Stupid! Stupid!
Those words cycled through Natsuki's head as she ran and ran.
Where was she running too? Should she have run at all? Neither of these questions did anything to stop her. Even her pounding heart heating up from the exertion was enough to stop her.
However, just when it seemed nothing would stop her, her frantic escape came to a screeching halt thanks to a sizable puddle of water.
As she was picking herself up, Natsuki had finally come to realize it was raining. The weather itself was against her now.
"Now what?"
She needed a place to stay. At the very least, there had to be a viable spot for her to weather out the increasingly violent storm.
Some ideas came to mind, but she knew that there was no way she could realistically expect to just show up out of the blue.
Recognizing this, she knew she had only one option left.
She once again started running, braving the antagonistic weather on her way to her new destination. The heavy rain along accompanying the wind slamming against her face seemed almost personal.
I hope it'll be good enough.
This singular thought provided Natsuki with enough strength until she finally reached her goal.
Sighs of relief were mixed in with her heavy breathing as she entered aging old school building residing beside its contemporary counterpart with sound.
"Maybe this wasn't the best idea…"
Though the building provided shelter, there was nothing there that could counter the nearly freezing temperature. Fortunately, she had just the thing right in her backpack.
"Of all the times to forget to pack it…!"
Natsuki threw her bag on the ground, berating herself for forgetting to bring a blanket. She turned around to leave in a huff, only to for the sight of millions of raindrops forming a torrent of water serving to remind her of why she sought shelter in the first place.
"This used to be a part of the school. There has to be something here," she rationalized.
That was how her search began. She scoured the building from bottom to top, but something as simple as a blanket never materialized.
"Great. Guessed, they must have cleared all that kind of stuff out of here."
All seemed lost until she heard something flapping in the wind. Behind her was a sizable curtain hanging off a singular hook. Upon closer inspection, she noticed there was a sizable hole in it.
"Oh well."
She snagged the curtain from the hook and brought it over to a nearby couch. Looking around closer, she realized the room looked like it was made for rest and relaxation.
Wonder if this was the teacher's old break room or something.
With a bored shrug, Natsuki laid across the couch and pulled the curtain over her. As she had feared, it did very little to shield her from the cold.
But there was no other option. This was the best she could scrounge up and she knew had to deal with it for the night.
"Guess it still beats sleeping by the stream…"
She closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep as soon as possible. Afterall, the sooner she fell under, the sooner the day could finally end.
But just as that thought crossed her mind, she heard footsteps. They already sounded nearby and were rapidly approaching her current location.
Her body jolted up; her heart beating so hard against her chest that she was sure it would burst through it.
A figure soon stepped into the room, leaving Natsuki speechless.
"H-Hiro!?" Natsuki's finger trembled as she pointed at the improbable sight.
Despite the loud greeting, Hiro still felt nothing but relief.
"Thank goodness you were here," she said with a gentle smile.
"How did you know I was here?" Suddenly, the answer to Natsuki's own question became all too clear. "Wait, did Mali track me again?"
"Tracking? Was Mali tracking you?"
"Eh… Never mind. What are you doing here this late?"
Hiro stepped towards Natsuki, bringing the backpack she had discarded earlier into view.
"I figured this is where you would be." Hiro answered.
"How? I didn't even know I would be here," Natsuki pointed out.
"Well, after Yuri and Monika told me about how Yuri met up with you earlier and how you seemed really upset and with the weather, I thought this would be the perfect place to take shelter and to be alone while also being familiar ground and a bit out there for anyone searching for you."
"Oh…" Was that logic sound or a stretch? It felt like a little of both to Natsuki. The thing is… It's really weird how she considered all that so quickly.
Once that thought passed, Natsuki finally noticed Hiro looking around the room.
"What's wrong?" Natsuki asked.
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about a time when Hiroko brought Shujinkou and Sayori here to explore for Sayori's birthday," Hiro explained. "I can see kids finding exploring here fun."
"Wasn't that fun for me…"
Natsuki sighed and she crawled out from under her curtain. There was no way to avoid what was coming next.
"You never answered my question: What're you doing here?" she solemnly asked again.
"…You were out alone, and I didn't think you had a place to stay."
"That's it? That's really all it took for you to go out in this weather and look for me?"
"Is there supposed to be more?" Hiro asked with a confused expression.
"Yeah, I mean, I know we had a nice talk the other day and you patched me up, but this seems like the kind of thing you do for family or if you've known a person for a long time. You could have just reported me missing if it really bothered you that much," Natsuki pointed out.
"I suppose but…" Hiro's eyes were filled with regret as she took in the pouring rain from outside. "I guess I was just too worried to just leave it at that and let things work themselves out."
"But why? I'd understand if it was Sayori, but why would me possibly being out by myself bother you so much?"
"It… just does."
Natsuki averted her gaze for a brief moment. There was something confounding yet touching about Hiro's response. Though she wished that moment could last, she knew there was still something uncomfortable coming.
