Shuffle Time #1: "I'm Not Scared, You're Scared: Makoto!"
Author's Note: So, I've had an idea for a while now to add little tidbits into the story that enhance the history between Makoto and Mitsuru. These will take place before their high school lives (unless otherwise stated). They will generally be lighthearted affairs and will focus on building the relationship between the two. I will publish these between chapters (especially if the update is taking too long… sorry 'bout that) and they'll typically be shorter than the main story chapters, making it much easier to write quickly. With that out of the way, please enjoy Shuffle Time #1!
Quick Announcement: I've published a revision of Chapter 1, so please give that a read and please vote in the poll I've created. It'd mean so much to me. Thank you.
Age: 7
It was an unusually rainy night, that night, with strong, gusting winds and booming thunder that shook the house every time. Takeharu Kirijo had left on a business trip, leaving the two children (besides the butlers and maids) alone in the house.
"Eeek!" cried Mitsuru, when a loud crash of thunder shook the foundation.
"Calm down, Mitsuru… you're such a scaredy-cat," Makoto teased.
"Am not! It's just…" Mitsuru got lost in her thought, but with a snap of her fingers she continued. "I'm worried the house will collapse. Yeah, that's it."
"This place is huge! There's no way a storm could knock it over," Makoto explained.
"Is that so? Still, there is always the possibility that the place could – eeek!" the strike of thunder caused Mitsuru to shriek in horror.
This had done it for her. Mitsuru fell to the ground and began hugging her knees as she rocked back and forth. Clearly, she was distressed and Makoto made note of it.
In an attempt to comfort her, he kneeled down to her level and said: "It'll be fine, 'Suru… thunder isn't all that bad."
Mitsuru, delighted to see him worrying for her, looked up at his face.
Before she could get a word in, Makoto seemingly continued: "It's the lightning you got to look out for! That stuff will kill you."
All admiration that she had for him at that moment dissipated, as she forcefully shoved him onto his back.
"Ow!" he whined. "What was that for?"
She stood up and offered a hand. Beneath her breath, she said, "For being an idiot."
"I don't understand girls," Makoto determined, graciously accepting her outstretched hand.
The two had walked back to their room in utter silence, until Makoto began to speak.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know. Father isn't here and there's nothing good on TV," Mitsuru replied.
After a moment of thinking, Makoto came up with an idea: "We should watch a movie!"
"Ok, but what kind of movie?" thoughts began to spiral in Mitsuru's mind. Oooh, we could watch a romance movie!
Makoto confusingly stared at Mitsuru's blushing face, wondering what she was thinking about.
"Don't worry about it, I'll go pick one. You just get the popcorn ready!" he said as he began his search.
"You better choose a good one!" Mitsuru called as she left the room.
Though unheard by Mitsuru, Makoto let out a devilish laugh.
"Sorry it took so long, I burned three bags before one of the maids helped me make it," Mitsuru apologized as she reentered the room. "So what movie did you pick?"
Makoto shot her a sly grin, "Oh, you'll see."
She eyed him suspiciously, "S-stop being weird."
He gave a laugh and patted on the spot next to him on the bed. Mitsuru joined him, as they draped the blanket over both of their shoulders and placed the bowl of popcorn between them.
"You ready for this?" Makoto asked as he held the remote towards the DVD player.
Mitsuru, still wary of his actions, asked, "Ready for what?"
"Oh, you'll see."
This elicited a painful punch to his shoulder. "S-seriously! Stop a-acting weird!"
Makoto winced at his shoulder, as he rubbed it: "Ok, fine. I'll just start the movie."
The movie started out innocently enough. The beginning was slow and showcased a farmer and his family. At first glance, one might assume that the movie was solely about a farmer's life. However, ten minutes into the movie the focus had shifted. In the movie, one of the horses (a horse that Mitsuru had completely adored) was found mutilated.
Mitsuru's eyes went wide and her mouth followed: "Ma-Makoto…? What kind of movie is this?"
"Hahahaha," he laughed darkly. " Oh, it's nothing really… just a horror movie that was considered to be too extreme to be shown in theaters."
"Y-Yuki!" Mitsuru yelled as she began hitting him with a pillow. "Yuki: you idiot, you idiot, you enormous idiot!"
"Hey! Quit it! You're gonna get popcorn everywhere!"
"I don't care about the stupid popcorn! Turn off this movie, now!"
