Finals had passed. Yuriko, as always, did fairly well – but not too well. She could read the thoughts of the students and teachers without even trying, so she knew the right answer to everything. However, she tried her best to answer a few wrong questions. It didn't help Jayce was thinking the whole time about random information that did not pertain to the tests at all. How he was ranked in the top five of the class was a mystery to her.
Then came winter break. She enjoyed her days of solitude and a few Wakizashi ordeals. However, she found herself missing… something. Alas, she did not know what it was she was in need of. Her grandfather trained her in further lessons, and she enjoyed them for the most part. Practising was what led her to be so good at her nightly routine.
Thus came another day where she woke up alone, her grandfather usually letting her sleep in on school breaks but she awakened early most of the time anyway. Sitting in her room, she read a book to wake her mind a bit more, pouring through the pages silently as she sat cross legged on her bed. It wasn't until her sliding door opened that she looked up, seeing her grandfather smiling. Wondering what was so pleasing to him, she connected to his mind.
Your friends are here.
"Friends?" Yuriko asked, looking confused.
Yes, He answered. Come along.
Yuriko, still curious, placed her book down closed. Standing up, she started to follow her grandfather down the hall and into the open dojo. What beheld her made her sigh. There stood five people, all of which she knew. Mystic, in a pink coat and black warm leggings, a hat over her reddish brown hair. Vinhatri, wearing a red vest and a long sleeve under it, also a hat on his multicoloured hair. Flower and Petal, with matching green hoodies and black ear muffs, mittens over their hands. Then finally, Jayce, wearing a blue sweater and a bag over his shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" Yuriko demanded.
"We knew you wouldn't come to us," Mystic said. "So we came to you."
"It snowed," Jayce stepped up. "Did you see?"
"No," Yuriko responded.
"We wanted to have some fun," He explained. "Why don't you join us?"
She narrowed her eyes. "I haven't even eaten yet."
"I figured," Jayce smiled, digging in his bag before holding out a wrapper. "So I brought you a red bean bun."
Yuriko squinted at him, then took the bun. "Let me go get dressed."
The group whooped in success as she turned and walked away. Yuriko glanced at her grandfather, who was grinning happily. She returned to her room, eating the bun as she got dressed. Wearing a black hat with matching gloves and a scarf, she put on a grey sweater and finished the food she was given. Walking back out in the open room, she gave another look at her grandfather, who simply thought one sentence to her.
Have fun.
"You have a crumb on your face," Jayce said, brushing his thumb along her cheek. Yuriko tensed, looking up at him – but he kept his thoughts in check, which was more than she could say for herself. He simply smiled, then waved to the others. "Let's go!"
Everyone piled outside, while Yuriko simply followed slowly. Stepping outside, she looked up to the sakura tree – still full of pink leaves but dressed in powder. The ground was covered in pristine white snow, sparkling in the dim sunlight. It was only 9:00 AM. Her breath was a fog in front of her mouth, along with all the others who scattered about in front of the dojo.
"Come on," She called to them. "Let's go behind the building – there is more room back there."
They all agreed and followed Yuriko to the space behind her home, and there was indeed more room to play around. Flower and Petal immediately ran off to a high mound of snow drift, where Flower shoved her other half into the white powder. Petal popped back up again, and laughed, shaking out her black hair. Mystic dragged Vinhatri over to the bottom of the hill, where she flopped down and started making a snow angel – Vinhatri smiled and chuckled as he drew devil horns on it.
Meanwhile, Yuriko looked down. She crouched and used her hands to make a little ball, then another one. Stacking the two on top of each other, she stared at it in her gloved hands. Jayce looked over her shoulder, then sat in the snow and did the same as her. Making one ball, then another, he created a second mini snowman. The two set them next to each other on the ground, and he smiled at her warmly.
"Wanna make a big one?" Jayce asked.
Yuriko hesitated, looking at the two miniature snowmen. Then, she raised her head and nodded. The two stood up and walked across the clearing, Jayce making a medium sized ball of snow with his hands before rolling it across the ground. When it got bigger, Yuriko joined him in pushing it around. The others seemed to realise what they were doing, and they too started making balls.
