Outrunning Your Destiny - Part 1
Rei looked in the mirror and brushed out her long raven locks. Any moment now her mother would start knocking on the door to tell her she was late. Normally Rei Hino would never be late to anything as she always preferred to be several minutes early. She prided herself in her ability to walk through a door just as the clock would strike the hour. It was the days that her mother forced her to visit her hentai grandfather at his temple that she often delayed as long as she could.
The Hino’s lived in the penthouse apartment of one of the largest towers in Tokyo. Most days though she had the place to herself as her parents travelled often. Her father had recently become Prime Minister and her mother, always the perfect wife, travelled at his side. Lately her father had started pressuring her to join them so that he could present the image of having the perfect family - although he would never say that directly. Politics didn’t interest her and neither did the infinite amount of trips that he always seemed to be on, except of course when she knew that Kaidou would be there. The thought of the tall stranger with light hair brought a smile to her lips that she quickly subdued. Her father would never approve of them though. She would just have to wait until she was old enough that her father could no longer tell her what to do.
“Rei,” her mother called from the other side of the door while knocking gently. Her mother would never raise her voice or cause any type of nuance by being loud. Secretly Rei wanted to be just like her mother.
“Hai, hai,” Rei answered with a sigh. She put her brush down and straightened out her catholic school girl uniform. Taking a deep breath, she schooled her features into a soft smile and opened the door. Her mother stood on the other side looking every bit as majestic as a queen. “You don’t have to drive me,” Rei said, “I’m old enough to take the bus on my own.”
“Haven’t you been listening to the news,” her mother said, her voice full of concern. “Girls have been disappearing on the bus as of late. That and strange things have been happening in the city.”
Rei smiled. “Yes, teenage girls in short skirts, so I’ve heard.”
Her mother looked around to make sure that her father was out of ear shot before pulling money from her pocket. “This will be our secret,” she smiled. “But there and back - nowhere else, ok?”
“Hai,” Rei smiled as she embraced her mother. She placed a quick peck on the woman’s cheek and ran towards the front door to put her shoes on before her mother could change her mind. Rei slipped on her shoes and reached for her purse, noticing a red pen sticking out of the top. She pulled it out and instantly felt a strong warmth emanating from the pen. Disregarding the pen as nothing more than some memento her father picked up for her along the way, she left it sitting on the counter and hurried out the door.
Continued in Outrunning Your Destiny - Part 2