After she dropped me off, she gave me the cutest wave as she drove away. I couldn’t help but watch her car turn the corner. My smile died down a little, knowing that I had to face up to my choice. Because I didn’t listen to reason, I was forced into something I’m still unsure what it is. But instead of dwelling on that, I made my way inside my home. It was just before 10 PM at night and the lights were off.

That persistent clicking that I’ve grown fond of hearing when I came home from work was there again. In full concentration, Mari-san was working her life away at that screen. Her teeth nibbling on her bottom lip, she worked away as always.

“Mari-san?”

I spoke unintentionally.

“Oh, you’re back.”

Concerned, she stood up and raced over to me. She took my shoulders in her hands and looked me in the eye.

“How did it go?”

“…Could have been better.”

Shamefully, I admitted as she let me go. With her hand on her hip, she looked at me sorrowfully.

“She led you into accepting something, didn’t she?”

I nodded…how hopeless I felt was certain. It was like she spoon-fed me everything she wanted, and I had no way to escape. There was a reason why she was a public speaker, she knew how to control the flow of our chat, and there was nothing I could do.

“…She asked me to work with her over my upcoming summer…”

“Did she put these conditions in with your friends on the line?”

I nodded…

“I should have listened to you, Mari-san. I’m sorry…”

I bowed. It was the only way I could apologize for my ignorance. I needed to grow up, mature from the wrong choices I made, and this was certainly one of those times.

“…Madoka-san, put your head up.”

Calmly, she spoke as she rubbed my head. She drew closer and put her hand into my pocket suddenly.

 

 

"Eh, what are you doing?"

Aggressively, she rummaged around in my pocket. It tickled to the point that I started laughing softly. Trying to hold down my outburst I swung from side to side.

“Sit still, hold on…hold it!”

She finally pulled her hand out of my side pocket. I wanted to knock her on the head for fooling around but then…what was revealed in her hand was that purple phone that I remembered from a while ago.

“What’s that?”

“It’s my phone. I put it in your pocket before Hana and I left the concert”

Confused, I tilted my head.

She walked over to her computer, put the phone on the charger, and waved me over.

“I…don’t get it.”

“When you decided that you were going in no matter what, I at least wanted to protect you.”

She sighed.

“So, I took my phone, put it on record audio and silent, then put it in your pocket without you knowing. If I would have told you…I doubt you would have acted naturally, right?”

My mouth jawed, still not collectively understanding what she was saying. So, lethargically I walked over to where she was sitting. She plugged in her phone to the computer. We sat there as it lit up, turning back on.

 

 

“So…you recorded our conversation?”

She turned back to me, that cool black hair of hers brushed over her face. Trying my best to ignore the sudden assaults of feelings, I focused on the phone in her hand.

“What I’m saying is…if she threatened you in any way, we'll have a way to get her to back off."

Now it came together…when she held me at the concert, she made sure I was being recorded. If Mari-san couldn't be in there at the moment, she made sure she'd be there after the fact.

“That was…smart Mari-san.”

Of course, it was smart…it was Mari-san who thought about it. She took things one step further as my ignorant thinking only allowed me to see everything on the surface level. Leave it to Mari-san to outwit me. It reminded me of…how cool she could be at times.

“Conway Karen was brutal, Mari-san.”

Annoyed, I bit my lip.

“Don’t worry, hopefully, it's all on the phone here…"

After a moment of booting up, she opened a file and what played was…my voice…

 

...

“Nakagawa Madoka, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, stop.”

...

 

It was just a little muffled, but one could clearly hear that it was me speaking…and Conway Karen…

As the conversation went on, I undoubtedly heard all of her abuses towards me…how she said what she’d do to me if I didn’t comply, and the like. Mari-san bitterly bit her lip as she overheard the entire thing.

“Well, little does she know, when summer comes around, we’ll exploit her with this so she can back off.”

 

 

“Why wait until the summer, Mari-san?”

She smirked.

“Because right now she thinks she’s won. It would be best to give her that sense of security through all of this. Then, when the time's right, you strike at the jugular.”

She reached out her hand and brought her fist back as if gripping wires in the air.

“That’s how you win against a beast.”

No matter how one would try to put it…Mari-san protected me…again. She made sure I was protected…

“T-Thank you…”

But those words were the only thing I could say.

“No worries. I understood that you wanted to protect your friends, but you…were too tunnel-visioned and weren't thinking of a proper way to protect yourself."

She sighed and held my hand.

“Listen…I didn’t mean what I said back there…I was just worried for you, and frustrated because of…my own feelings, you know?”

Her leaf eyes melted into mine. That warmness that she exuded always captured me.

“For now, I want to be a good mother, Madoka-san. Until I settle everything in my heart…I want to be a good mother, at least, to you.”

Why did it feel as though Mari-san was stronger than usual? I couldn’t understand what was going through her mind, but the word that captured me when I looked into her eyes was…

Determined…

And that made my body feel all the hotter. But…I knew what I needed to do, and that was to distance these feelings. As she said, she’s being a good mother…and I wanted to be a good daughter, too, from now on.

“There’s still a lot I need to grow from, isn’t there, Mari-san?”

“That’s why I’m here…to help you grow, Madoka-san.”

She patted my back, and it made me feel smaller. She was…so much stronger than me at things like this.

“I haven’t been treating you right, Mari-san…and I want you to know that things will change.”

I faced her now, brimming with the determination of my own.

“What you need to worry about now is being a high school girl. With all that excitement behind us, you need to relax and get some sleep for school tomorrow.”

She put her finger up.

"I think, for the time being, Madoka-san...you should worry about your grades, your social life...and just being the amazing girl you are."

"What do you mean by that?"

Taken aback by her sudden compliment, I puffed my cheeks as I teased.

