It was a lovely day, which meant Kira was going for a walk. But this time, she was accompanied by everyone's favorite genki girl, Kei! Wearing her turban so as not to scare the animals.
"Hey, I noticed something about you," Kei said as they walked.
"Noticed what exactly?" Kira asked.
"You're always so wound up," Kei explained. "Even when we're relaxing you look like you're ready to get attacked at any second."
"Because we COULD get attacked at any second," Kira told her condescendingly. As if it was obvious. "You never know what could come out of these trees. Hungry animals, villains, anything."
"But we're surrounded by Grimm and soldiers who want to protect us!" Kei argued. "If we can't let our guard down here, then when can we!?"
"Never." Kira scoffed. "Why should we ever lower our guard? Life is unpredictable, you never know what can happen."
"But if you don't, you'll never be able to fully relax." Kei fired back. "And if you can't relax, how can you fully enjoy life!?"
"Hmph, I can relax just fine with my guard up," Kira said, almost pouting.
Kei was pouting a bit, and one could almost see the gears turning in her head. As she thought about how best to get her point across.
Then, a metaphorical light bulb flashed above her head. And a big smile spread across her face.
She went over to Kira and put her hands on her shoulders. "You can relax my friend."
Oh great she's singing. Kira sighed.
"I can tell you're always nervous, so do yourself a service!" Kei sang. "And try to relax my friend."
"I'm fine Kei, please-" Kira was cut off as suddenly Kei grabbed her arm and started running through the forest.
"Think of all that we have been through! We'll survive what we get into!" Kei kept singing, as they ran into a field of flowers. "I know that you're tired of the war and bloodshed, tell me is this how we're supposed to live!?"
Suddenly a bee came up to them, and immediately Kira got defensive, ready to swat it away with her vectors, but Kei reached out her finger, and let the bee land on it. "Look at how you clench your fist enough said! Why should we take when we can give."
As she said, Kei lowered the bee onto a flower and immediately started to work on it.
"You can show a person that you trust them when you stop and lower your guard!" Kei kept singing as she plucked a flower and picked it up.
"Here we have a chance for some adjustment. Give it a try, it's not that hard! I'm telling you!" Kei then placed that flower in Kira's hair, before spinning back wistfully. Bees and Butterflies flew up around her like she was in a Disney movie.
"This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms!" Kei sang. "Whatever we face we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart! No matter the place we can light up the world, here's how to start! Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open arms!"
Suddenly, Kira heard a rustling coming from the bushes.
She went in front of Kei, putting her vectors over her protectively. "Stay back!"
Then, a small pack of wolves came out of the bushes. Kira's body tensed up further as she got ready to attack when suddenly Kei put her hand on her shoulder and kept singing. "My friend, greet the world with open arms."
Kei then walked out from behind her and approached the wolves. Kira's eyes went wide with fear, and she went to grab Kei with her vectors, but they weren't working. NISE!
Wait, let her do…whatever it is she's gonna do. Nise said.
Kei went over to the wolves and started petting it, the rest crowding her, licking and snuggling against her. "See! This life is amazing! When you greet it with open arms! Whatever we face we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart! No matter the place we can light up the world, here's how to start! Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open arms!"
A few moments passed, and Kira eventually sighed. Relaxing slightly. At least back into her normal state. "Look, not everyone can be snow white. If I tried to do that, they'd bite me, at best. That's what I'd get with open arms."
Kei looked over to the wolves and then looked over to Kira.
The wolves looked a bit apprehensive but eventually started approaching Kira.
Kira tensed up, and the wolves stopped, doing the same.
Give me control. Nise urged her. Trust us.
Kira hesitated, but after a second of contemplation, she closed her eyes, and when they opened, Nise was in control.
Then, the wolves started approaching her again, until it was standing right in front of her.
Slowly, Nise reached out her hand, until she finally started petting the beast.
The wolf wagged his tail as it got pet, with the other wolves coming in, looking for pets. And making themselves look absolutely adorable.
That cute look, and fluffy feel on her fingers. Suddenly, Kira desperately wanted to pet them herself.
And in a blink, she was.
Now she could fully feel just how fluffy their fur was, and surprisingly, getting licked wasn't unpleasant.