"C'mon, what are you? A scaredy-cat?"
This stopped Mitsuru's violent barrage: "N-no! I just don't w-want to watch a s-scary m-movie right now."
"Ahh, I see. Missus scaredy-cat," he teased her further.
"I am not a scaredy-cat! Fine, play your stupid movie! I don't care at all!"
"Alrighty then," Makoto said with a grin, as he continued the movie.
Makoto made note that Mitsuru had closed the gap between them, leaving no space between them.
"Ha, scaredy-cat," Makoto whispered to an obviously embarrassed Mitsuru.
Two Hours Later
The movie had not ended on a happy note. The unknown killer, clad in all black, set his sights on an island (that looked strangely like Fukushima), suggesting a possible sequel. The film also stated that the brutal killings would continue on forever. On a more harrowing note, the movie also claimed to be "based on true events".
The two children let out a very loud sigh of relief when the movie had ended. Both of them were completely enveloped in the blanket, only their eyes were peeking out from them. They were both visibly shaken by the movie, as evidenced by their literal bodies shaking.
"T-that wasn't s-scary at all," proclaimed Makoto.
"Y-you're r-right! N-not s-scary at a-all!" agreed Mitsuru.
Both were clearly lying, yet they wouldn't acknowledge it.
"S-say… who's g-gonna take the b-bowl of popcorn to the K-kitchen?" asked Mitsuru.
Makoto gulped hard, "W-why n-not just l-leave it? W-we s-should g-go to b-bed and put it a-away in the m-morning."
"N-no! We'll get ants like that!" Mitsuru exclaimed.
"F-fine, then you do it!"
"N-no w-way, you're the b-boy! Y-you d-do i-it!"
They continued to argue back and forth on who should take it, both too scared to do so.
"You're such a scaredy-cat!" said Makoto.
"I am not," countered Mitsuru. "You're just scared to do it."
"I-I a-am not scared!" Makoto quickly blurted out.
It was Mitsuru's turn to act sly. She put on a mischievous smile and held the bowl out to Makoto: "Prove it."
Makoto realized he was trapped. He gulped very hard, took a deep breath, and snatched the bowl away.
"F-fine! I'm not s-scared!" he yelled as he made his way out of the room.
At that moment, thunder struck once again causing Mitsuru to shriek quite loudly. Realizing she would be too scared if she was alone, she jumped out of the bed and chased after Makoto's retreating figure.
"I am not scared. I am not scared," Makoto repeated as he made his way down the dark corridors.
"I am not scared. I am not scared. I am not – AHH!" he shrieked out of character, when he felt something latch on to his back.
The figure on his back shrieked as well, causing Makoto to fall down in terror.
"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" he cried in panic.
"S-stop screaming so loud," the figure instructed. "It's just me: Mitsuru."
Makoto quickly regained his composure, "Mitsuru? What the hell? Why'd you follow me?"
"I-I felt bad, m-making you go alone. Besides, I'm thirsty," she lied, except about the "being thirsty" part.
"But why were you screaming?" he asked.
"Because you were," she replied instantaneously.
"I wasn't screaming… I was… clearing my throat," he claimed, though the lie was as obvious as ever.
Mitsuru decided it was smarter to not point out such an obvious lie, so she inaudibly accepted the answer. They both continued to lie on the ground, Mitsuru still latched to his back with her arms draped around his neck.
"Anyways, let's just go to the kitchen…" Makoto concluded, as he tried to stand up.
"R-right," she agreed.
Makoto struggled to stand up, as he was hindered by Mitsuru. "Mitsuru? Can you get off?"
"Not happening."
"And why not?" he asked, somewhat irritated.
She let out a long yawn and drowsily said, "I'm too tired."
"You should've stayed in bed then," Makoto suggested.
"Whatever, just carry me. You owe me that much, for making me sit through that stupid movie."
He let out a sigh and struggled to his feet, heaving her up along the way. He walked a few steps before thinking aloud: "She's soooo heavy!"
Mitsuru got angry, real fast, and choked Makoto with her arms. "What did you say!?"
Realizing he'd said that aloud, he tried covering it up. In a choked voice he barely squeaked out, "…not heavy… not heavy…"
She loosened her arms, and with a scary smile (not that he could see it) said: "Much better."
The two finally made it to the kitchen after the slow trek through the winding hallways. Makoto flung the bowl into the sink and was about to head back, until Mitsuru called out to him.
