Tales Of Mitakihara: Episode I

“Oh, hey, Rikkun! You’re here already!”
The man chuckled.
“Well, you know what kind of reputation people like me have!”
“… Boring?”
“N-No! I meant that we’re always right on time, gee! Do you really think I’m boring?”
The woman chuckled and shook her head.
“Silly. Please, do come in!”
“Well, don’t mind if I do then! Oh, hey, I brought you a little something.”
Rikuto Tokai held out a small box of chocolates and handed them to the serenely smiling lady who had just opened the door.
“At first I thought about buying some flowers, but I’d be kind of a dick to go buy them anywhere but here.”
He chuckled and took off his leather shoes, neatly putting them on the small rug where people actually inhabiting the house had left theirs.
“Hey, now, Yuzu, aren’t you supposed to say anything?”
The little, raven-haired girl, around nine years of age, peeked out from behind her father and politely nodded her head, as if to greet the lady who had welcomed them. Her bespectacled eyes cheered up considerably though, as soon as a happy-go-lucky-looking girl around her age dashed off the stairs and grabbed her hand, dragging her back outside.
“Hey, don’t run off too far now, girls!” Rikuto attempted to call out to them, but they had gone to far off to even hear him.
In the middle of the lonesome road, a purple haired girl stood proudly with her tiny hands on her hips. She puffed out her chest as soon as her two playmates arrived and declared in her most mature-sounding voice: “A long time ago, in the beautiful country of France, th-“ “S-Sis! Wait a second, p-please…” the cheery-looking girl interrupted her sister, breathing heavily, ”Yuu-chan and I… We’re totally o-out… um…” “Out of breath, Emiri. Out of breath.” the bespectacled girl corrected her childhood friend. Emiri dropped to her butt on the cold street, exhausted from letting her energy get the best of her.
“Can I continue?” the older girl asked with a gentle smile. The two others nodded their heads. “Good!” The elder sister cleared her throat and started narrating again: “A long time ago, in the beautiful country of France, there lived three great heroes! Dedicated to protecting their king and country, they were both intelligent and expert swordsmen, single-handedly expelling all evils! Famous all over the country and way beyond, they were called… the Three Musketeers!”
She giggled and took up three wooden sticks lying on the ground next to her.
“All three musketeers were heroes in their own right! First of all, there was the elegant and beautiful Aramis of Vannes!”
While saying this, she gave one of the sticks to her sister.
“Then, there was the Baron of Vallon, Porthos; he was brave and loyal!”
She gave a second stick and handed it to Yuzuki, who smiled upon receiving it.
“… And last but not least was Athos, their leader, who was a bit older and a bit wiser, but fought alongside his fellow musketeers as equals.”
Toi picked up one of the sticks herself and pointed it skywards.
“Their battle cry remained the same until the very end… All for one…”
“And one for all!” the two other girls happily responded.
The girls played for hours upon end, running around and sweeping their makeshift swords around at imaginary adversaries. Eventually they ended up at a playground down the road, where they all dropped down on the grass, covered in dirt and sweat.
“Hey, Kanashimi! Having fun babysitting?”
A teasing voice reached Toi’s ears. She sat up and looked behind her, staring up at the surprisingly threatening appearance looming over her. He was big, heavy, and ugly, and from the look on his face, you would deduce that he was the kind of kid who had nothing better to do than to make others’ lives miserable. And you’d be correct. Especially if these other people were small, frail and in the company of people even smaller and frailer.
“Be careful not to poke anyone’s eye out with these sticks.” he said menacingly, after which he mockingly imitated some of the moves he had seen the girls pull off.
Toi quietly stood up and started speaking.
“… While they were camping, the Three Musketeers dropped their guard and rested on the grass. But that was a grave mistake… Before they knew it, they were surrounded by the mercenary troops of their arch nemesis… the malicious Count Méchant!”
A silence fell, but the two other “musketeers” did not respond.
“Oi, you stupid bitch… Cut that out. How old are you, like five or something? Grow up.”
“Count Méchant tried taunting the musketeers with coarse language unbefitting of a gentlemen of his status… but the musketeers only scoffed… and drew their swords.” Toi calmly responded.
“S-Sis… Please… N-No…” Emiri uttered.
“Hey, dumbass…” the bully bellowed, “quit the stupid fairy tale act. I can’t stand cocky people like you. Act like an adult, for crying out loud.” He clenched his fists. “You piss me off so much, Kanashimi. Always acting like you’re some kind of fairy godmother. Do you think you can make fun of me? Huh?”
With a swift movement of his arms, her lashed out at Toi’s neck and grabbed her collar, clutching it tight in his strong hands. He lifted her up from the ground only slightly. Toi winced, while Emiri closed her eyes and wrapped her shaking arms around Yuzuki.
“I would never… stop narrating when the story isn’t finished yet,” she uttered. The boy kept holding on to her collar with one hand and made a fist with the other. “Storytime’s over, kiddo. Time to go to bed.”
Someone cleared their throat.
As the bully turned his head to see who was disturbing his meal, he immediately felt a heavy blow crashing into the side of his head. The next thing he knew he was lying on the grass, trying to stop the warm liquid from pouring out of his nose while he looked up at who or what had done this to him.
“Luckily enough, the true hero always arrived at the end. For the Three Musketeers had a trick up their sleeve. A final ace they could play out when all else was lost. The young, brave hero who had become one of them… D’Artagnan!” The girl whose voice had just dramatically declared these words bended over the bully’s plump body and revealed a wide grin. Strands of blond hair playfully covered her mesmerizing blue eyes. A crucifix dangled from her neck.
“And so, the evil Count Méchant was defeated… and the brave Musketeers would never hear of him again.” With these words, she skipped off to the other three girls and helped them up.
“T-Thanks for saving us…” Toi mumbled.
“I think you’re the true hero, though.” the blonde girl said with a smile.
“I would have been punched if you hadn’t helped me.”
“But you kept smiling and playing with your friends until the very end. I wish I could do that…”
No sound but the wind.
“… E-Everyone has their own way of being a hero, don’t you think?” Toi broke the silence.
The blonde girl nodded her head.
“I don’t need to be a hero, though…” she answered. ”I just want to love.”
Category:Supplementary Materials