Killing Game Quarter

Chapter 6: The Sleepless and The Broken Part 4

I finally made my way into the cafeteria, and just as she had claimed previously, Mia was still in there, eating some more food and looking down to the ground. I made my way over to her, and sat down across from her, before starting to talk.

“Sooo, what have you been up to?” I asked, trying to start a decent conversation with her.

“Sitting here.” She responded, a hint of wit and sarcasm in her tone.

“You know what I mean. Why didn’t you go with us?” I continued, trying to get her full attention.

“I did not find any value in looking into new areas here. I’m content with what we had before.” Mia explained, taking a sip of her drink, “Besides, I have more interesting things to watch,”

I took a moment to look at her eyes, and looked in the direction that she was, seeing Risa sitting at a table, by herself.

“Why are you watching her?” I whispered, leaning in to ask Mia.

“She has been acting strangely for the past couple of days. Ever since the trial, she hasn’t seemed...stable enough to be left alone.” She explained, sighing in disappointment, “Plus, she’s just someone I want to look after. Like the sister I never had.”

“The sister you never had? You don’t have any sisters?” I asked, curious about her family life.

“No sisters, no brothers either. Only child unfortunately.” She explained, shaking her head a bit.

“Oh, you too huh?” I spat out, surprised that she was also an only child.

“You are an only child too Nishinzu?” She responded, seeming a bit more invested in the conversation.

“Yep. My parents only wanted one child, since they only wanted to try it out to see if they could properly raise a kid.” I explained, “And apparently, it worked pretty well.”

“I see…” Mia repled, looking back down into her lap, so I attempted to pry.

“What about you?” I asked, forcing a sigh and relaxing movement out of her, before she looked back up at me.

“Kind of like your situation, but a lot less joyful,” She started, setting down her drink, “My parents wanted a kid that they could raise to be perfect replicas of their ideals and morals. So once I was able to start learning, they forced me into every one of their beliefs and wants for me, making me who I am today.”

“So you never got to pick anything about your life up until you got your talent?” I questioned, curious as to what she’s really like underneath her parent’s parental force.

“You would think that, but I wasn’t even able to pick my talent,” She spoke, clenching her arm and looking away, “They forced me to be their perfect little prodigy.”

I couldn’t help but fall silent hearing her thoughts on her life. Not being able to go to school because of your parents is one thing, but being forced to do everything because of them just sounds like the worst life imaginable.

“But, much is life I guess.” Mia spouted out, most likely trying to stop the awkward silence, “It’s gotten me pretty far in life, and I presume that my lost memories just include more reasons not to doubt their methods.”

“Still, that’s harsh on their part.” I admitted, “Like, really harsh.”

“Well, not much I can do about it now, besides think about it occasionally.” Mia retorted, “Ever since I woke up here, and this game started, the concept of my parents’ teaching methods has seemed like a blessing.”

“That’s true, I doubt any parents would be this harsh with their kids.” I quipped, getting a small chuckle out of Mia.

“What were your parents like Nishinzu?” Mia questioned, leaning lightly on the table. Her question was innocent, but it caused a slight pain in my heart regardless given the motive videos. Still, I tried to act as pleasant as possible in responding.

“Well, they taught me everything they knew, literally. I wasn’t allowed to go to public schools,” I started, giving a shortened version of the version I told previously, “But they were caring, and thoughtful towards me. They always had my best interest in mind, and always acted pleasantly about it every time.”

“They sound nice. What were their names?” Mia responded, smiling slightly at the pleasant sounding past.

“My mom’s name was Hato, and my dad’s was Tamashi, they were the best parents I could have asked for…” As I explained, the sadness of the motives started creeping back up my body. Mia must’ve seen that coming across me, as she slid over her drink.

“You wanna try it? It’s my father’s vanilla tea recipe.” Her words sounded genuinely caring, like a friend, not an enemy. Her smile confirmed that feeling I was getting, as I smiled back.

“Only if you try my coffee mix.” I retorted, taking her tea and sliding my coffee down.

“That sounds like a fair trade.” She answered, picking up my cup. We both took a sip of each other’s drink, and were both in amazement at the taste. We both looked at each other in shock, before looking down at the drinks.

“Can I finish this?” We both asked in unison, looking back up in even more shock, before cracking up at each other. We both nodded and allowed the other to finish the other’s drink, and spent the rest of the morning taste testing and commenting on each other’s tastes.

The fun part was that we weren’t arguing about each other’s tastes, we were simply commenting about them and allowing the other to confirm or properly explain their drinks and preferences. It felt like a genuine conversation, with no condescension or bias. Just two people critiquing each other peacefully.

Once we no longer had any drinks to compare, it was getting to be around noon, so I got myself some lunch, which I ate with Mia. While I ate, and chatted slightly with her, I thought about who I wanted to talk to next.