"So, why are we out here again?"
The smaller girl asks her father as leaves crunch under their feet while they walk along the grass. November. More leaves fall from their homes and the air is crisp. Usually, this is where the temperature drops and snowfalls. However, this year it seemed unlikely. "I'm here to teach you a little somethin', Mifuyu. It's very important."
Her dad says confidently as he strides past her as they get close to his favorite spot in the woods. It was a small open area where trees circled each other. The trees were perfectly in line and if she looked up, Mifuyu could see the pale blue sky up above. When looking straight ahead, she sees a tree with several little dots in the middle while the other trees had no scars in their bark. "Today, I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself with this."
Her father pulls something out from behind and it's a regular although very shiny pistol. The small girl tilts her head and looks at the tree, then back to the gun.
"You're gonna teach me how to shoot a gun? But, isn't that bad? "Her father leans down to her height and puts a hand on her shoulder.
"It's only bad if you use it irresponsibly. I'm going to make sure you know how to use it. If bad people ever show up in your life, then you know what to do if they threaten you." He says with a small smile. Mifuyu blinks, nodding. "Okay!"
Her father scoots behind his daughter and puts the pistol in her hands but is guided by his own. "Don't worry," He says from behind. "It's not loaded. It's not going to hurt you." He then places her average-sized index finger on the trigger along with his rather large one. "Take a deep breath and concentrate."
"What types of people do I shoot? " Mifuyu asks, disregarding her father's advice.
"Only the people that threaten you as I said, Mifuyu. You never use it to kill another person for no reason. The gun doesn't cause trouble. Only yourself."
"The gun...don't cause trouble...only yourself?" The twelve-year-old traces along with those words carefully, repeating for validation.
"Yes, exactly. Now-"
"Then why am I shaking, Dad?" Mifuyu interrupts.
A long pause.
"There's no reason to be scared.." He says softly. "You're not hurting anybody right now, Mifuyu. You won't hurt anybody you care about, I promise." Mifuyu ponders that for a second. She's only twelve years old and she's being taught how to use a weapon already? That didn't seem normal. "Now, you just need-"
"Wait." Mifuyu interrupts one last time. Her father patiently waits for her question.
" ... " She lets go of the gun and turns to face him, her face directly aligning with his. "Are you going to get yourself hurt again, Daddy? " Mifuyu feels tears welting up in her eyes. Another long pause.
"I'm not going anywhere, Mifuyu. Trust me. Nothing bad is going to happen to me." He says, that permanent smile still plastering his lips. Was that a lie? She didn't want her father to go away from her. Especially forever. Maybe...she should trust him more.
"...Okay." Mifuyu kisses her father's nose and turns back around, now holding the pistol again.
He chuckles and aims it directly at the worn tree. "Concentrate and take a deep breath." He asks and his daughter does so, her little chest going up and then slowly coming back down. "Good. Have a tight grip and stay on target." His hand lightly tightens on the pistol and Mifuyu does the same. "Very good, Mifuyu. Don't be afraid and don't be scared. Look them in the eye…" The gun aims at the worn tree and she focuses on one of the little holes, taking one last breath.
"Bang."
An annoying alarm sound startles the sleeping adolescent, jolting from her bed in fright before realizing it was just her phone. Mifuyu sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. She quietly gets up from her comfortable cloud of a bed to peak outside her blinds. Squinting slightly at the sudden ray of light and adjusting, it was sunset. Panicking slightly, Mifuyu grabs her cellphone from the nightstand to check what time it was.
6:00 PM.
She tosses her phone on top of her bed and reaches her arm high for the ceiling, stretching. "Damn, it's gonna be another loong night," Mifuyu complains and grunts, popping her fingers and then her neck. She then grabs her phone and opens her bedroom door, heading down the wooden staircase.
