Chapter 4
Her palms were sweating. Terrified, she didn't dare to move, or even to blink her eyelids. She swallowed with difficulty and tried to stay calm despite her nervousness. She hid her hands in the pockets of her shorts.
"Natsuki you can breathe, I won't hurt you," the giant monster said. Well, it wasn't a monster, but a man. Nevertheless, his height was impressive.
"H-Ha… Hai… Sir… Mister… Master…" The bluenette tensed. She couldn't relax her straight posture; she didn't know the reason Mr. Fujino wanted to talk alone with her. Did she do something bad? When her mother called her, it was because she did something bad, and next she would be punished.
"Natsuki… breathe… you are very red… and you don't have to be so formal." The emerald-eyed girl breathed rapidly for a moment, but again stopped breathing. Defeated, the man sighed; it was probably his own fault if the girl was afraid of her. He didn't give a good impression during the past months, with his yelling and drinking alcohol. Before he could say something, Natsuki bowed as low as her body could, and she almost lost her balance, but she stayed strong.
"I'm so sorry Sir, Shizuru's papa dad!" The latter laughed a bit; it was a really long time before he replied.
"For what?"
"I don't know…but I'm terribly sorry!" The man chuckled, he understood why his precious daughter liked Natsuki a lot. She was so innocent and cute, even at her age. M. Fujino crouched to reach the level of the blunette and gently patted her shoulder.
"You don't have to apologize if you didn't do anything wrong. It was probably me who needs to apologize about my behavior… and I have to talk to you about Shizuru." Natsuki watched the dark-haired man and nodded silently.
"Natsuki… I… you know… I have some problems due to Shizuru's mother's selfishness… she did bad things…"
"She abandoned Shizuru! She hurt her! She's bad!" The bluenette declared angrily, and her voice was laced with venom. She clenched her teeth. She knew that since that moment, her best friend had always been so sad; being alone was her greatest fear. Shizuru cried every night, she had nightmares, and she had some serious asthma attacks.
"Yes, you are perfectly right…you really are a clever one."
"I'm not; I'm only saying the truth. Mama said it's bad to lie."
"You're right. But sometimes it's a good way to protect those you love."
"Why?"
"Because…sometimes, some light lies can hurt less than the truth."
"I don't understand," Natsuki answered, cocking her head to one side.
"You will when you become an adult. I'm sure you'll become somebody respectable and admirable."
"I'm not sure…but I will try my best," Natsuki muttered with a pout.
"Also in future, I will be busy with work… I need to earn more money or we lose everything: our home, our life in Fuuka. I don't want Shizuru to move out somewhere with no money. She's happy here…even though there was and will be some bad moments. Do you understand what I'm saying Natsuki?" She frowned, but nodded.
Shizuru's father continued: "So…when I'm not at home, I want you to protect her. You are also a little girl, but I can see you care about her like she was your own sister. You are very close. I'm sure that you wouldn't hurt her like her own parents did, like I did."
"So…Will you apologize to Zuru because of your mistakes?" Kuga asked innocently, and the dark-haired man was speechless. How was it possible that a little girl like Shizuru and her best friend perfectly understood the situation, which was more complex than some adults could ever imagine.
"Yes, I will… because you helped me to open my eyes. Thank you, Natsuki."
It had already been six months since Mr. Fujino found a job, and he was less present for his daughter. There were only a few calls; a few visits on weekends. He became scarce, until he no longer had any presence.