I can't believe this! Why would she try to take advantage of the situation like that and make you into my bodyguard? "

Mion had brought in a tea kettle, a heater, and some tea bags in when I was still recovering so I took this time to make some tea for the both of us.

"I don't know. Maybe she was just worried about you and wanted someone to look out for you." I try to reply logically.

"Even if that was the case, she could just hire a professional. She doesn't need to involve a complete stranger."

That's true.

"Well, maybe she wanted someone closer to your age so that they wouldn't get in your way so much. Like if you had a big, bulky guy following you around everywhere, things would get pretty awkward, you know?"

I pour the tea for her and myself. After setting the kettle down, I sit down, facing Mion. She sips the tea, but her face still says that she's angry. She's pretty cute when she's angry.

"What? What is it?" She asks as she catches me staring at her.

Crap!

"Nothing, it's nothing."

She gives me a sour looks, but lets it slide.

The next half hour is spent listening to her rant about how stupid her grandma is being about this. All the time I am trying to tell her that it's really ok, and I'm totally fine with it. She lets out a huge sigh. It seems she's finally given up.

"You're no help at all." She says bluntly.

"I was just looking for a way to return the favor. If this is the way Oryou-sensei wants me to repay it then I have no room to complain. Beside."

"Besides what?" she asks.

I answer.

"Beside, I'll be able to spend more time with you now."

We both blush and avert our gazes. I feel silly for always doing things like this.

"Yeah, I guess that all of it isn't bad."

She suddenly give a mischievous smile.

Uh oh.

"And I guess that means that you are my slave and you have to do whatever I tell you to."

"Ah well, I don't think that….."

She interrupts.

"Hehehe, we could get into a lot of mischief. I could even have you take the blame for it."

I frown.

"Oh don't look so down! I'm just kidding. I would never have you do something like that."

"Of course not. Mion would never do that to her bodyguard! Her bodyguard probably wouldn't like her very much if she did something like that." I say teasingly.

"No that definitely wouldn't be very good of me. I want my bodyguard to like me."

"I think your bodyguard wants you to like him too. He hopes he will do a good job as a bodyguard and make you feel safe."

She smiles.

"I'm sure he'll do fine."

I smile as well, which eventually turns into a blush. The same happens for Mion.

"I really enjoy being able to talk to you. I haven't had a friend like you in a long time."

I tell her what I feel.

"Ah, I feel the same. I'm really glad you came out of nowhere."

"You're glad I got hit by a truck?" I ask teasingly.

"Of course not!" She says as she punches me in the arm.

We both burst out into laughter.

We spend the next hour or two talking about random things. Mion tells me about her twin sister, Shion and how she has escaped from boarding school. She also tells me about her own school. As she is explaining these things to me I get the feeling like I have heard about them before. As she describes her sister and her friends, I feel like I already know them. The feeling only lasts for a moment though.

"That sounds really fun! Maybe I can transfer into your school and be a part of club activities as well."

"Don't think I'll go easy on you because you're new. If you lose, there will be punishment games!"

"Haha, well I'll have to be sure to win every time now, won't I?"

Mion gives a sinister smile.

"We'll see about that."

Perhaps I should think this through a little bit.

"Oh, by the way Micheal-kun. I was wondering if you would like to go out on a da…ah tour. I mean…."

She takes a breath before continuing.

"Would you like to go on a tour of Hinamizawa tomorrow with me?"

I chuckle a little, which makes Mion blush.

"Yeah, I would love to go on a tour with you tomorrow. Maybe we'll see one of your friends and you can introduce me."

I smile.

"Great! I'll wake you up tomorrow so we can go."

"Umm….I'll probably be up already." I reply slowly.

"Huh? Why?" she asks.

After a second….

"Oh. Right."

Her face turns sour again.

I sigh.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped." She says.

She give me a smile, though not a very strong one.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll be looking forward to going on the tour with you."

I try to change her mood.

"Yes, I will be too."

Looks like I did.

"Well I should probably get some sleep. If I stay awake too long I'm sure I'll regret it in the morning."

"Alright I'll get out of your hair. Good night Mike-kun."

"Good night Mion-chan."

With that, Mion leaves the room. There is still a little bit of a mess to take care of so I quickly clean up, and take my futon out. I know Mion probably wouldn't agree, but I think that today turned out to be a pretty good day. With that thought, I close my eyes. My senses dim. Dreams of my day with Mion tomorrow begin to set in.