In the front yard of the Monomane house, Gurin slowly circled around Kit with one of her mother's katanas. Her hair was messy and pulled back into a short ponytail. With a deep breath, she quickly stepped forward.
Keeping her distance, Kit brought a wooden staff around to deflect each swing from the blade. She then closed her eyes and ducked down. Tucking and rolling behind her, she swiped with her weapon underneath the other girl's feet.
With a heavy grunt, Gurin landed on her back with a thud. She sighed while letting her arms fall to the ground. "Ow." She looked up. "That was nice."
"It was?" The blonde stepped over while holding her staff close. "Really?" She leaned down and held out a hand.
"Yeah." She nodded back with a smile as she was pulled to her feet. Glancing over her shoulder, she blinked a little as she spotted her sister. Quickly eyeing Kit, she then looked at the front door before biting her lip. In an instant, she appeared in front of her sister. "Heeey, Kagami!"
The older jadette jumped slightly before smiling. "Hey, gremlin. Are you two having fun?"
"Yep. Mom even let me take one of her katanas out." She grinned while eyeing the blade.
"That's nice." She held up the bags she held. "I'll drop these off inside and come back out here to see how you're doing, okay?" She went to step around her.
"Wait! Why not watch now?" Gurin quickly slid in front of her again.
Raising an eyebrow, Kagami tilted her head. "I have groceries." She gently shook the bags.
"Sooooo?" The little girl slumped. "Just for a few minutes? You could spar against both of us!"
"Wait what?" Kit leaned over with a raised hand.
Sighing, the older jadette set the groceries down. "Fine, fine. But just one match." She reached over to mess up her sister's hair even more. Not that she cared.
Glaring over, the young blonde narrowed her eyes at her friend.
With a small shrug, Gurin smiled.
With the two girls circling around her, Kagami twirled her sword around. She glanced between both of them through the corner of her eyes before gripping her weapon in a reverse grip. With a sharp exhale, she took a step back to avoid an attack from a katana. Twisting around, she deflected a swing from a staff.
"You're using it like a baseball bat again." She eyed Kit while parrying against another swing. "Remember, it's an extension of yourself. Move like it's a part of you." Keeping her eyes on her, she brought up her left arm. Extending the blade on her bracer, she blocked an attack from her sister. Seeing sparks from the clashing blades, she smiled.
Smiling back, Gurin quietly chuckled. She then tightened her grip on the weapon and leaned in a little. She was getting stronger.
Struggling to keep her sister pushed back, Kagami used a little more force. Her arm was beginning to shake. She went to say something only to lose her balance from the sudden offset of weight as her sister teleported away. She stumbled a bit before grunting and taking a few steps forward as her back was hit. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she looked over her shoulder.
In a finishing swing position, Kit rapidly blinked a few times as their gazes met. She then flinched and quickly pulled back. "S-Sorry! Was that too hard? Should I um-" She swallowed hard.
"No, no. That was good." She retracted the blade on her bracer and gestured with her hand. "There was a lot of force behind that one. Nice job." She smiled.
Letting out a small shout from above her, Gurin came down on top of her. Baring her teeth, pushed her older sister down onto her back and brought her katana around.
Quickly moving, Kagami brought her sword up and locked it with the thinner blade. "You know..." She took a few deep breaths as she pushed up against her little sister's body weight. "A surprise attack should be a surprise. Quiet. You're not supposed to announce yourself with a shout."
"Ugh." She rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with letting people know I'm about to kick their butt?"
Raising an eyebrow, the older jadette looked into her eyes. In an instance, she disappeared.
Gurin grunted a little as she fell on her hands and knees. She went to push herself up only to grunt louder as she was forced down.
"Because it's much more effective when you sneak attack someone." Kagami leaned over her shoulder while laying on top of her.
"Whateveeer." She groaned back while squirming. "Let me up! You win!" She whined.
"Heh." She smiled before quickly getting up and sliding her sword away. "You're still getting better though. Don't worry." She held out a hand. "Now come on. I got some snacks."
"Ooh? Are you spending more of mom's lien?" Gurin grinned while she was hauled up to her feet. "You know she doesn't like it when you do that."
