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SPOILER: Click to show

Past thread
This'll be taking place in the year 1804. Additionally for my own posts and that of little Mai, we'll be doing them in two parts, one part getting ready at home and the next going to the First.

It was a cool morning, considering the snow had long ago melted and it was well into the spring season. The crystal sitting in front of the window did it's job, as it always did every morning. Refracting the light and catching the sleeping man right in the face, blinding him to waken. He groaned, sat up and moved the hair out of his face as he yawned mumbling about morning coming to soon again. Standing, he moved to the slightly ajar window, moved the crystal and then closed the window tightly. "Good morning." He smiled and turned.

Chiyoko lay half covered her raven black hair arched around her face and down beneath the folds of the blankets in which she was tangled up in. As usual, a blanket hog. He moved back to the bed, and put a knee upon it as he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently upon her brow. She had a fever again. "Good morning." He pulled back a little bit and offered her another smile, which she returned with her own special one. "How're you feeling?" She groaned, he knew she hated him fretting over her health and asking the same question every morning. He hated seeing her like this..

"Tired.. I don't think Mai and I will be able to take our trip into the market today.. And she was so looking forward to her lesson today. She's going to be so disappointed." A pang of sadness darkened her expression and Malik, as valiant as ever, placed a hand upon her shoulder and gave it a loving squeeze.

"Not to worry mi'dear. I'll take Mai into work with me. She'll never even think twice about your day in the garden!"

---

"Now Mai, don't let go of my hand now. Otherwise I'll lose sight of you. And we wouldn't want that, your mummy would be very cross at us both.

"And you know that even if she's in bed she can peg us both anywhere in the house with a spoon." He reminded the girl, wrapped up in the far too big black cloak from head to toe. At which point he smiled and rubbed the still fresh mark on his right eyebrow.

Even bedridden, that woman had an arm.

As if she had a choice; Malik was clenching her tiny hand so terribly hard little Mai could barely feel her fingertips. Her feet kept getting tangled in the thick, black cloak she had been wrapped in, causing her to stumble as she struggled to keep up with his long strides. He wasn't being mean, unintentional or otherwise. He just wasn't his wife. He wasn't mommy. He wasn't her mommy.

She couldn't protest at all, not right away, even as he made the comments about the spoon. Instead, she could only squeak as she shuffle-tripped along in his wake. Mai was a perfect little angel around her mother, and utterly terrified without her, and more often than not, any sort of violence inflicted upon her father was met with giggles in order to break the ice. And she had never been be the target of that arm.

*-*

A little patter of feet sounded in down the hallway as Mai scrambled off the stairs and toward her the room where her mother was. Her rather clingy upbringing, having spent the entirety of her walking life sneaking and crawling into bed at all hours of the night despite her father's protests, had necessitated the need to place her downstairs. Eventually she grew out of the difficult habit, but as soon as she could navigate the stairs without causing herself damage, she had started to crawl into bed in the morning to snuggle with her mother. And kick Malik to the side. This morning was no different; the door to the bedroom flung open and little Mai hurtled into the room and onto the bed, crawling straight toward her mother. "Momma!"

[bgcolor=000000]"Mai, go into work with you?" Chiyoko questioned whilst wearing a frown, which quickly turned into a look of utter amusement. "Oh that'll be good. She's not Chie you know, she's a completely different little girl." Malik nodded, his neck craning to one side as he heard light footfalls scrambling up the stairs.

"Of that my dear, I am well aware." He retorted with a chuckle, the mere thought of Mai and Chie being the same was amusing, the two were polar opposites. "But if mummy asks her, I'm sure she won't raise much of a fuss." And then...

Boom!!!

The door floor open and the blur of blue and white flew into the room, barely touching the floor as she did so. She landed a top the bed in a flash and instantly began to crawl toward her intended target like a crazed animal. Both parents laughed, Malik moving off the bed to avoid any tiny flailing limbs as Chiyoko wrapped her arms around their youngest and gave her a tight, good morning, hug. "Good morning my sweet, and how did you sleep, hm? Any more scary dreams, or did some charming knight save you from some vile monster this time?" She smiled brightly and gave Mai an eskimo kiss whilst placing her forehead directly against the little one's. Even though she asked the exact same every morning, she always did so with such life, energy and a hint of fun that not once did it ever seem scary.

