Like Father, Like Daughter

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"Rin, I am very disappointed in you."

Today was no different from any other occasional day, minus the fact that Rin was soon to be engaged to a mostly likely spoiled and rich brat, which meant that there would be more lecturing about how unladylike it was to be off and running about into the forest without adult supervision and acknowledgement. Even though she was a sixteen-year old, the ridiculous rule still applied to her; if anything, the rule was even more strictly implied towards her since—

"You know I expected more from you, Rin, especially when you are about to be married to our neighboring mayor's son in approximately a month. I cannot allow your childish, reckless behavior interfere with my reputation as mayor, because as of such, you are my daughter and if—"

As her father had clearly stated, she was the daughter of the mayor and because she was a female and since females were considered inferior in the villages, she was expected to be married to a man—no, boy from the neighboring town. Which, she at the moment, utterly despised. If only her father knew—

"Rin, are you even listening to me?!" Rin raised her head, avoiding her father's eyes. "Rin, I believe I asked you a question and I expect an honest answer. Are you paying attention to me?"

"…I am now." Her father sighed, clearly trying to breath out his frustration of having to repeat himself. If one were to portray her father, they would most likely describe him as being a handsome, courageous, outgoing, and cheerful yet rather stubborn man. Among her many similarities to her father, Rin found one trait of his surprisingly affective on her personality; his stubbornness. Her father placed a soft hand on her shoulder, attempting to convince her to accept the fact that she was betrothed. She remembered the time he had first informed her of the betrothal; it had been about two months ago, and when she heard the news, she did the only thing that came in mind; she ran off into the woods to absorb in the unsettling fact with the singing hummingbirds and creatures to ease her fuming mind.

"Rin, perhaps this wedding may appear to be a rather absurd one, but you know this marriage will benefit us and the village. You know you cannot be running off and about into the woods; what if you got hurt or injured? I can see no way that this marriage can be arranged if you were to hurt yourself upon going out there. Above it all, our towns are relying on you and this young man to—"

"To what?! I'm not getting married to some rich, spoiled brat! I don't even know him and I have no intention to even be curious about him! Seriously, that's all you and every one of your so-called friends expect of me! But does anybody ask me what I want?! Oh, no, nobody seems to give a shit about—"

"Watch your tongue, young lady! Such language is prohibited of a lady of high status! What would your mother say if she was informed of your incompetent behavior?!"

"Don't even bring Mother into this conversation! She has nothing to do with this and if she was here, she would mock at how ridiculous this marriage is!"

"How do you know she would—"

"She is gone." Her father's eyes widened at her sudden, blank reply, not expecting her calm statement. He, as would anyone else, would have assumed that she would have retorted back to no end until she had won the argument. "I told you so many times already. Mother left us and she will not be coming back. She's…gone," Her father stared at her with skeptical eyes, while Miku, who had been intently watching the two of them converse, was also astonished by Rin's now-hollow voice.

"Your mother left, but she will come back. Don't you remember that message she gave me? She said she was only leaving to take care of some important matters; that she would return home immediately when she was finished with whatever that was necessary to be done with. Now that that is clear, don't even think that I have forgotten about the issues concerning the betrothal, young lady," her father replied, his soft voice altering into a sterner tone.

"I will not—"

"You will be meeting your suitor, whose name is Kaito Shion, tomorrow and you will be very polite to him and you definitely will not attempt to—"

"I would sooner—"

"—flee away from this marriage. If I must warn you twice about forgetting your manners towards Mr. Shion—"

"That man—"

"—then you will be in very big trouble with me and I will see to it that you be affianced with him within less than a month's time. Also, your weapons and your boyish garments will be confiscated with that of—"

"What?! This is—"

"—corsets and gowns. Which you can definitely assure that you will be wearing tomorrow when Mr. Shion—"

"I will stuff those blasted gowns—"

"—arrives. I will not hear a single complaint or protest coming from you prior or after his arrival, be it no matter how—"

"If that man dares to—"

"—much of a 'nuisance' Mr. Shion may be in your point of view. If you continue to display such reckless behavior, you can definitely be assured that I will not allow you to sneak off into the forest, even for any reason whatsoever—"

"How much do you plan to—"

"—that you may have. Are we clear?"

"No." Miku threw a warning glare at Rin, while her father pretended not to have heard the bold and clear statement that came from his daughter, this time clearing his throat to repeat himself.

"I said, 'Are we—"

"You heard me." Her father gave her an incredulous look mixed of shock and fury, while Miku deepened her glare on the younger female, plainly warning her that she should apologize and choose her words more carefully before her punishment would be taken to a higher level. "I don't care who Kaito Shion, or as you keep on repeating, Mr. Shion, is and nor do I wish to acknowledge him as my future husband in any manner. Even if this man—I mean, boy is kind and handsome, I do not wish to meet him. We have no connection whatsoever than that of the betrothal you and his father have created for us, one that both of us had been unaware of. Perhaps if the boy is—"

"Mind your manners! Mr. Shion is a—"

"—if Mr. Shion is a kind man, than I will happily return polite feelings and conversations for him. But even so, that will not signify that I will have any passionate feelings for him. Even if I will get married to him, it does not mean that I cannot divorce him if I will ever meet another man who has captured my heart and who, in return, loves me. Kaito Shion will not interfere with my love life, husband or not." Her father breathed out an aggravated sigh, and silently immersed himself with his daughter's words.

"That is a discussion for another day. As for now, I expect you to be prepared for Mr. Shion's arrival tomorrow morning. Miku."

"Yes, sir?"

"I expect you to keep watch over my daughter and make sure that she does not go fleeing off into the forest. No matter what she says to you, I expect you to keep her here in the village at all times. Do not let me down. I will not allow you to let Rin get off the hook just because the two of you are childhood friends. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir. I will follow your orders and keep a very close eye on Miss Kagamine." Rin rolled her eyes at her teal-haired friend's loyalty to her father's orders, furiously pouting as she listened to her father and friend converse. There were times when she was grateful for Miku's companionship, but this was definitely one of the drawbacks of having Miku as a close friend; her father had found Miku when she was a lost, stray child at his doorstep and had taken her in fourteen years ago under his care, treating her almost as if she was his biological child. Miku, in return, respected and obeyed his orders, especially the ones concerning Rin. That certainly didn't help her at all.

"Good. And Rin…" She glanced up at her father, waiting for him to voice his opinion on this matter. Sure, she had heard his whole lecture on the engagement, but she was curious. Just what was her father's opinion about her marriage to a man who was basically unknown, except for his name, of course.

"…please try not to fight with me on this. You will soon see why I ch-chose this option."

She didn't reply; she could not find the voice or the heart to say to her father. Even if her voice had not caught up in her throat, there were still no words to say. She didn't know how she should speak, how she should be reacting, or even how to feel about the whole situation. Every word that threatened to escape her lips were frozen; no matter how much she wanted to scream and shout, she could not find the heart to. After all…there was nothing to say. No sooner did the thought occur to her did Miku pull her away from her father, and the sudden drops of tears drizzling from the sky had muted her utter reply.

"…Why?"

*Yay, I just love suspense~