"That's not the only thing you wanted to say to me though, right…?" Natsuki asked.
Hiro said nothing as she took a seat next to Natsuki.
This had to be the moment where the adult would lay into her for keeping secrets, Natsuki was sure of it. That had to be what was going to happen, right?
Her body tensed as Hiro reached into a bag she had brought with her.
"I almost forgot about these."
What was revealed was the last thing Natsuki would have expected. All of a sudden, a bar of sea-salt ice cream was suddenly hovering in front of her.
"Wha-Where did that come from?" Her question was not only directed to the frozen treat's sudden appearance. Switching to ice cream offering from the expected conclusion of their conversation was such a fast change of subject that it almost gave Natsuki whiplash.
"I figured you should have some since some were made for you anyway," Hiro explained.
"You make those too?"
Hiro gently shook her head. "No, Shujinkou made a batch before he fell into a deep slumber. I think he was just trying to find some way to cheer everyone up."
"With ice cream again? That's so childish…" Natsuki accepted the treat and took a bite out of it. The gestures from mother and son left a small smile on her face. "Ugh… Why's whenever Shujinkou does something childish, it's charming and cool, but when I do something people consider childish, it's bad?"
"I don't really know; I mean, don't we all have an inner child? I don't really get why everyone makes fun of people for indulging that from time to time."
"Exactly! I know that it's sometimes embarrassing, but you don't have to hold it over people for pretty much the rest of our lives."
Hiro dropped her head, trying her hardest to hide her red face. "I know one recent childish moment I'm glad no one has seen. It involved a lot of yarn."
"Come on, how bad can a knitting accident be?" Natsuki tried to lighten the mood with her sarcastic comment, but the self-conscious air emanating from Hiro proved it pointless.
"I… I ended up tied up to a chair," she admitted.
"Eh?! How the heck did you do that to yourself!?"
"I don't know. It's that moment when working on anything related to art and you get frustrated when things aren't turning out how you envision it, so you try to quickly bullrush your way to that result and one thing led to another…"
"…I still don't see how you ended up tied to a chair. You saying one thing leads to another makes me think you got caught in one of those animated fight clouds to show intense the fight is."
"It felt like it… And it wasn't an one time affair; Shujinkou can vouch for that."
"Wow… I did not expect you to have a moment like that."
Hiro chuckled. "But you see my point, correct?"
"That sounds more like a human mistake than childish, to be frank," Natsuki pointed out.
"I certainly felt like a kid then…"
"No, childish would be hitting someone on the head with a poster just for thinking that they were being disrespectful."
"I really feel like having to be bailed out by your son from a cartoonish situation seems more childish."
"Fine, then try to top holding a grudge over said son for something that was really someone else's fault."
"Freaking out and nearly embarrassing him when first meeting his new friends by constantly staring like I've never seen other humans before."
"I thought that was just because it so happened that all his friends are girls."
"I'm pretty sure at the time, I would have essentially reacted the same way no matter what the scenario was."
Natsuki just shrugged. "I guess that's just a mom thing. I guess I'd have to have a kid to understand that one better."
"My mother said the same thing," Hiro recalled. "Turns out she was right again."
"You keeping score of that?"
"Too numerous to count. My mother is very knowledgeable of a lot of things; it comes from traveling around a lot."
"Yeah, guess that explains why you can't hide anything from her… Wonder if that explains Mali?"
Upon that name leaving her mouth, Natsuki was reminded of her current situation.
"The heck?! How'd you get me acting like today is a normal day?" she exclaimed.
"I guess we both just got absorbed into the conversation?" Hiro hypothesized.
"Both? You mean you weren't putting a consistent effort to keep the subject changed?"
"Admittedly, I just played everything by instinct. I'm not exactly the planning type and if there was something going around my head then it would be just not to do anything that would be hurtful."
Natsuki timidly scratched her right cheek. "…Your family really does have automatic consideration coded into your DNA, huh? I don't know how that keeps surprising me either."
"It's just how I was raised."
"Guess that also explains why you're not pointing out how I ran away from my problems despite you saying I don't seem the type."
"Natsuki… I can't fault you from acting the way that you did, and you can't really fault yourself for not picking up the pieces when the situation still persists."
"But what about me being friends with Shujinkou when I knew what could happen because of that?"
"I can't fault you for seeking friends either and neither should you."
"How can you say that; you're his mother, aren't you?"
"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that you didn't hurt him, and it sounds like you've done everything you could to avoid that."
Natsuki opened her mouth to refute, but nothing came out. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the words to fight back.
She trembled, with her desperation quickly growing into frustration. What could she say to get Hiro to understand?
But as she looked at her gentle and concerned face, that frustration was immediately washed away.
All that was left was a single question. "…What am I supposed to do? I know what everyone's going to say but…"
"They're your family?"
Natsuki meekly nodded her head.