Malik tried it once and poor Mai cried for hours.

"Good morning Sweetling,"he said trying to hold back a yawn, all this talk of dreams was making him ache for his bed again, but no. He couldn't he had work to do. "I'm going to go make some breakfast, I'll be back soon." The Soutaicho then turned, and started to leave the room.

"Malik~~~" He turned his gaze over his shoulder at a chesire cat grin on Chiyoko's pale face. "Try not to burn the kitchen down, hm?"

---

Seeing her struggle, he slowed his pace, shortened his strides. It had been a very long time since Malik had walked with someone so small, like this. He had forgotten just how long his legs could seem to someone of such a stature.

He had to try his best to not look like he was looking directly at her, that would ruin the game he had came up with. He had sent message to the division, a primary one order (an emergency order) to let everyone in the building know that Mai would be coming in with him today, and while they could look at Malik they were NOT to look at Mai, as she was supposed to be invisible.

Oh today was going to be a glorious day.

Despite his best attempts to keep her upright and moving forward at a steady pace, Mai did not succeed, Her foot caught in the hem of the cloak and down she went, face first into the unforgiving earth. The shriek and wail that followed were loud and terrified, alerting anyone nearby that the little girl had fallen and had taken damage. Not that anything had been hurt; she was so thickly wrapped in the cloak that nothing could bang her little knees up.

But Malik didn't know that.

*-*

At once, Mai launched into a volley of excited phrases, eagerly telling her mother about her dreams. She paused as her nose was rubbed, catching her breath before continuing her tale. She told of scary monsters and pretty ponies, big kitties and fluffy puppies, of birds and ducks and all means of fantastical creatures that there ever where. It was a story verging on epic, if her excitement was any indication of success.

She was so excited that she didn't even pay her father any mind, not that she usually did; she was most definitely mommy's little girl. So if Malik had the chance to burn the house down, Mai would have no idea. All she would have known was daddy did bad.

[bgcolor=000000]As Malik made himself busy in the kitchen, Chiyoko listened carefully to Mai as spoke rapidly, she was always so full of energy first thing in the morning. Something Chiyoko was becoming more and more envious of each passing day, she was finding it quite difficult to stay sat up at the moment. "That sounds like quite the adventure!" She gasped, giving her a tight hug again. "Which reminds me, your own little adventure today is going to be a little different than we had originally planned.

"But, before I tell you why, why don't you go grab the brush over there and I'll help you with your hair before we get you dressed, hm?"

---

And down she went, Malik froze eyed wide. What should he do? He could give up the game and check to see if she was hurt, or he could continue and not upset her by revealing that he had 'lied' to her. Bags.. He knelt down beside her.

"Are you okay, are you hurt? I still can't see you very well Sweetling, so you'll have to tell me okay?

"Would you like Daddy to carry you on his back instead of walking, hm? Like a riding a pony, I'll make the noises and everything." He asked, offered and suggested with a genuine smile. The things people do for kids sometimes were just so demeaning.

Mai, in her surprised state, did not hear Malik as he tried to speak over her wailing. While she was thickly wrapped in the cloak, she had survived any detrimental damage, however the shock of her tiny face slamming into the ground was far from pleasant; it stung and suddenly throbbed painfully, her dainty little nose felt like it was on fire. It was a bad bad day for the little girl, tricked and misled and now injured. What a terrible parent!

*-*

"No!" Mai said matter of factly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Wanna stay here!" To substantiate her decision, the little form wiggled under the covers and clung to her mother beneath them; it was still warm, and she wanted to sleep in the warmth of the cocoon instead of going out to do whatever errands she had to go accompany. Although, the notion of getting her hair brushed was a good one, but she did not budge from her spot.