Finally, the six of them joined together in the middle of the clearing with three balls of snow. The biggest was the twins', so they put that one on the bottom. Next in size was Yuriko and Jayce's, so they picked it up together and set it on top. Lastly was Vinhatri and Mystic's, whose ball was hard to get up on top of the already tall partially built snowman. When they finally got it up, they all stood proudly – before it toppled over. This caused them all to stare at it in shock, before everyone started to laugh. Even Yuriko managed to smile.
"Let's have a snowball fight!" Flower announced, pointing at the group. "Me and Jayce will pick teams. C'mon!" Jayce seemed surprised, but walked up to stand beside her anyway. The other four stood in front of them single file. "I'll choose first." She seemed to think very carefully, then smiled. "Vinny, come here."
"Oh, okay…" He seemed confused why she didn't pick Petal, like everyone else.
Next was Jayce. Yuriko was only half paying attention, used to being picked last. But to her curiosity, Jayce pointed at her. "Come on, Yuriko."
She looked up at him, but walked over anyway. "Petal!" Flower said, waving her over, to which she obliged.
Mystic shrugged. "Guess I'm on Jay's team," She said.
"I would have picked you anyway," Jayce assured her, but she only rolled her eyes as she approached.
"Okay!" Flower turned to the other group. "The rules are simple. No rocks in your snowballs, and if you get hit in the face or head, you're out. Sit down when you get out. Last ones standing win!" With that, they stood on opposite sides of the field, prepared to run. Flower let everyone get at least one snowball together before shouting out. "Ready… Go!"
Immediately, everyone started running. Some threw snowballs, others gathered more into their arms, but mostly there was just ducking and aiming. Yuriko did her best not to get hit – she had never been in a snowball fight. So far, she was just collecting snowballs and running. The first one out was Mystic, who fell down laughing. Next, Jayce got Petal before Flower pelted him in the face.
The two stared down Yuriko, who hadn't thrown a single ball. Then, within seconds, Yuriko stood victorious over the two. She had gotten Vinhatri out first, then an epic battle between her and Flower ensued. Yuriko even pulled a backflip off over the girl's head before throwing a snowball into her face. Mystic and Jayce cheered, getting up and walking over to her.
"I thought you said you couldn't do a backflip," Jayce grinned.
"I never tried," Yuriko admitted.
"Children!" a voice called, and the group turned to see her grandfather waving them over. "I got hot soup for you!"
They started heading over to him, and he led them back inside. In the main room was a large table he had apparently set up, a cup of soup for each of them set around in front of zabutons – cushions for sitting. Everyone took a seat, and Yuriko passed by her grandfather silently. That was, until she heard his thoughts. Freezing, she looked at him with wide eyes, staring with confusion.
"My mother came by?" She whispered.
He looked up at her with his eyebrows raised, then smiled. I guess I really can't keep anything from you, can I?
"You…" Yuriko gasped quietly. "You turned her away?"
Yes, He nodded sadly. She wanted to talk to you, but I did not want her to ruin your fun day.
"She wanted to talk to me," She said a bit louder, feeling a burning sensation in her chest. "And you said no?"
This time, he spoke aloud. "Yuriko, you do not understand, that woman is no good-"
"No, you don't understand!" She found herself angry, the group at the table looking up sharply. "For once, my mother wanted to see me! And you said no, like it's your choice if I get to talk to her or not!"
"Yuriko," Jayce stood up, starting towards her.
"Stay out of this, Miller!" She yelled at him, sending him a glare as he flinched. Turning back to her grandfather, she grimaced. "I can't believe you. After all this time, I thought you knew. I thought you knew how I felt. It turns out nobody does, not even you."
Yuriko turned on her heel, pulling off her scarf and storming towards the hall. She heard Jayce say her name, but her grandfather told him to stay and give her space. Gritting her teeth, she turned the corner, heading straight for her room. She was fuming, unable to believe her grandfather – the man she thought knew her so well – was nothing like she thought.