Mao Mao feeling Blue

The rehabilitation wasn't as bad as Mao Mao had initially thought it would be, it helped that it was day one. Camille simply had him do your typical arm exercises, she informed him that they would transition to more advanced techniques later down the line.

Currently, he was sitting in his therapist's waiting room. The room wasn't very large, the furniture consisted of six chairs, and two side stands that had stacks of magazines resting on top of them. Not too far off from his side was the front door to the mental health clinic that Blue worked out of. In front of him was the door to the office where he and Blue would have their counseling sessions.

Mao Mao was reading the blunt-force section of the latest weapons catalog, the pages were adorned with images of nightsticks, war hammers, and other various weapons that were paired with the descriptions and prices. While Mao Mao was enraptured by an interesting pair of nunchucks, the door to Blue's office slammed open.

Looking up from the catalog in surprise, Mao Mao saw Pinky storm his way towards the the front door. The tiny rhinoceros wore a look of supreme irritation.

"I'm insecure? You're insecure," the Sweetypie mumbled under his breath. The tiny rhino then proceeded to the front door, swinging it open with vigor. He then ran outside, where he was sure to cause some chaos.

Mao Mao didn't concern himself with whatever that was, if anything happened, the Sheriffs Dept. would take care of it. It was only Pinky after all.

"Next," projected a melancholic voice from Blue's office. The therapist's voice, or more specifically his tone, was an iconic trait that made him stand out. It was something that could force you to fall asleep, if you weren't careful to stay alert.

Putting down the catalog, Mao Mao pushed himself up and made his way to Blue's office. This room, in contrast to the waiting room, was lacking in decor; the only thing in the room was a lounge chair that was placed next to the room's only window, and a chair that was rather fancy, which Blue was currently sitting in.

Blue didn't look up from his clipboard when the Sheriff entered the room. Mao Mao, not waiting for permission, sat down in the lounge chair. Mao Mao gazed outside the window, where he saw the people of Pure Heart going about their daily lives.

"Hello again Sheriff Mao Mao," greeted the Sweetypie, snapping Mao Mao's attention away from the window. "What will we talk about today? You're insecurities about your father, what people may or may not think about you, any guilt you may have picked up recently?"

When these sessions initially started, it was a weekly thing. But after Shin Mao's visit to Pure Heart Valley, most of Mao Mao's insecurities regarding his family were taken care of. So Mao Mao then requested that these weekly sessions into a bimonthly sessions.

"Well, nothing about my father," Mao Mao started, anxious about what he felt he needed to talk about. "If it's all the same to you, I kind of want to talk about my sisters."

This was the first time Mao Mao ever caught Blue off guard, Mao Mao had talked about his family before, but in terms of his familial issues, they mostly stemmed from his father's neglect during his childhood. His sisters seemed to be a subject he tried to avoid if he could help it.

"Well I think that's good you want to talk about them," said Blue, pleased that Mao Mao wanted to make progress in this field. "We should probably start as to what you think of your sisters."

Mao Mao laid back, getting comfy as if there was a lot he wanted to discuss. "Well where do I start? They're each amazing, and in more ways than one."

Blue wrote down the key facts onto his clipboard, while also committing as much as he could to memory. In this line of work, even the tiniest detail was a key factor in finding the root cause of a person's internal issues.

"Amazing, how?" Blue asked, inquiring that he needed specifics.

"W-well, one of my sisters came to Pure Heart yesterday," said Mao Mao, realization dawning upon Blue as to why the Sheriff wanted to talk about his sisters now of all times. "And this morning she made this amazing breakfast."

"You're going to need to clarify "amazing" Sheriff Mao Mao," said Blue, looking up from his clipboard.

"Well Minori, my sister, would try to make meals for the family in the past," said Mao Mao, shivering at the memory of the awful taste. "And they would be the epitome of inedible food. That was over a decade ago, and when I woke up this morning, she made a breakfast that would put the world's greatest chefs to shame."

"I see," said Blue, setting his eyes back on his clipboard. "And you feel... what exactly?"

"I feel, I feel... inferior," said Mao Mao, melancholy in his tone.