Soon, Kira was using her vectors to gently pet every last member of the small pack.
Kei walked up and petted them with her. "This life is amazing! When you greet it with open arms! I see in your face, that there is so much pain inside your heart! So why not replace it and light up the world? Here's how to start. Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open arms."
The snake-haired girl shooed the wolves away, waving them goodbye, then grabbing Kira's hands, and giving a heartfelt smile before finishing the song. "You can relax my friend."
A few moments of silence passed before Kira spoke. "So where'd you get that song from?"
"A musical I liked!" Kei answered before she turned and the two started walking again. "So what do you think?"
"I think maybe you should leave the singing to Shina," Kira said with a dry chuckle.
Kei giggled. "Not about my singing, about all of um…that!"
"Well first, how'd you know the wolves wouldn't attack me?" Kira asked seriously. "I understand you have a whole Disney princess thing going on, but me and Nise don't. And wolves aren't supposed to be that friendly. Just ask Yami's parents."
Dude! Nise hissed. Not cool.
What he's not even here! Kira argued.
"By now pretty much all the predators here have seen our brothers and sisters throw trees, blow holes in mountains, and fight Kai, so they know not to attack us," Kei explained. "And the wolves here don't have a lot of predators. So they're nicer than wolves in other parts of the world."
See, even the wolves can relax. Nise said.
"It's the plus side of being, top dog." Kei punned.
Kira rolled her eyes. "Alright, oh wise and mighty Kei, so when exactly can I drop my guard? What happens if I do it at the wrong time?"
"You can never really know what'll happen in the future, you can just take a…smart guess," Kei explained. "Sure, maybe one day you'll guess wrong, and maybe something bad will happen. But spending your whole life waiting for something bad to happen doesn't seem that much better. And it sounds really exhausting."
Kei went up to Kira and pointed at her heart. "One day, no matter what you do, or how much you prepare, something bad will happen. And you just have to deal with it. But right now, everything's fine. So that's when you should enjoy life the most. Does that make sense?"
Kira gave Kei a curious look. "And what happens if I guess wrong, and I end up dead?"
"Are you afraid of dying?" Kei asked, so casually it took Kira completely off guard.
"What kind of stupid question is that! Of course, I don't want to die!" Kira answered, completely taken off guard by Kei's attitude to the subject.
"Why?" Kei asked.
"I-Wha-what do you mean why!?" Kira responded. "No one-I mean almost no one wants to die!"
"And why is that?" Kei asked again. "Why do people want to live so badly? We're gonna die someday. Why not just skip to the end. No more pain. Just whatever happens after life."
Kira took a step back and gave Kei a wary look. "Ok, seriously what is up with you?"
"...Back when life was really hard for me, I thought about if I kept wanting to live," Kei explained. "I didn't wanna be hurt anymore. And so dying didn't sound so scary. It actually sounded nice…but. I kept wondering, what if I missed something by skipping to the end? What if things really did get better? If life can go bad in ways you can't expect, then can't it get better in ways you can't expect. So I decided to keep living. To see if things got better. I kept hope in my heart, no matter what! And look! Things DID get better! So, so much better!"
This is the same girl who gets the lowest grades in class right? Nise asked, sounding slightly alarmed.
Yeah I know it's freaking me out. Kira thought.
"I've had SO much fun! Met so many people! So you know, I'm still afraid of death." Kei said. "I'm just happy I got to live life. And who knows what happens when we die. Maybe it's not that bad. Either way, I accept everything, with open arms."
"I'm gonna need a lot of time to try and understand everything you just said," Kira told her while rubbing her temples. "But…I did want to enjoy life a bit more so…I'll try to let my guard down…at least a little."
"There we go!" Kei smiled, as she patted Kira on the shoulder.
"Just don't expect me to reach enlightenment or whatever you've got going on." Kira sighed.
For those who don't know, this song is a slightly altered version of Open Arms from Epic the Musical.
If you don't know what that is, look it up. I promise you it's absolutely amazing.
Anyway, Kei's thing has always been acceptance. Going with the flow, and looking at things through a lens of simplicity. Even to an unnatural degree.
Anyway, please review and have a nice day.