[bgcolor=000000]Chiyoko frowned down at the the tiny snuggler and then let out a big sigh. Oh yes, she's going to be oh so excited. Wrapping an arm around her and giving her a tiny squeeze, the feverish woman simply shook her head and kissed Mai atop her head. "And what about our plans for today, hm? Don't tell me you've forgotten already? And here I thought you were so looking forward to today.

"Oh well, I guess we'll just have to cancel and not get your special surprise..." What surprise? Well that'd be something Malik would have to figure out later on. Muhahahaha.

---

Placing a hand upon the wailing child's back he rubbed it gently, trying to offer the best possible support he could while keeping up this rouse. How much longer could he keep it up?? He honestly didn't know. Why couldn't I have had sons. He thought between her sobs.

"Mai." He stated in a loud clear voice. Was it loud enough for Mai to hear? Only time could tell. "Let daddy see how badly you're hurt, okay? No one else is looking so no one will know you're here. Please?" Ooooh Kurisuna was so right.

Mai stiffened under her father's hand, further quieting for just a moment. As soon as she caught her breath, she scrambled forward, darting out of his grasp and off into the wilderness that was Seireitei. She had let loose a squeal as she regained her footing, a sound that was much higher pitched than any other scream she'd uttered in the moments prior; she was not going to take the cloak off regardless of what he was trying to say – no one in their right mind would ignore a screaming, crying, frightened child, regardless of how alone they were.

Mai sought to remedy this situation by removing herself from the equation. She may have been young, but her mother had taken her from the house on more than one occasion; several times they had made the short (by comparison from their usual destination) jaunt to Malik's office, and Mai knew the route to get back home. Her tiny feet scrabbled madly against the cobblestones as she bounded off, leaving her father with ringing ears and a bit of confusion in her wake.

*-*

The girl squealed in delight before attempting to feign sleep. The bed was nice and cozy, her mother soft and warm. This was the best place in the world right now, and Mai was not going to leave it for anything. Well, almost anything.... Any surprise was a powerful motivator, but none so far had yet to be what she really wanted. "Pony?" she mumbled sleepily, slowly succumbing to the warmth of the cocoon she had made for herself.

Malik wasn't good for many things, least of all a pony. She had wanted one for so long, and yet, all she got was a ride on daddy's back. It wasn't the same, not even when she made him get down on his hands and knees!

[bgcolor=000000]"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you now would it?" The feverish woman responded with, ruffling the youngster's hair once again. "Now, do as your mama says and go grab that brush. Otherwise, no po- I mean surprise."

Meanwhile, down in the kitchen...

Taking hold of the handle, he pulled the toaster (I can't actually remember if it was called a toaster, but that's basically what it did. Ya know, a long handle with a type of cradle made from cast iron to toast bread in a hearth) out from the flames and gave the bread a poke with his finger. Yes, nice and crispy and golden brown. Just the way Chiyoko liked it.

Dropping the finished toast upon a plate, he then flipped the egg once, and seasoned it quickly before checking to see if Mai's granola was ready. Dipping in a spoon he tasted it, and frowned. "Needs more cinnamon.." Quickly he scurried to the pantry, all but forgetting the egg, and started looking for the jar he, for the life of him couldn't remember where it was. Chiyoko could never put anything back in the same place, always using a different system than him, which was always different each time she did it.

He swore she did it just to turn his hair gray. Lord forbid it, it was already white.

---

The screech caused Malik to jump back, yes it scared him. What a pair of lungs she had! Rubbing his left ear while making a hurt face he watched the little one scamper off, screeching all the more. "I'm never going to get any work done today.." He groaned, running a hand down the front of his face as he did so.

Now, there were a few options for him here, one of which was hte same as before. He could let her run off and just call out to her, acting like he couldn't see her, or he could just run after her, scoop her up onto his shoulder and take her a. to his office, or b. back home. Neither of those were something he much wanted to do. Thankfully there was a third option, but it had the most risk involved.. Hopefully things would pan out... Though with Mai, things never did.

Why did my namesake have to be the problem child?