"To cooking?"

"No!" Mao Mao said, upset that Blue was doing this on purpose, forcing him to admit the reason for his feeling of inferiority. "I saw it as my sisters making progress, while I've been doing what? Fighting the same pirates every week, and getting beat by mere insects so bad that I have to be on leave?"

"So you feel like while your sisters have been making strides, you've been stuck in place the whole time," said Blue, summarizing Mao Mao's monologue.

"Yes," replied Mao Mao, admitting to his shortcomings as a legendary hero. "But that isn't the only thing that has me upset."

"What else is there then?" Blue asked, putting down his clipboard, giving Mao Mao his full, undivided attention.

"It's just, Badgerclops and Adorabat," Mao Mao started, sitting up to look Blue in the eye. "Before I woke up this morning, they had already talked about making my sister the stand-in Sheriff of Pure Heart Valley."

"And you feel like they betrayed your trust by doing this behind your back," said Blue, finishing the thought. By now Blue had a generic understanding of Mao Mao's mind and his thought process, it was usually one-tracked and over-exaggerative.

"It's complicated," said Mao Mao, rubbing the back of his head. "I would've liked to at least be a part of the decision. Then there's this feeling in my chest, like I've been replaced; it's only been four days since I was stung, and my position has already been filled."

"Well if you ask me," started Blue, leaning back in his seat. "I think you may be reading too much into this."

"What do you mean?" Mao Mao asked, confused to what Blue was alluding to.

"Well, you've talked about how you've put your trust into others before," said Blue, bring his hands into a steeple. Mao Mao knew the person Blue was referring too, or dog to be more accurate. "And as a result of that misplaced trust, you've started to believe you can't put complete trust in anyone."

"I don't understand," said Mao Mao, starting to get lost in the subject.

"Look, I've known Adorabat for a long time, granted that's just five years. But that's long enough to know how she thinks," said Blue, going into his own monologue. "And she always has her friends welfare in mind. You said so yourself, with your sister in charge, you don't need to concern yourself with your obligations as Sheriff, you can take time to heal properly."

"I-I guess that makes sense," said Mao Mao, reflecting back to this morning, thinking he may have been too hasty.

"And one other thing that may put you at ease," said Blue, grabbing Mao Mao's attention. "Your job as Sheriff isn't one that can be filled by any random person off the street. Not to mention that it's mere coincidence that your sister stopped by just in time to fill your shoes."

Until Blue pointed this out to him, Mao Mao had felt as if a dark presence had been squeezing any positive feelings out of him. Now it feels like the presence had chosen now to take a break .

"Yeah, that makes sense," said Mao Mao, reassuring himself that he was just over exaggerating the situation. "Thanks Ol'Blue, I think I'm feeling better now."

Blue looked to the clock that hung above the door, it read 2:51. "We've still got nine minutes, is there anything else you need to talk about?"

A loud ruckus had started to make itself known in the streets, just outside the window Mao Mao was looking through earlier. Getting up from the lounging chair, Mao Mao moved to see what was taking place outside. The Sweetypies were running down the street in a panicked state.

"Sorry Blue," said Mao Mao, hopping onto the window sill. "Looks like we'll need to cut this therapy session short."

"Mao Mao, stop!" Blue shouted, jumping up from his chair. "You haven't been cleared take part in fights yet, we just established you need to rest!"

Blue was right, Camille had told him he wouldn't be cleared for duty for a couple weeks at most. Just thinking about it was making his sting burn.

"I can't just do nothing," said Mao Mao, watching as the Sweetypies ran by in terror. "I won't sit by knowing that if someone got hurt, I could've done something to prevent it. I have to do something, even if it's just assisting in the evacuation efforts. "

Blue gritted his teeth, he didn't want his patient to backtrack all the progress they just made today. But at the same time, he couldn't stop the Sheriff even if wanted to.

"Fine," said Blue, his shoulders dropping in defeat. "All I ask is that, should you fight, only do so as a last resort."

Mao Mao have a quick nod, and jumped out the window. Turning to where the chaos was originating, he made a beeline for the center of town.