Walking through the calm forest with her hands in her pockets, Kagami slowly breathed in. The voices of her friends talking were all muffled as she took in the peacefulness. She couldn't remember the last time everything felt this nice. She missed it. Some things on Vytal somehow didn't change despite how rapidly the city had grown into a concrete jungle.
Exhaling slowly, she raised an eyebrow as she heard Elise call out her name. "Hmm?" She looked over. Blinking a few times, she froze in place. "Elise?" Her brow furrowed as she glanced around. "Chey? Kris? Aero?" She paused for a moment. "Baren?"
Hearing footsteps, she quickly turned around. For a moment, she didn't believe who she was seeing. "Shinrin?"
"That's me." The brute of a bandit grinned with his cloak hiding his body. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Taking a few breaths, Kagami tilted her head a little while staying silent.
"What? Nothing?" He outstretched his large and scarred arms. "Come on now, we're technically family."
"You're technically..." She trailed off. Gritting her teeth, she heavily gulped. After a moment, she blinked and held up her hand. "This is another mind games semblance, isn't it?" She glanced around. Seeing no one else, she took a deep breath and raised her left arm.
Seeing a glow come from it, Shinrin scoffed. "Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you. You know why?" He grinned and took a step closer. "If you do, and I disapear, then you really did kill me back in Vale."
Sharply breathing in, the young jadette froze. Letting the glow fade from her arm, she took a deep breath and lowered her head. After a moment of thinking to herself, she sat down on the ground and closed her eyes.
"Oh, what? Did I strike a nerve?" He chuckled as he began to pace around her. "You really don't like being labeled for what you really are, huh? You want to be a Huntress. You want to be a protector. You want to save everyone." He shook his head.
Stepping in front of her, he knelt down. "Oh but you're none of those things. The second you use that fancy little semblance of yours and get rid of me for good, you're proving that to yourself." He leaned in and whispered. "You're a murderer. And you know it."
Flexing her jaw, Kagami slowly breathed in. "And I accept that." Raising her hand that began to glow, she brought it up and placed it against the side of her head. The vision of Shinrin soon faded away. Slowly breathing in and out, she raised her head. Opening her eyes, she blinked a little as she glanced at Kris standing beside her.
Coming home from work, Midori stretched her shoulder blades with a quiet groan. She was beginning to feel stiff. It was rather difficult to find a place for everyone to sleep in her small home. In her room, she slept on the floor alongside Aero and Eleanor while Baren slept in the bed, despite her urging someone else to take it.
Kuro and Kagami were sleeping with Gurin in her room. The two older siblings slept on the floor while the youngest stayed on her bed. The rest of team MACE slept in Kuro's room with Elise claiming the bed for herself even though Kris tried very hard to fight for it. And Aza got to spend his nights on the couch.
The Monomane home was cramped and Midori hated it. This was the first time anyone had visited since they moved here. Excluding her friendly neighborhood mailman. His last house of the day was hers. The occasional tea with him was nice. Eleven people in her home was not nice. She didn't know how much longer she could take it. But at least it was better than a dozen people.
Exhaling as she came to her front door, she opened it up and stepped inside. Stopping in the doorway, she blinked a few times and made eye contact with the new young blonde. Staring for a moment, her brow twitched slightly before she turned around and stepped back out. The door closed behind her.
Blinking a few times, Kuro slouched over the board game he had out. "Uhh..." He trailed off.
"I'll go talk to her!" Gurin bounced a little. "Don't worry. It'll be fine." She smiled over at Kit before disappearing in a blink of an eye.
Clearly nervous and possibly a bit terrified, the blonde swallowed hard while rubbing her arm. Her hair was braided into pigtails. She now wore a soft yellow short sleeve dress with a pleated skirt and a light brown shoulder cloak with golden buttons. "O-Okay..." Feeling her heart begin to pound inside her head, she shifted around just a little. She then let out a very quiet yelp and flinched as she was flicked.
"Don't let yourself be overwhelmed." Baren mumbled as she pulled her arm back. She was sitting behind her with her eyes closed and body turned to the side. "Your anxiety will only make you lose focus."
Glancing back at her, Kit furrowed her brow a bit before looking away. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her head.
"Hey." Kagami half whispered as she moved her piece on the board game they were playing. Eyeing the olive skinned girl, she smiled. "It may seem like she's being harsh, but she does care." She leaned back a little while glancing at her mentor for a second. "You'll learn a lot from her."
"I promise." With a smile, Kris nodded towards Kit.
Eyeing the redhead, Kit smiled softly back before nodding slowly. "Okay." She mumbled a little more confidently.
Opening the front door again, Gurin smiled from ear to ear as she stepped in. "Mom said it was fine if you stayed with us!" She swung her arms back and forth before taking her seat.
"I did not say that exactly..." Midori took a deep breath as she closed the door and took her shoes off. Looking over, she glanced at the young girl and politly nodded. "But you are welcomed to stay here just like everyone else."
"U-Um... thank you..." She quietly let out before flinching as she was flicked again. Narrowing her eyes, she rubbed where she was hit and glared back at the one armed warrior.