He took, one, two, three quick steps to his right side and two more in the general direction in which the scrambler was well, scrambling off to. And then, his image flickered and zipped forward. Mai was a quick little girl, there was no doubt there. But Malik was still quicker, more so when he was using Shunpo.

Less than 3 feet before her, Malik's image would appear, but his back would be turned to her, to add to the illusion he didn't know she was actually there. More so, he would raise a hand to his mouth and call out. "Mai! Mai come back, come back right now young lady!"

Now, if everything went to plan she would slow down mid stride just enough to bump into his legs, in which case, Malik would snag onto her yet again. However, there was also the possibility that she was so busy running and screaming, to not notice her father until it was too late and smash right into him, further hurting herself. The worst of the possible options as he saw it. The only other option he saw (though clearly there were various ones out there he hadn't yet foresaw) was that she would recover quickly, see Malik and dart in another direction. At which point, he'd have to pretend to be relying on his hearing.

Maybe it would be best if he just made sure she made it home safely... No, no Chiyoko would kill him.

Mai was nowhere near as fast as she needed to be to escape the clutches of her father; the cloak she wore was much too cumbersome for her to even move at her regular speed. Once she regained her footing, sobbing all the while, she managed a steady pace at a pretty good hobble. Until her father's backside appeared in her face, she had been moving along, as her young mind saw it, swimmingly. Then it all turned for the worse as her father's butt showed up in her face, which caused her to shriek and scream again, plopping right down on her face, again, as she caught the hem of the cloak beneath her slippered feet.

*-*

Almost, but not quite begrudgingly, Mai clambered out of the warm cave she had made for herself, radiating with glee. Her mother hadn't quite said it, but the little girl just knew that she was going to get a real pony! Today was going to be great!

Her tiny hand clasped around the handle of the brush that was seated upon the vanity; even at four years, she was quite tall for her age, but despite her advantage, she still couldn't see over the top to see what else may have been within her clutches to destroy play with. Instead, her tiny mind opted for the gloriousness of hairbrushing and eventual ponyriding. Maybe later she could dress up in Mommy's jewelry.

[bgcolor=000000]Coughing slightly, Chiyoko sat herself up all the way and patted her legs as she watched Mai retrieve the brush. She was feeling dizzy, sticky and disoriented. Her vision was swimming about, unable to truly focus. She closed her eyes, and held her breath for a second or two as she remained as still as she could manage. She wouldn't let Mai see her at her worst, no. No, she wouldn't frighten the girl. So, as her eyes opened, she beamed the girl a smile and patted her legs again.

"C'mon slow poke, Daddy's going to be done your breakfast before we even get started at that pace."

---

The Soutaicho turned and looked down at his wailing child and sighed. I'm too old for this shit. "There you are!" He said, sounding surprised before quickly bending over and scooping her up into his arms. A bad mistake, most likely. But at least now she wouldn't get away form him again.. Just give him a black eye.

And off a stepping he went again, toward the main building of his division. What a scene this would make e,,e.

SPOILER: Click to show

Sry, I know crap post is crap.

Mai was not a fish, by any definition; nor was a a kitten (at least not yet), though that did nothing to help the process Malik had used to sequester the wailing child. She was slippery within her much-too-large coverage, which was not used to her advantage; she had not the faculties present at her tender age to attempt to thwart the capturing process with minimal effort on her part -- which would have consisted of a glorious flailing as though she had been speared with a superfluously large and obscene hook right in her mouth. Instead, she became a deadened weight, much like a cat in a harness, and refused to budge.

She was not a heavy child, often bordering on the underweight side of things as busy children often did, but with her excess baggage and adamant refusal to move, she presented the old man with a challenge he had to experience all by his lonesome: a full-blown temper tantrum. Mommy was not here to save him, or his ears, from the screaming that started as soon as his bum found itself in his youngest's face. Each touch was raised by a stronger, louder, fouler scream than the last, further encouraged by her inability to become pliable; any subtle dropping, for instance, would further increase the volatility which the toddler was so generously dolling about to any passersby.

