“Mom, would you just…would you just listen to me for a minute?” Natsuki’s voice was both pleading and slightly annoyed as she followed her mother across the woman’s bedroom and into the hallway.
Although they had met at the courthouse, Saeko Kruger convinced her daughter to hold off on any discussions until they could go back to the place she was staying, and somewhat reluctantly, Natsuki had agreed. Since the girl had been gone, Saeko had been placed in a temporary house in the city of Seris, but even the politician had not expected the home away from home to be quite so large. It was a mansion, really— a residence much larger than any in Anis. Then again, the Northern capital was known to be a home for Vedel’s richer residence, and considering that the war had just ended mere months ago, it wasn’t completely surprising that Saeko felt uncomfortable living in a now-abandoned abode that once belonged to one of Seris’s late generals. If that wasn’t enough, she lived in the place alone, with the exception of her brother in-law Jousuke Kruger, who didn’t feel any better about staying in the manor. Most of the time, neither of them was there, mainly just using the place as somewhere to sleep, but today was an exception, on account of Natsuki’s unexpected visit.
Entering the room that she was currently preparing for her daughter’s friend Shizuru, Saeko sighed, not looking at Natsuki as she covered the queen sized bed with a set of pure-white sheets, “I heard you the first time, Natsuki. You want to stay at Garderobe.”
“And did you hear what I said after that?” the raven-haired girl questioned, leaning against the nearest bedpost.
“What else is there to know?” the other woman stated, her no-nonsense tone making Natsuki grimace.
“A lot, actually,” Natsuki countered, “Oleander-sama wants me to be the next Gakuenchou. If you thought that me becoming an Otome was an achievement, now I’m going to be a Column, and the headmistress of all of Garderobe.”
Finally stopping what she was doing, Saeko looked up, staring her daughter directly in the eyes. “But what does that mean for Vedel, Natsuki? We were supposed to fix this broken country together.”
“This is about more than just Vedel; that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” the emerald-eyed girl replied, taking a seat on the half-prepared bed and waiting until her mother did the same before she continued, “This whole continent is messed up, mom. As the head of Garderobe, I might be able to help put things back in order with the other Otome.” Pausing for a moment, Natsuki sighed, taking one of Saeko’s hands into her own, “My place isn’t here, mom. Now that the war is over, everything is being discussed in the courts, and I’m certainly no politician…I trust you to handle things here, you’ve had things under control so far, haven’t you?”
Gazing down at her and her daughter’s intertwined fingers, Saeko sighed and closed her eyes, “It’s more than just that, Natsuki. It’s always been more than just that. After your father died, I…”
“Mom…”
“…I just wanted to keep you close by. Is it wrong for a mother to want to keep her daughter by her side? To keep her safe?”
“No, it’s not,” Natsuki quietly reassured the other woman, “but did you really expect me to stay here forever?” Thinking back on what Shizuru had said on the plane, the soldier reinforced her previous determination, “I have a life of my own to live, mom, and I think this is what I’m supposed to do. But I need your support…I can’t have you disagreeing with my decision.”
This girl…no, this young woman, Saeko thought to herself as she searched her daughter’s unwavering emerald-green eyes, was so much like her father. In the time Natsuki had been gone to Garderobe, she had developed Daisuke’s strong will, and his sense of justice. Their little girl was trying to do what she thought was best, and who could really say what was the right decision to make? As much as Saeko desperately wished that her husband were still here by her side in a moment like this, the truth was that he wasn’t. The man was gone, and she was left to make all of these important choices on her own now. Still, she knew how Daisuke would have felt about this…about their daughter and what she wanted, perhaps needed, to do.
After a brief pause, a small, wry smile formed on the older woman’s lips, “So you’re asking for my blessing, then?”
“I guess you could put it that way…” Natsuki replied with a small laugh, the heavy tension in the room finally seeming to dissipate, “Well?”
“It seems that my little girl is all grown up now,” Saeko commented as she arose, keeping her hand locked with her daughter’s as she stood before Natsuki, “The life of a leader isn’t an easy one, Natsuki—”
“I know it won’t be.”
“—And you’ll have to make a lot of hard decisions along the way—“
“I know I will.”