"Yeah well, she'll get over it." She shrugged while walking over to pick up the groceries.
"You're a bad influence on her." Kit leaned over and whispered quietly.
"Maybe." Gurin grinned before carefully sheathing her mother's weapon. "But everyone needs a little bad influence." She elbowed her.
As Kagami moved towards the door, Gurin quickly grabbed Kit's hand. The two of them teleported away just as the older jadette opened the door. Noticing the lights off, she raised an eyebrow. "Hello?" She asked while flipping the light switch.
The second the lights came on, Elise jumped up in front of her. "Surprise!" She smiled from ear to ear while holding out a round cake with pink frosting and decorations. Behind her, Cheyenne and Kris jumped up. The brunette smiled softly with a wave while the redhead grinned devilishly. All of them were in casual clothes while Elise was barefoot, Cheyenne was in socks and Kris was in slippers.
Blinking a few times, the jadette stared for a moment before slowly turning her head to glare at her mother who sat on the couch.
"They asked." Midori smiled back at her. "You've been friends with them for two years and you never told them your birthday." She crossed her arms.
"It's not important!"
"It's definitely important!" Elise held the cake in one hand and rapidly waved her free arm around. "We even made you a cake!"
"Well, I made the cake." Cheyenne leaned in. "Kris made the frosting and Elise decorated it. Aero and Kuro are trying to make ice cream in the kitchen right now."
"I even made the frosting pink." The redhead grinned more.
Exhaling through her nose, Kagami looked around the house for her mentor. When she found her, she narrowed her eyes.
Smiling, Baren shrugged back at her. "They asked me what your favorite color was. What was I supposed to do?"
"And I was the distraction!" Gurin chuckled while bouncing. "Was I a good distraction??" She quickly glanced around at the group of girls.
"Perfect." Elise held up her thumb.
Rolling her eyes, Kit gently handed the bo staff and katana to Midori. "Thank you for letting us use them again." She softly bowed her head.
"It's no problem." She nodded back.
Taking a deep breath, Kagami waved the groceries around before looking over. "Is this why I was sent to the store too??"
"We needed more time to make the cake since your dad's working and Elise's mother back in Vale." Cheyenne moved her hands behind her back. "And wrap presents." She gestured with her head towards the table.
Glancing at the stack of five boxes, she lowered her head slightly and sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. We can celebrate."
"Like you had a choice!" Elise draped an arm around her while carefully balancing the cake in one hand.
"I will beat you with a carton of eggs." She eyed her with a smile.
"I'm just gonna..." Cheyenne reached out and took the cake.
Suddenly, a small explosion came from the kitchen. Everyone jumped besides Baren. Raising an eyebrow, the old warrior stood up straight. "Aero!" She snapped. "You're making ice cream! It's not Atlas science!"
"Well that's at least easier to understand!" Kuro called back out before yelping as a loud bang was heard.
"Um..." Elise let her shoulders fall.
Sighing, Midori stood up. "We didn't need ice cream anyway." She mumbled before heading into the kitchen to clean up the inevitable mess.
Crowded around the table, Kagami and her friends and family ate cake as she opened her gifts. A few things were helpful, like the leather pouches Cheyenne made her to hold gravity Dust for her bracer and the travel size sharpening stone Kris bought for her. Some others were nice but a bit strange, like the D miniature Kuro, Gurin and Kit had made of her and movie tickets Elise had gotten for the two of them. She couldn't figure out why Elise would want to watch Temple Runner rather than going out and exploring one herself, but she wasn't going to be ungrateful. A peaceful night sounded nice.
Tapping the edges of the last box from her parents, Kagami eyed the door.
"You don't have to wait for him." Midori smiled while taking a bite of cake.
"I know. But I will." She replied.
"But why! I want to know what's inside!" Kris slumped over the table and stared at the box longingly. "I want to know."
"We already had your birthday adventure." Cheyenne yanked her back by her collar. "Remember?"
"Yeah, yeah." The redhead huffed while crossing her arms. "At least mine was cooler."
Hearing the front door unlock, Kagami perked up.
