The flaming legacy

Mio was shocked. The first words to come from her daughter's mouth were filled with hatred and disappointment. The little girl she had met on the street, despite her sharp tongue, had been far kinder than this. Mio had no quick answers to Seika's questions. She had learned bits about what Seika had been through, but it wasn't nearly enough.

Mio: "I understand that you're angry, but I had no way to come back and get you."

Seika: "What does that even mean? What was so hard about it? Do you know what you did to me? Do you know what he did to me because of you!?"

Mio: "Seika, sweetheart…"

Seika: "Don't call me sweetheart, you stupid cow! You're just as much a monster as he is."

Mio: "Seika. Please. No."

Seika: "No? Screw that. I'll say what I want!"

Mio: "That's not what I meant…"

Seika: "It got so much worse because of you! Do you even know that?"

Mio: "…"

Seika: "He completely lost it. He did far worse things to me than before. And he screamed, 'WHERE ARE YOU?' He called for you, and you never came. And do you know who got punished for it? ME! He beat me because YOU ran away!"

Mio: "I'm sorry, Seika."

Mio's attempted apology only made Seika angrier. Seika began lashing out, knocking a table lamp off a small stand. The lamp shattered, and a large shard of glass flew into Mio's leg.

Seika: "Your apology is far too late! I don't need it anymore! I ran away on my own without your help! It's too late for everything!"

Mio pulled the shard of glass from her leg without another word and turned to leave the room. But before she reached the door, another woman was already standing in the doorway. She had heard the crashing sound and Seika's yelling and had run straight to the source.

Woman: "What's going on here, Mio?"

Mio: "It's nothing. The lamp just fell, and a shard hit me."

Seika: "Nothing happened!?"

Woman: "Mio, who is this, and what is she doing here?"

Seika: "Go ahead. Tell her, Mom."

Woman: "Mom? Mio, this isn't really your daughter, is it!?"

Mio: "…"

Seika: "You've told others too, haven't you?"

Woman: "You better shut your mouth now."

Seika: "Who are you, and what do you want from me?"

Woman: "I just told you. You need to shut your mouth."

Mio: "Both of you, stop it. Yes, she's my daughter, and yes, I messed up. But I can't change what happened. All I can do is apologize."

Seika: "…"

Woman: "What exactly happened between you two?"

Mio: "It doesn't matter right now."

Seika: "Why doesn't it matter? I want you to answer my questions!"

Mio: "I said it doesn't matter right now. We can talk about it later."

Seika: "How will you ever make this right? What could you possibly say to fix this?"

Mio: "I'll think of something. Don't worry about it."

Woman: "Oh great. This sounds like a much bigger problem. But what about the girl?"

Seika: "Why am I even here? Did you just want to show me this stupid picture?"

Mio: "No, I just wanted to make sure."

Seika: "Make sure of what? That I'm okay? Make sure I'm really the one you abandoned!?"

Mio: "I wanted to know if it was really you because I thought it was impossible that you'd still be alive."

Seika: "Why wouldn't I be alive? Oh right! Because of you!!"

Mio: "…"

Seika: "Why am I even here!?"

Woman: "Do you want to invite her, Mio?"

Mio: "I can't force her to come."

Seika: "What kind of invitation? To where? For what?"

Woman: "You haven't told her anything, have you, Mio?"

Mio: "I didn't have time. Can't you see what a mess this is!?"

Seika: "What's going on here? What do you want from me?"

Woman: "We don't want anything from you. You can join here, if someone invites you."

Seika: "What do I get out of it? … Do you have food here?"

Mio: "You deal with her. I need to clean my wound."

Woman: "Always leaving me to look after the kids…"

Seika: "I'm not a kid!"

Woman: "Every kid says that. You're as big and dumb as a kid."

Seika: "What do you want from me? You show up out of nowhere and call me dumb!?"

Woman: "Calm down, little one. You don't know anything about the world yet. You want food? Then come with me. But don't even think about attacking me or doing anything stupid. You wouldn't stand a chance anyway."

Seika: "Why would I attack you?"

Woman: "I'm just saying. It wouldn't be the first time someone like you tried."

Seika: "Are you calling me a pest?"

Woman: "No, what's wrong with you? If you follow the rules and don't annoy me, nothing happens. If you attack me, you're a pest. Got it?"

Seika: "What kind of rules or games are you playing here?"

Woman: "Games? That just shows how clueless you really are. Now come."

Seika felt something about this woman—a strange mix of fear, respect, and warmth. Instinctively, she didn't want to fight her anymore. There were two reasons for that:

First, there was the odd warmth she felt from the woman. Second, the woman had openly warned her that attacking wasn't worth it. Even if it sounded like a threat, Seika took it as a warning. She didn't feel that the woman would hurt her without reason. The woman left the room, and Seika noticed a large scar on her right shoulder.

Seika: "What's that scar on your shoulder?"

Woman: "This? From back in the day. A little fight when I was new here."

Seika felt the woman was lying but decided not to ask further.

Seika: "What is this place?"

Woman: "This is our house. We live, train, and fight here."

Seika: "What kind of house is it?"

Woman: "Oh great, so many questions, little one. I told you already—it's a house for us. One thing you should know now, whether you join or not: Rule number one is men are forbidden."

Seika: "That's a weird rule… but a good one."

Woman: "Exactly. The best of all. You should know that every woman here hates men."

Seika: "Men are the worst!!"

Woman: "Ha… I thought you'd ask another dumb question."

Seika: "Don't call me dumb again!"

Woman: "I really can't decide if I like you or not… but you're making it hard, little one."

Seika: "It's Seika. Call me Seika."

Woman: "Alright, Sei. You're Sei from now on."

Seika: "No, I'm Seika."

Woman: "I give everyone nicknames here. No more than three letters. If you want more of your name, you'll have to earn it."

Seika frowned, her voice sharp. "What does that even mean?"

Woman: "You can earn a reputation here. It goes both ways—whether you mess up or fight for this group. It's up to you."

Seika: "I never said I was joining!"

Woman: "Oh… right. There's still that."

Seika: "But if you have food here, I'll stay for now."

Woman: "You don't plan to eat our food and just leave, do you?"

Seika flinched as the woman seemed to read her mind.

Woman: "Ha… got you. If you work, you eat. Simple as that. Understand?"

Seika turned her head away in annoyance, earning a laugh from the woman.

Woman: "Lucky for you, I can cook. So your first meal here comes with work attached."

Seika: "What do you mean, 'work attached?'"

Woman: "You're helping me cook."

Seika: "WHAT?"

The woman laughed again, leading Seika to the kitchen. At first, Seika resisted, but as the meal preparation went on, she started to enjoy herself. By the end, a small grin crossed her face.

Seika stayed in the gang, and within half a year, she got their tattoo—the "WW" Fire-sealed on her back. To her, it stood for Warriors' Way or Women's World. She saw it as a sign of strength.

From that day forward, Seika swore one thing:

Seika: "I will never let a man into my life again."