August 21, 2012

Aneko stumbled, the blue haired toddler trying her legs. "Maaaamaaaa!" she giggled, attempting to walk to her mother. The woman sat on a small stool, arms slightly outstretched to her daughter. "You can do it," Mika encouraged, "I know you can, my little cub."

The red haired woman wore a white button down stolen from her husband's wardrobe, and comfortable black sweatpants, a long necklace dangling past her chest. Unruly shoulder length hair was sloppily tied with a red ribbon, long bangs gelled back, two loose strands hanging over her eyes. Amber eyes looked down at the small child, fondness in their depths as Aneko struggled to balance her body on two legs.

"Hello, you two. Walking again?" asked Reishi, opening the front door to their home, exhausted from work. "Shh!" ordered Mika, and Aneko eventually made it into her mother's arms, the woman picking her child up by her armpits.

"You did it!" Mika congratulated the toddler, and Aneko gave a little cheer, laughing at her own accomplishment. Small hands tugged at Mika's necklace, but the woman didn't mind as fingers tangled in the string. "That's my girl," said Reishi proudly, and he pecked his daughter on the forehead, kissing his wife on the cheek.

"That's our girl, you mean," Mika told him, setting Aneko onto an armchair. "You're so goddamn cute," she told the small girl, poking one of her cheeks, while the girl gave a toothy smile. "My cute little cub."

Mika picked her daughter up again, walking to the kitchen while Reishi went to change into casual clothes. She set Aneko into her highchair, moving to get a banana to mash into a small bowl and placing it on the small table attachment.

"One day," she started, "You're going to grow up and become a lioness. I won't be able to protect you anymore, but I'll do whatever the hell it takes to make you happy." She heated the wok, warming the fish she had cooked earlier before the walking experiment.

Aneko paid her mother no mind, more interested in sticking her fingers in the banana and putting it in her mouth. "Who knows," Mika hummed, "Maybe you'll become King one day." The girl then tossed the bowl off the deck, and her mother reconsidered, "I'd give you three years to start."

"Fish?" asked Reishi as he came to the kitchen, the sound of the bowl hitting the floor ridiculously loud, "Aneko…" He picked up the bowl while Mika got a paper towel to wipe up whatever was left of the banana.

"Such a tiny rebel," said the man, taking one of the many soft towels on the counter so he could wipe his child's face. "Just like me," Mika reminded him, "She's our little cub."

Twenty years later…

Loud banging could be heard outside of Reishi's office, disrupting the silence that usually permeated through the room. "MUNAKATA REISHI!" came a very loud shout from a very angry Munakata Mika banging on the other side of the door. "YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!"

Reishi mentally sighed as the door was kicked in, swinging on its hinges as a very irate lioness swept into the room, slamming the door back into its frame.

"Yes, dear?" he asked when his wife stomped up to his desk. "Don't you 'dear' me!" thundered Mika, ready to strangle her husband, "I have Aneko coming home, and I see her all shiny eyed and weirdly cheerful, and she tells me she's the next Blue King?! Are you guys out of your Kami loving mind?!" Red aura whipped around the woman, creating a forceful wind. It knocked into some of the bookshelves, singeing the drapes over the window and burning into the carpeting.

Reishi took a very long breath, counting numbers mentally, then exhaled, "I am aware of the situation. The Dresden Slate—." The man was cut off by Mika shouting again, this time, "Do you think I'm gonna let a HUNK OF ROCK decide what's best for MY DAUGHTER?!"

The door slammed open as Aneko burst into the room, panting heavily, sweaty from running in the humid summer weather. "Okaa-san, it's not that bad!" she said, catching her breath. "I want to be King!" She straightened, closing the door behind her, striding to her mother, who turned around.

"You want to be King?" asked Mika slowly, as if computing what had happened, "Aneko…"

"I'm not a child anymore," said Aneko stubbornly, "If the Dresden Slate makes me a King, then I'll be one."

"It's dangerous, Aneko. I don't want you to get hurt," started Mika, but her daughter shook her head. "I know. But I want to make this decision. Please. I don't care what it takes, I'll do anything if you allow me this," Aneko pleaded.

Mika mulled it over, glancing at the reserved expression of her husband, before looking back at Aneko. "…Fine," she said decisively, catching Aneko off guard. "Really?" she asked, surprised that her mother relented so quickly. She had the impression it would take a lot more begging and pleading for her mother to even consider her being the next Blue King.

"Neko-chan," sighed Mika, closing her eyes and smiling slightly as she raised a hand, laying it on Aneko's head. "I said yes. You've grown, my dear. I want you happy, Aneko. You need to blaze your own path, now." The older woman removed her hand, then opened her arms.

"Mom," said Aneko, and tears rose to her eyes, making her take a tissue from one of her many pockets. She wiped at her eyes, then flung her arms around her mother in a hug. "Thank you."

"There will be stipulations, won't there?" asked Reishi smartly, and Mika narrowed her eyes. "Yeah there will be," she said, and Aneko released the hug, "You're going to train with your father every day, missy. Kings might be only killed by other Kings, but it doesn't mean you can just let yourself take damage. I also want Fushimi-kun teach you how to use projectiles in combat too."

"I said I'd do anything, mom," Aneko reminded her mother, "I meant every word of it." A glimmer in her eyes was a deep blue, turning her eyes a bright violet, and she grinned. "I'll freeze my enemies so cold they'll burn."

"Atta girl, Aneko," Mika smiled, and she looked over to Reishi, "Come over here you asswipe." The man chuckled as he went over to his wife and child, joining them in a hug before letting go.

"You should probably learn how to fight with your eyes closed," Mika told them, and Aneko rolled her eyes, "I don't want the same thing that happened on Ashinaka to pull you back."

Mika surveyed the slightly destroyed room, and shot a smile at her husband, "Whoops?" She shrugged, uncaring of the damage she caused, and Reishi sighed.

"I'll get the curtains replaced," he told her, already taking his PDA out of a pocket to report on the damages. Luckily, this level of destruction was somewhat normal, and his underlings learned not to question it.

"When you settle that, come home, Aneko-chan and I are going to train a little before supper," Mika smirked, and left the room, her daughter following behind her with a parting, "See you, dad!"