*-*

Very carefully, as not to drop the brush and further delay the time it took until she got her pony, Mai returned to the bed and handed the brush to her mother; she was uncharacteristically gentle at this task, taking careful pains to not dislodge her mother from her comfortable position. The girl may have had only a few trips around the sun, but the mother-daughter bond was strong, intuition playing a large part in the girl's behavior: mommy was not feeling good today, so Little Mai would have to be extra careful to not make mommy cough again.

Once, mommy had coughed something up in the girl's presence and the little child nearly vomited herself to death from the guilt of seeing something bad happen to mommy.

[bgcolor=black]

A small creature ran the grounds of the division. It constantly threw it’s gave over its shoulder, searching for the fragile girl that was chasing it. Suddenly, looking back in front of it, it would run into the feet of a young child. It would let a small ferret scream out and look up at the girl in utter fear but it was more scared of the footsteps that got closer.

Arashi was young. Not like the young Mai whom her pet baby ferret had run into, but she was young and soft. Her hair was shorter and pulled into a bun and she wore the usual shinigami uniform. She had a little sweat on her face, just to show how long she had been chasing the ferret.

The ferret’s fear would compel him to attempt at crawling up the young girl’s leg and hide under the odd cloak she was wearing.

Finally, Arashi caught up with the ferret. She bent over, panting. ”I’m….so….sorry.” She breathed out to the young girl then; standing up…she could see him.

Her face turned almost as red as her hair. Her eyes widened and she bowed her torso. “I am so terribly sorry, Soutaichou. Deci-…eh, I mean my ferret, got out of his cage and just took off…I couldn’t catch him. I am so-…” Her voice trailed off in mumbles as she kept herself bowed, not daring to look at her captain.

He had seen her when she was in the hospital five years earlier, that had been the only real time he had shown a one on one interest in Arashi. He looked concerned for a moment for the wound on her cheek but it didn’t last long as he carried on with his duties. Arashi could feel her eyes water with irritation. Really, Deci?! You just HAD to run up the leg of the Soutaichou’s daughter…stupid ferret. Should be cooked into a taco…

[bgcolor=000000]That's it. He had, had quite enough of that. Throughout her screeching and hollering, Malik stopped and placed the child on her feet, spun her around and yanked the top of the cloak from her head. "That's, his hand shot up and went to take a hold of her face, more to the point her cheeks at which point, he would squeeze in essence making her look like a fish. "Enough."

His eyebrows were arched up, his eyes, if possible would be aflame and a few veins in both his forehead and neck were pulsing. Tanaka Malik, was beyond pissed off. He had never struck either of his girls, nor would he if he could help it (clearly training exercises in their future would be different). This, was something he never thought he'd do, to be honest. "Your mummy would be ashamed to have you as a daughter if she saw you behaving in this way. So either start behaving, or I will start making your day as miserable as you're making mine with your antics. Do I make myself clear, young lady?" He wasn't yelling, but his tone of voice spoke volumes as to his current temperament, which was something the little Mai had as of yet, never seen before.

And then, something he had never seen before happened. Blinking, he watched a small blurry, though it looked furry, thing shoot under Mai's cloak. ..Bags. "I’m….so….sorry." His vision turned to the voice, it was Arashi. He blinked in confusion, wondering what in the world was going on.. Then she explained.

"Oh bugger.." The anger on his face vanished as he looked at Mai again, whom he was still holding onto. Now she at least had a reason to start screaming...

---

Gently, Chiyoko started to brush Mai's hair, whilst humming a melody her mother used to sing when she would brush her's. It was something Chiyoko always did with Mai, and even had done with Chie when she was younger. Despite he high fever, the rythum of her strokes was not effected. "Now Mai, I want you to be a good girl for your daddy today, okay? He's a busy man and shouldn't need to worry about you being up to no good all the time.

"So, you need to be a good girl and do as he tells you. I'm sure he has lots of fun things planned out for you today. It'll be your own little adventure!" Oh if she only knew the half of it.

Placated, Mai sat on the edge of the bed while her mother pulled the brush through her hair. With her eyes closed, she smiled, thoroughly enjoying the sensation. All that shifted, however, once her mother said the dreaded D-word. With a little shocked gasp, she turned around, tears building up in her eyes. “No! We was gonna go look at flowers! Not be with daddy!”