"Is that why you're really here, you don't want me to go as far as what Shujinkou did when he was a kid?" Natsuki questioned.
"Partly," Hiro admitted. "I really don't want anyone else to end up in that situation."
Such openness once again left Natsuki bereft of words. Though she was sure words were not necessary to convey how she felt.
"…Natsuki, why don't you stay at our house for the night?" Hiro offered.
"Seriously, you're just going to end things here?"
"My first concern is just making sure you have a place to stay tonight. Anything else is for you to decide."
Natsuki took another bite from her sea-salt ice cream. It was suddenly sweeter than usual.
"…Okay."
…
"Wrap the leash around the neck and pull. Strike with the whip, each burning sting ripping away pieces of their humanity. Muscle and sinew is no longer yours and like that you're theirs in body. In more ways than one."
Mali giggled as she stuffed her phone into her pocket.
"Surely such techniques aren't still being used to this day, right, Kaen?"
Those were the very first words Mali spoke upon seeing Kaen the next morning.
"…You're still here?" Kaen sounded bored as she questioned heard, leaving Mali further intrigued.
"Of course, I'm still learning about Natsuki-chan, after all. For example, I've learned where Natsuki-chan gained the ability to withstand abuse from criminals. I've always wondered how someone so cute could be so tough-looking. Or at least put up a decent looking façade."
Mali playfully pouted as she Kaen begun to walk away.
"Ah, no comment? You seemed all too eager to blurt out a kiddish secret of Natsuki-chan's," she reminded him.
"Where is she, anyway?"
"Ah, Natsuki-Chan isn't here right now. I couldn't say I blame her for that, not after last night."
"You trying to say something to me?"
Mali jumped up. She ran her fingers up her arms and around her neck.
"Yeah. You're human. So flawed like the rest of us," Mali continued. "That said, I believe that your specific flaws fall on the wrong side of the so called 'morality' our society has."
"Are you criticizing how I raise my own kid?" Hearing the building frustration in Kaen's voice brought a bigger smile to Mali's face.
"I honestly don't really care how you 'raise' Natsuki-Chan and I also find the fact that you could lose yourself so publicly twice pretty hilarious. At the end of the day, I'd wouldn't even be here right now; I'd probably let things play out naturally with maybe a push or nudge here or there. Things are usually much more interesting that way."
Suddenly, Mali's smile fell away and she scratched her right cheek.
"But you see, the simple fact of the matter is that my Senpai was going to be brought into this either way through association and his naïve innocence compelling him to go through the wringer for his friends.
He was always going to be painted as a target no matter if there was a 3rd party or not. …But you still threatened to hurt him physically and as his kohāi I don't think that I can let that slide."
"So what, you want to get revenge for that kid? He has to let a little girl fight his battles for him?" Kaen ridiculed.
"Hehe… You have no idea how apt that comment is. But don't get the wrong idea; Senpai's flaw is being slow and reactive, that's actually a problem both he and his friends have due to 'standards'. 'We have to be sure while not investigating too slowly', 'We can take her word for it', 'I hope it's not the case. I just have to hope'.
So much many reasons not to just out and out ask. So of course, I have to be the one to really ask, how do you raise your daughter? Or has she really raised herself because you can't be bothered to do it yourself."
As soon as those words left her mouth, Mali found herself jerked towards Kaen by the neck of her shirt.
"Listen kid, I don't need to be judged by some random weirdo," he growled.
"Ah, so that's where she gets it from. I was wondering where Natsuki-chan gets her immediately defensive response from," Mali laughed. "Kind of pathetic, don't you think?"
"I'm warning you…!"
"Warning me of what? Are you trying to get me to believe that you'll go any further than this? Tell me something, Kaen; isn't this pretty much the reason Natsuki-chan only has her father in her life right now?"
After that, Mali had a brief moment of flying through the air before her vision was dark for a split second.
As her knees hit the floor, she opened her eyes to discover something red clouding her vision. She gazed up at the wall in front of her, her eyes transfixed on the new dent from the impact.
"Wow…"
Standing up was a breeze and there wasn't much dust to brush off, but the blood tricling down her face, that was another story.
She had heard that tasting your own blood after pain was an uncanny sight and sure enough, Kane seem disturbed by the sight of Mali's tongue scooping some back into her body.
"So forceful, Kaen. No wonder your daughter gravitated towards some kid she just met despite her reservations," Mali playfully mocked.
Again, Mali's vision went dark for an instance. This time, she opened her eyes, just in time to see her blood fly through the air. She gently rubbed her bruised right cheek and laughed.
"Alright, I think two allows for self-defense."
With a smirk, Mali jumped up and drove her fist into Kaen's face. As she had expected, it was only enough strength to cause him to stumble back a few feet.
"So, are you ready for more? I probably should have told you sooner: I don't just stand by and take crap. Hehe, even if I prefer different methods to handle it than this."