"Well good evening, Mifuyu dear!" Hinata's head tilted upwards to see Mifuyu on the staircase. "You're just in time. I'm getting ready to fix a small dinner. Would you get Akari?" She asks politely, her tired blue eyes struggling to stay aloft. Mifuyu shrugs and complies with her request, hopping down the last three steps to turn to her left. Immediately she spots her outside in the back, tending to her garden. The teenager opens the sliding glass door and leans against the frame, staring down at her second aunt.
"Hey, Hinata needs you in the kitchen," Mifuyu says, crossing her arms.
Akari doesn't seem to pay any attention to her as she hums to herself while picking more vegetables. Agitated, Mifuyu leaves her comfortable shade and reaches over to tap her shoulder. Akari becomes startled, almost dropping her basket. "Jesus, Mifuyu! I had no idea you were behind me, goodness!" She says, putting a hand over her chest. Mifuyu rolls her eyes and points to the doorway. "Hinata needs you. Kitchen."
"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, huh?" Akari jests, doing a small nudge to the ravenette's arm before going inside with her basket. Mifuyu trails behind her to only immediately go upstairs. "Mifuyu, darling! Are you going to eat with us tonight?" Hinata asks.
"No, auntie. I'm gonna pass." She grunts and shuts her bedroom door, turning on the light. Mifuyu grabs her undergarments and uniform, setting them on her messy bed. She then skedaddles to her bathroom for a hot shower.
...
"Mifuyu, you're gonna be late!" Akari yawns out to her niece from below, hearing the bedroom door slam open.
"Don't-!" Hinata yells out, beginning to lecture.
"Don't slam the bedroom door open! I got it, aunties!" Mifuyu groans as she runs down the staircase, desperate to get to the front door. She grabs her blue school bag from the dinner table and hops down a platform, slipping on her school shoes. Right before she could leave, Hinata stops her.
"Don't forget this!"
Mifuyu whips around to see a cheap, wooden bento box being held out for her to take. Sighing, she goes to turn back around. "I don't need it, Hin-auntie."
"Please, Mifuyu? I never make you anything for school and I wanted to try. So, please? I know tonight is going to be rough with your test." The student pauses in her rush to stare blankly at the front door. Then looks down at her shoes and snatches the bento box from her hands. To which Hinata claps in delight.
"Look, Akari! I finally did it!"
"Yes, Hina. You did great." Akari laughs from the kitchen, the sound of running water hitting the sink making it hard to hear what she was saying. Mifuyu puts the bento in her school bag and opens the front door. "Please be careful, Mifuyu! Don't forget your-"
"Cell-phone! Got it! Bye!" Mifuyu yells and shuts the door, starting to jog in place before finally leaving her apartment. Almost tumbling down the steps, she makes it to her assigned car. She opens up the car door and plops down in the backseat, sighing in relief. The usher rolls his eyes and puts it in drive, letting Mifuyu buckle up.
"Did they keep you?" He asked, looking momentarily into the rearview mirror. "Yeah, as always," Mifuyu responds and dissociates with the driver by fiddling with her phone. Before she knew, the time had flown by and the car had arrived at the academy. Mifuyu puts her phone in her skirt pocket before grabbing her school bag and exits her escort, entering the school with reluctance. She hoists her school bag further on her shoulder, messing with the black scarf that was tightly latched on to the handle of the bag. Suddenly she hears a squeal, which didn't frighten the student hardly at all.
"There he is!" One brunette exclaims before yanking her friend along, a small crowd starting to form around a very prominent figure in the school. Rather, just a popular student. "Kou-kun, good evening!" "It's soo good to see you, Kou-kun!" "How have you been? Kya, it's so good to see you!"
She rolls her silver eyes and walks past the group of fangirls. Every single night it has to be some time, a fan group gathers around Kou Mukami-much like a cult. She never saw the appeal. Sure he was attractive for his age but, it didn't warrant all the attention did it? She can hear him laugh nervously from behind her. "One at a time please, M-Neko-Chan's!" Mifuyu gags and quickly trots up the steps for homeroom.
Yep. Another long night.