The gates were unleashed, tears freely streaming down the young girl’s face. She had never been away from her mother, never spent any time with her father without her mother in the same room. It was a most terrifying prospect.

*-*

Unbridled rage soon fell from the girl’s puffy eyes as her fragile body was wrenched around like a ragdoll; the anger in those slitted eyes soon focused on her father’s fugly face as he manhandled her face and reamed her out. She was hurt and scared and she wanted her mother, someone to hug her close and tell her that it was going to be okay! Not have her face squeezed until she looked like a fish and be yelled at.

“I hate you!” she shrieked over and over as he attempted to chide her for her behavior, struggling to pull her face away and swatting at his arm with her hands. Her face was reddening, almost purpling, as the pair continued their argument. She could not get away, no matter how hard she tried; she was trapped. The rodent went unnoticed, its scream drowned out by Mai’s own; and with all her movement, she hadn’t noticed the additional weight crawling up her legs. Only her father’s silence.

[bgcolor=black]

When she heard the Soutaichou mutter she stood up straight, her hand quickly going and covering her cheek. It was habit for her. Around higher-ups she always covered that scar. That scar was a sign of shame to her so she hid it from those who mattered. It didn’t look odd for her to place her hand on her cheek though; it just went along with her bashful behavior.

I hate you

Arashi’s eyes widened and watered once more. Was the girl talking to her? Arashi’s eyes shot to the ground and a blush spread across her face. What had she done? Did the girl hate ferrets? Maybe Arashi was interfering with intense matters. It took a little bit for Arashi to realize the girl was speaking to her father. Arashi’s eyes widened once more. Why would she hate her father?

Arashi felt the scar under her hand and her eyes saddened as she realized the child was arguing with her father. Hatred built inside of the bashful, red headed girl. Such a disrespectful little brat…

Arashi’s head slowly fell from her cheek.

”At least you have a father to argue with…” Arashi’s voice was cold and had a hint of sadness in it. ”At least you have a father who tries to be there for you…he tries to teach you right from wrong, instead of letting you ruin your one and only life.”

Arashi’s hand went up and touched her scar again, thinking back to when she had her blade on her father’s neck. She had thought he would finally accept her now that she had beaten him…but then the kunai struck her face…by the half-sister she never knew she had. ”There may come a day, child, when you cry out “daddy” and no one comes to your aid. Tanaka-soutaichou is a great man, perhaps you should be grateful for having such an amazing and caring father.”

Arashi stepped closer to the girl and kneeled down. Deci, hearing Arashi’s movement, screamed once more and proceeded to crawl up the young child and popping out near her face. His eyes quickly scanned around and in a panic, he saw a hand near him and bit it.

The color would drain from Arashi’s face as she would see the movement of her pet ferret and witness him sink his teeth into her captain. Now…this ferret was going to be a taco…

[bgcolor=000000]He stared at his daughter for a moment after she spoke and continued to remain quiet as Arashi spoke to Mai. Once she had said her piece, Malik moved his hands and cupped Mai's shoulder's all the while evading the dreaded rodent's bite, though barely. Although he hadn't even noticed the furry creature's attempt.

"Perhaps you do." He responded in a voice just above a whisper, his fingers drumming the cloak around the young girl's shoulder's gently. "And perhaps I deserve it. If you'd like, I'll have Arashi-san here take you home, where your mother, whom is very sick today, will have to look after you. Something I tried to avoid, to help her along.

"I thought, perhaps just one day you could spend time with me and we could have fun. But.. It wasn't meant to be." He smiled meekly, obviously hurt but he would not fight with the girl any further. "So, it's your choice. Choose."

---

Chiyoko visably flinched. Damn I was hoping she wouldn't catch on so quick.. Smiling, she continued to brush her hair making shushing sounds as she did so.

"I know you were looking forward to our day out hunny, but I'm not feeling up to it. And daddy asked what he could do to help me out today, and I asked him to take care of you so I can sleep and get better so we can go out and select flowers tomorrow.