Glancing between the two of them, the former Huntress raised an eyebrow. Looking at her eldest daughter, she noticed the cut on her neck. "What... happened out in the River of Trees?"
"Baren tried to kill Kagami." Gurin blurted out suddenly.
Choking on the air she was breathing, the old warrior shifted her body and turned to stare over at her in disbelief. This girl was a whole new different kind of Monomane and just as troublesome.
"I'm sorry, what?" Midori held out her hands as she waited for some kind of explanation. "What?"
"It's a long story!" Elise called out from the kitchen. Popping her head out, she smiled. "We can explain it over dinner. Ma made it."
"I helped too!" Aero shouted before yelping just as the sound of pots and pans clattering was heard.
Closing her eyes, Midori took a deep breath before glaring at the group playing a tabletop game. "What happened??" She raised her voice like only a mother could.
As she did so, Elise slowly slid back into the kitchen with wide eyes.
"Hey, hey. No yelling." Kris narrowed her eyes while pointing up at the former Huntress.
"Are you pointing at me?" She gestured towards herself. "Really? Because-"
"Okaaay, let's go talk real quick." Grabbing her mother by the arm, Kagami tugged her towards the door. "Gurin, you did a terrible job at explaining!"
"All I did was beg her to let my friend stay over." The younger jadette shrugged a bit.
"Friend...?" Kit blinked a few times while glancing over. "We're friends?"
"Well, duh." Her head tilted. "What else would we be?"
Watching his sister drag their mother outside, Kuro reached up to rub the back of his head. "Well... I think that went better than I expected."
"I'm concerned about what you were expecting to happen." Cheyenne mumbled with a sigh.
"It could have been way worse." He chuckled a bit. "Dad could have been the first one home."
During dinner, the events that happened in Grimm's Forest were fully explained to everyone that wasn't there and how Baren was going to help teach Kit to control her semblance alongside teaching Gurin a few things. Midori wasn't exactly pleased with everything, but she was accepting. Not even Aza could turn away a girl their youngest daughter's age who needed help. It's how they ended up with their son anyway.
That night, Midori uncomfortably shifted around on the bed of blankets she had across the floor. Trying not to groan so she wouldn't wake anyone, she opened her eyes and stared through the darkness of her room. The moonlight that was peeking through the blinds was barely illuminating it. Noticing someone sitting up on her bed, she too slowly sat up. "Baren?" She whispered.
Jerking, the old warrior's breath hitched.
Raising an eyebrow, Midori sat up a little straighter. "I know you don't usually sleep when others are sleeping, but you do normally lay down and close your eyes. What's-"
"Do you think I'm a good person?" She suddenly asked in a very quiet tone.
Taken aback, the jadette woman blinked a few times. Struggling to find the words, she shook her head softly. "What...?"
"Do you think I'm a good person?" Baren repeated. Staring down at her left hand, she softly exhaled and looked over at her former student. "Do you?"
"What... what kind of question is that?" Slowly getting up, she winced slightly at the pain in her back. Stepping over, she sat down on the bed near her. "Where's this even coming from? Is it because of what-"
"You didn't answer." She interrupted her again. "I've tried so hard to make up for everything I've done wrong. I really have." Looking back down at her left hand, she clenched her jaw while balling it into a fist. "I tried to make sure no one I knew would make the same mistakes I did..."
"But I lost my team too." Midori slowly nodded with a small exhale. "That doesn't mean Kagami will. She-"
"That doesn't mean she won't either. I've seen so many lives lost to recklessness and the lack of knowledge. And what happened out there..." Lowering her head, the pinkette reached up to grab her face. "She was terrified. But all she could focus on was helping me. She shouldn't have... I should have..." Baring her teeth, she gripped her face tighter.
Keeping quiet for a moment, the former Huntress took a very slow and deep breath. Reaching over, she placed a hand on her old teacher's shoulder. "I think... I think you're being way too hard on yourself. You, a total stranger, have done more for me, my friends, my family and my family's friends than I could have ever asked for. You found a random kid on the streets and taught her everything you know. Then you found her daughter wandering in the middle of nowhere and taught her the same. Now you're planning on training her other daughter and another random girl you found in the middle of the woods too." She took a breath before continuing.
"You do more for everyone than I have ever met. You keep watch at night and never complain about being tired. You make sure everyone is safe, especially when situations get out of hand. You always make sure everyone has plenty to eat even if they eat differently like Kris. You always do all you can and you never ask for anything in return. You are far greater than just the term 'good person.' I'm being serious." Pausing for a moment, Midori inhaled and slowly stood. Patting her shoulder a little, she slowly made her way back to her makeshift bed. "And I think you should try on that arm." She added before laying back down and closing her eyes.
Staring in her direction, Baren took a few breaths before heavily sighing. Bringing her knees up, she rested her arm across them and hunched forward. She kept quiet for several minutes while looking at nothing in the darkness. Breathing in, she slowly leaned back while closing her eyes. Tomorrow was another day. Tomorrow was more time to think about everything. Tomorrow was a chance to do something new. To grow. To be better.