"I think you should try and enjoy your school life a lot more. And don't worry...I'll figure out our family situation soon, alright? I think it's about time I step up."

She poked my nose...and it...calmed me down. As if she was taking the weight of everything off my shoulders. Mari-san...was doing so much for me.

"I'm tired."

I giggled and Mari-san chimed in. I think the fatigue of the night finally got to us and now our minds broke, leaving us to be a giggling mess.

“Head to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Right, see you tomorrow.”

I stood up and waved her goodnight as I made my way up the steps. To think that Mari-san had my back the entire time. It only showed me that I wanted to grow in both my emotions and understanding. It also went to show me that my friends and family would be the keys I needed to grow.

 

---

 

In the sheets, I opened my eyes. When I looked at the clock it was right before the alarm was supposed to wake me up. Despite yesterday being so tiring, I still got up before the alarm. When I reached to shut it off, my door slammed open.

“Onee-chan!”

 

 

When I lifted off my sheets, a flying little sister jumped above me. Her eyes were shining as she slammed on my body. I jolted as her small frame hurt my insides like a large dumbbell landed on my stomach.

“H-Hana-chan?!”

“We did it! Did you see the news?! Everyone’s talking about Sophia-san and her sister!”

She rolled me around in her arms…so I fought back as I began to tickle her.

“W-Wait, Onee-chan!”

I held her slender sides as I sat on top of her. My fingers rubbed along her hips causing her to cry out with laughter.

“Punishment for slamming on me!”

I cried as I pushed my fingers around her belly. She kicked and screamed as she attempted to fight back, but I held one of her hands and assaulted her with the other.

“I-I-I-I give, Onee-chan! Please!”

At that command, I hugged her tighter than ever as we rolled in my bed.

“We did it…”

She looked me in the eyes.

 

\

“You should have seen Mae-san and Mihara-san…they did a great job distracting them. I…was surprised that the tall giant was trying so hard. Sora-chan was okay.”

With a beam on her face, she met my cheek and gave me a kiss. I wasn’t expecting it as my body heated up.

 

 

“But you were the coolest, taking on Simpson-san like that. And even going to chat with their mother alone…I wanted to stay and support you, but mom was upset.”

She nuzzled her nose on mine.

“But I want you to know…that I believed in you. I believed in you every minute!”

I think Hana-chan found a new resolve that night. She seemed to be in higher spirits about things. Maybe I’m just imagining things, but I felt like she was soaring in the sky, unable to be stopped now. This was the happiness that I wanted to keep.

"…Well, a lot happened, and…it turns out your mom actually protected me, Hana-chan."

“Oh, how did mom do that?!”

I nodded.

“I’ll explain later, but thanks to her…I don’t think things will be as bad. But aside from all that, it’s behind us now.”

I gently confirmed. Now was the time to look forward and mature into the woman I want to become. Someone like Risa-san, I noticed. To be able to effectively change things while keeping a calm, understanding demeanor. Yes, there was a lot I needed to change, but that wasn’t going to happen in a night. This showed me that I still have a lot of growing up to do.

I held my little sister closer. Out of everything that happened over these past few weeks, one thing was certain, and that was I had Hana-chan by my side indefinitely. So, I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure that she stays this beautiful flower.

“Are you hungry for breakfast, Hana-chan?”

“Not really…”

“You never are.”

I poked her nose, and she bit my finger. But instead of letting go, she nudged it with her tiny teeth.

“W-What are you doing?!”

I cried out. Hana-chan was acting like a rabid dog as she attempted to pull my finger from my body. From the doorway, a certain mother peeked in.

“What are you both doing? Aren’t you two going to be late for school if you don’t get up?”

Mom put her finger to her mouth as she questioned us.

“Morning mom…”

I waved, still with Hana-chan in my arms.

"Ah, Hana, head downstairs to go eat. I want to chat with your sister really fast."

Hana-chan let go, jumped off the bed, and raced out of the room without question. I loved that she was always like a little soldier at times. As I saw her small frame disappear from the room, mom stepped in. She held her arm and approached me. She sat on my bed and looked me in the eye.

“What’s wrong, mom?”

She waited for a moment and then walked over to me. She sat down next to me and stared at me for a moment. As if something took the soul out of her...she gazed at me. I was about to speak but she shook her head from side to side.

 

 

“No, I’ll discuss it with you soon. Don’t worry…”

Without giving me a chance to reply, she exited the room. Mom…wasn’t acting herself, and now more than ever, it worried me. As I sat there on the bed, pondering what she wanted to chat about…my alarm went off, waking me from my terrible feelings.

“No use worrying about it, I guess.”

I took a deep breath, stood to my feet, and made my way downstairs. After a fantastic breakfast cooked by the amazing Mari-san, Hana-chan and I made our way to school. We got on the train, met up with Yuko-chan like usual, and made our way to school. When we reached the gates of the school, the short blondie wasn’t there to greet us.

“Sophia-san isn’t here?”

I checked my phone and noticed there was mail there that I didn’t look at.

[Out with Onee-chan. I'll let you know how things go later.]

And that was it.

“I guess she’s spending the day with Taylor-sensei…”

Yuko-chan sighed harshly.

“They must be…discussing what to do.”

The nerves in me felt like needles as I assumed that was what was happening. With those feelings of looming dread over me, I said goodbye to Yuko-chan and made my way to class…The dread of the truth behind Sophia-san’s feelings for Taylor-sensei and the oppressive feeling of the chat mom wants to have with me soon all hovered over me as I went about my day...

 

That's when another message came in. It was from a number I didn't know but the message was clear enough for me to see who it was.

 

[Hello, Madoka-san. This is Auburn Mary, do you have time to talk?]