"Hey, Makoto! What drink should I choose?"
He looked at her dumbly and said, "Just choose anything, we should go to bed soon."
"Hmm, I cannot choose…" Mitsuru said, deep in thought.
Makoto groaned aloud: "Just get some water and let's go!"
"Fine, I'll get some water… but it's too high up."
It was true that the water pitcher was located on the highest shelf in the refrigerator and, due to their heights, neither could reach it.
"Makoto, help me out!"
"We should just ask one of the maids…" Makoto suggested.
"No way! They're probably asleep by now. Besides, that'd take too long."
"Then how do you suppose we get it?"
"Easy," Mitsuru claimed, winking and holding a thumb up. "I have a brilliant idea!"
The idea was less than brilliant, as it only consisted of Mitsuru sitting on his shoulders as he raised her into the air.
Makoto struggled to lift her up, but managed to get to his feet. He wasn't exactly steady, but he was confident that he could hold her up.
"But she's so heavy," he thought aloud, once more.
Due to her position, Mitsuru ignored the comment (though she won't let him get away with it) and continued on her mission. She reached up and was so very close to grabbing the pitcher.
"Almost… got it," Mitsuru said, as she struggled to grab it.
"Hurry it up!" Makoto complained.
"S-shut up! I'm trying!"
Unbeknownst to the two, a tall figure approached them from behind. The figures hand moved right past Mitsuru's head and grabbed the water pitcher.
"Oh, thanks…" Mitsuru started, until she realized what had just happened.
Mitsuru followed the arm to its source and could only just barely make out a face due to the glow of the refrigerator.
She let out a loud shriek, causing Makoto to begin to sway until he bumped into something behind him. He and Mitsuru ended up toppling the unknown figure, and they all fell to the ground. A loud thud, as well as splashing from the spilled water pitcher filled the room with commotion.
After just a moment, Makoto realized why Mitsuru had become frightened. Though he couldn't see his face, it was clear that it was a man clad in a long black coat, similar to the killer in the movie they had just watched.
"IT'S THE KILLER! RUN MITSURU!"
Mitsuru had quickly gotten up and tried to run, but slipped on the water that had been spilled and landed back on the ground.
"Oww!" Mitsuru began to cry.
"Mitsuru, are you alright?" the unknown figure asked, though the voice was incredibly familiar to Makoto.
"Yes, father, I'm alright… DADDY!" Mitsuru leaped at the figure, now revealed to be, none other than, Takeharu Kirijo.
"B-but how?" Makoto asked, quite surprised.
"I came home early. This storm is shaping up to be quite bad, so I decided it'd be best to go home. Not that I'm worried about this place coming down. You see, Mitsuru is pretty scared of thunder. Though, I'm sure you know that by now," Takeharu explained, adding a laugh at the end.
"D-daddy! You're not supposed to tell him that!" Mitsuru complained, looking very embarrassed.
"I-I see. I'm glad you're home, father," Makoto said, earnestly.
Takeharu smiled at the two, but it disappeared when he began to speak: "What are you two doing up so late? And why did you call me a 'killer'?"
"Well about that—" Makoto began, but was cut off abruptly.
"Makoto made us watch a really scary movie where they killed a pretty horsey – Can I get a horse, daddy?" Mitsuru explained, stopping mid-way to ask for a horse. "Anyways, the movie was so scary that Makoto was too scared to walk the hallways alone, so I bravely went with him. You see, Makoto is a big scaredy-cat…"
"Am not!" he interrupted.
"… and that's about it," Mitsuru finished with a beaming smile towards her father.
"I see… Mitsuru, get a glass of water and go off to bed."
"Yes, Daddy," Mitsuru replied as she complied with his instruction.
"I guess I'll go join her…" Makoto said as he turned on his heel to follow her.
"Not so fast," Takeharu said in a low voice. "You dare show my Mitsuru a film like that… I'll execute you!"
Execute… that sounds like a cool word, Mitsuru thought as she walked sleepily down the hall, sipping on her water.
That night, Makoto experienced true fear.
In the following days, Mitsuru got the horse she wanted: who she lovingly named "Execution".
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the latest update, and I promise Chapter 10 is on its way. Considering how the last chapter went, I feel we all needed something a bit more lighthearted. If you want to talk or suggest any changes or even point out mistakes, feel free to PM me. Thank you, and I hope you continue to follow P3: Our Time Together.