"Dad!" With a smile, Gurin jumped up to her feet and rushed towards the door.
Grunting as he was weakly tackled, Aza chuckled softly. "Oi, careful." He ruffled her hair while closing the door. Looking over, he blinked as he noticed Aero and Kuro covered in soot. "The bloody hell happened?"
"Ice cream..." The dark haired boy mumbled while stabbing at a small piece of cake.
"Yeah..." Aero sighed. With her head laying on the table, she scooped bite after bite into her mouth.
"Right." He nodded slowly before walking behind Kagami. "Whacha get so far?" He smiled before tapping at his gift to her. "What's in here? It looks like it might be something good."
"I wonder how you could ever know that." She eyed him with a smile. Finally opening the box, she tilted her head at the piece of paper inside. "What's this?" She asked while beginning to read over it.
"Your grandfather had a thing for dragons." Midori spoke up. "He was known as the Dragon of Mistral for many reasons. He liked them so much he had his back fully tattooed with one."
"And we thought maybe you'd like to follow a bit more in your family's footsteps." Her father continued as he started to pick up the empty plates at the table. "There is a traditional artist here that uses old techniques." He went to grab the last plate only for Kit to take the stack from him and take them into the kitchen.
"Wait, so are you saying..." Kagami glanced up.
"You have my mother's sword and you have my hoodie." Midori smiled. "I don't have anything besides the memories of my father, but sometimes those are all you need. That is an appointment and let me tell you, it's not easy to get a hold of."
"Hmm." Leaning back, the young jadette thought quietly to herself before gently placing the paper next to the movie tickets and other gifts. "I'll think of something."
"...tattoos are hot..." Elise mumbled almost silently under her breath. This warranted a look from Kris but the redhead was quickly hushed by her Faunus friend.
"Right!" Aza suddenly clapped his hands together. "How about I get us some actual ice cream now? And maybe a movie?" He kicked his son's chair.
With a smile, the dark haired boy rushed off. "I know just the one!!"
"Please dooo..." Aero whimpered before leaning over onto the blonde chef with teary eyes. "I just wanted some vanilla ice cream..."
Blinking, his eyes widened. Reaching over, he patted her head awkwardly. "Oi, alright. I said I'd make some."
After watching movies with her friends and family and eating actual properly made ice cream, Kagami was brushing her teeth in the bathroom and getting ready for bed when she heard a knock. "Hold on. Give me a minute." She mumbled before frowning as she heard the door being opened anyway.
Stepping inside, Baren took a deep breath. "Don't look at me like that." She narrowed her eyes at the girl's reflection. "Here." She held out her left hand.
Eyeing a small box, the jadette raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to get me anything. You don't need to."
"I know, but..." She trailed off a little before setting the box down gently. "I did."
"What is it?" She asked while holding her toothbrush in her mouth so she could pick up the gift.
"Just something small. For you."
Opening the box, Kagami tilted her head a bit at the piece of jade carved into a maneki neko pennant. "A necklace?" She glanced up. "Aren't these a symbol for good luck?"
"They are." The old warrior nodded.
"I thought you didn't believe in good luck?"
"I don't." Baren said rather bluntly before sighing. "But, at some point, you and your team are going to leave this island and I won't be there to watch over you. I wish for this to do the same when that time comes."
"So you're staying?" The jadette began to smile. "You're staying here?"
Glancing away, she exhaled. "I am. Someone needs to help watch Gurin and Kit when your parents are working and I wouldn't trust Kuro to watch a rock. Plus..."
"Plus Hisato."
The old warrior faintly blushed. "I'm going to bed." She suddenly said. As she stepped out, she reached up to remove her wooden prosthetic.
With a soft smile, Kagami glanced at herself in the mirror. She quickly finished brushing her teeth and put the jade cat necklace on. Moving the charm up, she examined it before letting it fall back across her chest. Looking up in the mirror, she smiled more.
Another February 1st is here. Here's your friendly reminder to keep moving forward and that the goal isn't to live forever but to create something that will.
Here's to another year of new projects and continuing old ones nearly forgotten.