A/N: Time for introspective Mama Kurosaki!

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Being a parent is hard.

Reflecting on it, Kurosaki believed that maybe she and her husband had been too hasty in conceiving a child. But it happened, and they dealt with it the best they could. Mafuyu was turning out alright.

God, she wished she could truly believe that.

Kurosaki wonders where she went wrong with her child. Maybe it was the lack of supervision she'd given her. All that freedom and binge-watching of dramas that she herself loved. Maybe it was letting her hang out with that roughed up Gojyo boy.

She definitely couldn't take all the blame with that boy being around during Mafuyu's formative years. She'd thought it would be over once the boy moved.

More boys came to take his place, not in a way that Kurosaki could even begin to like. Her daughter should have good-mannered suitors and lady friends, not a pack of fight-ready teens who trailed Mafuyu like puppies. The only reason she allowed them around was because she feared that without them, Mafuyu would have no friends at all.

Then Mafuyu got caught by a cop, and Kurosaki had no choice but to sever the connection anyways. Her daughter was socially inept, but her eagerness would no doubt gain her some friends in her new school. She could finally relax, even with the gnawing feeling of having given up in raising her by sending her to fend for herself.

What a breath of fresh air it was when Mafuyu told her about her smart friend who could embroider. She didn't pry much after that, but no more calls from the police meant that something good must have happened. She wished her daughter would share more with her, but again she was at fault for not allowing such a connection to grow. Her daughter didn't want to incur more of her wrath by saying the wrong thing.

Like when she fawned over other girls, calling them ladies and angels. Kurosaki gave into her frustrations and confusion during those times to nag and reprimand her. There was no need to put girls on a pedestal like that, especially not for her. Part of the reason was because that way of thinking would very likely not gain her any girl friends. And the other reason, well…

Huh. It was a bad reason. Kurosaki always imagined a future where her daughter married a good man. She never thought it could be a woman until her soon-to-be adolescent daughter started raving about how other girls started making her heart flutter and palms sweaty. Kurosaki had reacted with anger and denial, then. Widening the rift she'd created.

Now, she was accepting it. Over the years, the more she tried to stay mad, the less legitimate reasons she found to be against it until there were none at all. For this, she partially blamed society, so entrenched in its own bullshit like she was. She hopes she'll be able to get over all of that with time. She would like for her daughter not to resent her anymore.

End.

A/N: That's all folks! Hope you've all enjoyed!