Summary: Aneko dithers with an Acceptance letter, Mika rages.
Aneko's hands trembled as she looked at the envelope in her hands with nervous energy. She sat in HOMRA's second floor, taking the train immediately after getting out of school, excitement burning under her skin. She had taken the SCEPTER4 aptitude test right from under her mother's nose, with a little help from her father.
Her two best friends and confidants Kushina Anna and Higashi Kuma encouraged her to take the step forward to her future, both reassuring her that whatever she chose would be perfectly acceptable, and that the younger girl had a choice on what she wanted to do after school.
Right now, Anna was waiting on her younger sister to open the letter, her eyes closed and patient. The Red King already had a premonition on Aneko's results, and out of respect, didn't give any hints. Kuma also waited, exhausted from how Aneko was bouncing around all the way back to Shizune City. Ever since the older girl had found out that her results were ready, she started shaking and rambling about hoping that SCEPTER4 would accept her as a member.
Aneko ripped the envelope open with a small letter opener, not caring if it tore, and pulled the folded sheet of paper out, squealing a little.
She skimmed the paper after unfolding it, and she shrieked, startling Kuma out of his impromptu meditation and nearly falling over.
"I passed!" Aneko squealed, making Kuma cover his ears at the loud volume, "Oh Kami-sama I passed!"
Anna opened her eyes, smiling at the younger girl with her jubilant mood. "I'm happy for you," the King told the other girl as Kuma started clapping.
"We should get a cake to celebrate," Aneko said, barely restraining herself from alerting Uncle Izumo about the commotion.
"The first question is how we're going to tell your mom," Kuma said, and the younger girl froze, the joy overshadowed by the crushing anxiety of telling Munakata Mika about the news.
"You'll be fine," Anna reassured her younger sister, "The situation will resolve itself." She looked expectantly at Aneko, awaiting the girl's response.
"…I'll tell her at dinner," Aneko decided, and folded the acceptance letter, putting it back, "Hopefully it goes well."
Later that night
It did not go well.
There was a lot of loud commotion going on in the Munakata household, Mika shouting while Reishi and Anna had relatively calm expressions while they were eating supper. The family sat around the kotatsu, Aneko hoping that the results would blow over quickly.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" the mother yelled, still coming to terms with the 'good' news. "YOU KNOW WHY I DON'T WANT YOU WORKING THERE!" Wisps of red aura radiated around the woman, visible in the lit room.
"I know, mom, I really do," Aneko said weakly, the fiery woman still ranting. The girl lost her appetite, poking at her food.
"That is the last place I would want you working at!" Mika continued, not even listening to her daughter's weak objections, "It's bad enough your father has to chase down those Strains, but at least he's a King!"
"Mom, I want to do this!" Aneko yelled, her own anger rising, "I'm tired of not doing anything!" She gritted her teeth, determination to make her mother listen burning.
"Aneko, its dangerous for you! I don't know what…" Mika trailed off, her temper cooling for a moment, "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
A somberness permeated the entire room, and Aneko's face fell. "You would leave no blood, no bone, no ash. That's what you'd do," the girl said quietly after a moment of silence, "I can't be a civilian forever. I don't want to. It was either SCEPTER4, or HOMRA. I want to protect people because people get hurt when I could've stopped it, and I hate feeling helpless."
The girl took a deep breath, sneaking a glance at her father's serene face, then addressing her mother again, "I want to have the power to protect. The blue aura is my best bet. I chose this for me. If you really don't want me working at SCEPTER 4…then fine. I'll go somewhere else. Who knows, maybe regular law enforcement," Aneko shrugged, "Either way, I'm going to protect people of this world no matter what it takes."
"You really want to work at SCEPTER4?" asked Mika, hearing the stubbornness harden in her Aneko's voice. The woman's aura cooled immediately, dissipating in the room.
"I do. I wouldn't go out of my way for something I don't want. It's my life, mom. I'm not doing it because I want to be special, or because dad's the Blue King. I don't want to just work in an office job as some sort of salaryman, just working my life away in corporate," Aneko reiterated, "I'm not that kind of person. I want to be out there, to actively at least attempt to keep the peace."
"I support Aneko-nee-chan, Mika-okaa-san," Anna spoke up for the first time since the news was brought out in the open, and Reishi gave his support as well.
Mika sighed, feeling outnumbered, and decided, "If you're really sure…then fine. If the Blue Aura takes to you, you can join SCEPTER4. If not, you can join the Police Academy. Either way, I'm going to teach you how to brawl whether you like it or not." The woman grinned, locking eyes with her daughter, who looked back with stubbornness.
"Alright then," Aneko agreed, going back to her food, assured that she was backed by her family. She grinned, feeling like life was looking up.