"So, be a good girl for mummy and do this for me, okay?" She beamed another smile and wiped tears from Mai's cheek with a gentle palm of her hand. "Please?"

Mai's eyes grew large and fearful before starting to tear up. She did not like to be alone with her father for very long, if at all, simply because he wasn't Mommy; he did not treat her with the same gentle understanding that she'd come to expect -- even when she had done wrong. And so, with this startling, terrible revelation, Mai soon lost her head and began to cry loudly at the prospect of being away from Mommy.

The Promised Pony was long forgotten.

*-*

In the near future, Tanaka Mai would look back on this day and ask herself several very important questions, most prominent of which seeking to determine what had actually happened to have rendered her, a mere four-year-old, terrified child, the culpable party. She had no recollection of being a bad person, only scared and upset.

She had been dislodged from her standard routine. She had been yanked about by her father, who had also made certain that she could not see. She had been chastised about her behavior from someone who hadn't an inkling of the sheer terror being separated from her mother that Mai was going through. She had her face poked and prodded. She had been talked down to. She had been the launching board for a very smelly rodent.

And she was the bad guy. There was absolutely no justice in this world. If she was bigger, she would have wrenched herself free from her father's grasp and ran off. She could not, sadly, and was forced to suffer a talking to she did not understand.

[bgcolor=black]

Arashi gave out a small sigh of relief as her captain avoided the wrath of Deci. She wiped some sweat that was beading down her face away and zoned out slightly until she heard her name. What?

She blinked, her eyes widened as she stared at her captain. Her heart sank. No, no, no, no. She couldn’t be put in charge of watching a child. No, no! Malik knew her past with children. She could hardly stand to be around them since her adoptive daughter died. No, no. He must be trying to scare the child. Mean ol’ Arashi, don’t want to go with her! Yes, that’s what he was doing. Ah, good ol’ soutaichou bluffing. The child couldn’t hate her father so much that she would be willing to have a complete stranger walk her home. Right? Right! No child is that dumb. Arashi could be a serial killer, right…a serial killer.

She didn’t answer. She just stood there silently. Quiet. Her mother was sick? Arashi’s face saddened. Her mother needed her rest, she didn’t need a child running about and causing chaos. Arashi looked at her captain and inhaled, letting a sigh of defeat pass her lips. She was the third seat of the man…and perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.

”You’re wife needs her rest.” Arashi finally said. ”And she wants so bad to be away from you…” Deep inside, Arashi knew she was scared to offer her services to watch another child that wasn’t her own. ”If need be, I could watch her for you. So you may get some work done today. If it wouldn’t be too strange, I would have no objections to even watching her in her own home. Whatever will make her feel most comfortable and allow your wife her rest.” Her voice slightly quivered as she spoke, she was having a hard time catching her breath.

’As long as I care for her in the safety of her own home, nothing will happen. She’ll be fine. She might not even want a stranger watching her…

The proposition proved too much for Young Mai to take, and along with the added stress of the chiding, she broke down. Wailing with the utmost despair a child of four could muster, she allowed herself to be carted off to who knows where, the memories of the rest of that dreadful day forevermore forgotten, lost to the place where memories are never found again. So, too, did the promises of the pony vanish into the nothingness, along with the hopes and dreams of the young child who wanted to play with mommy and flowers and ride ponies all day long, for the rest of her life.

How cruel life was.

[exit/end per Arashi's post, I guess? (I had permission to skip Mal because he didn't have any inspiration and now he's gone, so I decided to wrap this up >>)]

Struck by how hysterical his quandary was, Malik relented; there was simply no pacifying the young girl in the immediate future, at least not without her mother, and the First Division was no environment for a child so upset as to conduct all the universal gestures of someone who did not want to be there. ''Take Mai home,'' he sighed, defeated, rising as to resume his duties in short order. ''Make sure Chiyoko gets her rest.''

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Malik exited per request. Thread locked, rewards distributed like so:

Malik - 8 RP + 1
Mai - 9 RP
Arashi - 3 RP