“—But I hope you know that I’ll always be here for you if you need me,” the woman finally concluded, caressing her little girl’s cheek in her free hand. Giving Natsuki a smile, Saeko’s eyes began to water, “I’m sure you’ll make a fine Gakuenchou.”
Standing, Natsuki drew her mother into an embrace, “Thank you, mom.”
While Natsuki and Saeko were upstairs talking, Shizuru Viola was left downstairs, sipping on a cup of hot tea, with a very awkward Jousuke Kruger sitting across from her. The man seemed too big for the chair he was sitting in, and the teacup he was holding seemed much too small for his large, bear-like hand. Still, the man had tried his best to keep up a conversation with the refined Column, and although she did not show it through her expression, Shizuru was quite amused by his efforts, though very grateful at the same time. This was the first time she had met any of Natsuki’s family, after all, and both her uncle and her mother seemed like very nice people, although drastically different from one another. Whereas Jousuke was a much friendlier individual, Saeko seemed very serious and business-driven. The woman was a politician, Shizuru kept reminding herself, one who had lost her husband to bloody feud that had only just concluded recently. It had been a shock to the Otome to see how very much Natsuki resembled her mother in appearance, and slightly in personality, too, and it left Shizuru wondering just how much the dark-haired girl took after her late father.
“S-So…” Jousuke spoke up after a brief period of silence had settled between the two as they enjoyed their afternoon tea.
“Yes?” Shizuru inquired, her voice as smooth and cool as always, and it intimidated the soldier across the table slightly.
Setting his cup down, Jousuke ran his hand over his bald head, “You and Natsuki are pretty close friends, huh?”
Smiling, the woman set her own cup down on the saucer she was holding with her free hand in her lap. “We’ve spent the last four years together,” she began, “we have gotten to know one another quite well in that time. Our relationship is one I treasure very dearly.”
“Yeah, I gathered that much,” the man responded, “considering that she kept having dreams about you.”
“Is that so?” Shizuru inquired, a pleased little smile gracing her lips as the conversation took an unexpectedly interesting turn.
“Yeah, she—!”
Suddenly catching his error, Jousuke abruptly shut his mouth. Although Natsuki had rarely spoken of this woman, or her time spent at Garderobe, Jousuke could tell that Shizuru meant a great deal to his niece. It wasn’t that Natsuki didn’t like other people, but the girl rarely opened up to anyone enough to be considered a friend. Perhaps that was due to her lack of a childhood, or maybe because all she had ever known was war and distrust, but whatever had happened at the school in Windbloom, this Otome sitting in front of him had managed to befriend his niece, and it seemed that Natsuki cherished her quite a bit as well. Hell, after seeing the lady in person, Jousuke couldn’t blame Natsuki for dreaming about her. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, but she was completely daunting at the same time. There was a strange air about her…one that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but knew that it made him feel nervous under her russet gaze. Still, his opinion of Miss Viola was certainly a high one, and he tried his hardest to act on his best, and most sophisticated, behavior while he was around her.
After his blunder, Jousuke had been left mumbling incoherent words under his breath as he tried to think of a way to turn the conversation around, but thankfully at just the right time, Saeko and Natsuki could be heard descending the stairs, and the man breathed a sigh of relief. Shizuru, although disappointed in not learning any more about these apparent dreams her friend had had about her, turned her gaze away from Natsuki’s uncle and on to the highly identical mother and daughter as they came around to join the other two, Natsuki taking a seat beside Shizuru while Saeko took the chair beside Jousuke.
“Is everything still alright down here? My brother in-law hasn’t been acting as a rude host, has he?” the older woman questioned, and Jousuke sent her an apologetic look right after.
“He’s been delightful,” the Column replied with a smile as she poured both newcomers a cup of tea, “We’ve just been sharing secrets about Natsuki…”
“Wh-what?!” the girl in questioned exclaimed nervously, looking up at her uncle who’s face contorted into a grimace before she turned her eyes upon Shizuru who continued to grin cheekily.
Saeko merely chuckled at the jest. “I think I like this friend of yours, Natsuki,” she stated before taking a sip of her tea, and all Natsuki could do was groan in defeat as she could anticipate all of the tag-team teasing that was sure to follow for the rest of her and Shizuru’s stay in Vedel.
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