Shock and Awe { Nakamoto Yuta Series }

Chapter 5

"If you feel like you're being sexually harassed, I can get her off you," said Serena's mom. "She can be a little much sometimes."

Jae-Hwa was on Yuta's lap, pressing her paws into him and kissing his face. "It's OK," Yuta replied. "I don't mind it."

Serena's father entered carrying a long rifle. Yuta's eyes grew wide in a mixture of fear and intrigue.

"Yuta!" her dad exclaimed. "You're coming with me."

Yuta gently removed Jae-Hwa from his lap and stood. He gave Serena's dad a respectful bow and followed him out of the house. They drove deep into the forest to a simple rectangular structure made of wood.

"Have you ever gone target shooting?" Serena's dad asked him.

"No, I've never touched a gun before," he admitted. "You don't see a lot of guns in Asia that aren't being used by police or the military," he explained.

"Yeah, I had never touched a gun before I came here either. Mexico is the same way. People don't just walk around with guns there either," replied Serena's dad as they walked toward the target shooting building.

"Now, this is a Remington .222. It's a good deer rifle. It has a little kick to it, but it's not too bad," he explained.

"What do you mean by 'kick'?" asked Yuta.

"That just means that it comes back and hits you in the shoulder when you shoot it. You'll have to keep it tucked tight against your shoulder or it will kick worse," he replied.

"Gosh, it sounds dangerous," Yuta said with temerity.

"Nah, you'll be fine. Just do what I tell you and everything will be OK."

They both put small orange ear plugs in and Serena's dad loaded the rifle. "Now, just watch me. You put it up to your shoulder, look through the sites, and take a deep breath. As you let your breath out, pull the trigger when you've breathed out about half-way," he instructed. He put the rifle to his shoulder and pulled the trigger, letting out a loud bang that made Yuta jump. The shot landed about an inch to the right of the bullseye. He reloaded the gun.

"Your turn," he said, handing Yuta the rifle. He took it gingerly in his hands and pressed it to his shoulder. He closed one eye to look through the sites as he had observed Serena's dad had done. He took the deep breath and let it half-way out but didn't pull the trigger. He just stood there holding his breath. He let his breath out and tried again. Deep inhale, let it part-way out, and...go!" he said to himself. As the noise of the gun registered with him, he jumped, causing the shot to miss the target entirely. He rubbed his shoulder. So, that's what a kick feels like, he mused. They loaded the gun again and he tried a second time. His jump was less pronounced this time, but the shot had still startled him.

"Try not to jump, OK?" Serena's dad instructed. "Just accept that the noise is going to be loud and move on."

The third time Yuta tried, he made it onto the paper target. After several more tries, he hit the bullseye dead on. The two high fived as Yuta beamed with pride.

Meanwhile, back at Serena's house, she and Carmen were sitting in their bedroom, surrounded by the sky-blue walls.

"I think I'm going to take Yuta to the farm for a few days before we head back," Serena announced.

"Why the hell would you do that?" asked Carmen. "Are you trying to scare him off?" she joked.

"Yes," Serena replied gravely.

"Why do you want to scare him off? He's the first guy you've dated that I actually like. And Dad likes him too. When will this ever happen again that we all agree on the same guy?" Carmen pointed out. "I literally have HATED every guy who has ever tried to get close to you. As far as I'm concerned, no one is good enough for you, but Yuta is!" she proclaimed emphatically.

"He's great," Serena conceded. "It's not him; it's me," she added.

"That's bullshit!" Carmen exclaimed. "That whole 'It's not you; it's me' excuse is the oldest one in the book. Get some damn self-esteem!"

"Yeah," Serena replied quietly. "I just figure if he really likes me enough to get through a few days at the farm, then maybe there is a chance for us. If not, we were doomed from the beginning."

"Well, let me just go on record as having said that I think you are crazy to take him there in a blatant attempt to scare him off. This is going to blow up in your face. Mark my words," warned Carmen. "I mean, the sheer level of dysfunction over there at the farm is just astounding," Carmen added.

"Agreed," said Serena, "but since I still have some level of relationship with them, he's going to have to face them at some point. Why not now before either of us is too highly invested?"

"You know, I never pegged you as a scaredy cat," said Carmen. "I guess you learn something new every day," she said with a tinge of disappointment in her tone.

Just then, they heard Yuta and their dad returning home from their target practice adventure. Yuta came in the door yelling loudly, "Serena, come look what I did!"

She and Carmen ran downstairs as quickly as possible. Yuta held up a shot-up target with one perfect shot going right through the bullseye.

"I got a bullseye!" he announced proudly. "Do you see that?" He jiggled with excitement as he pointed to the hole in the very center of the target.

"Yes, I see," Serena remarked dryly. "Good job."

"It's a Remington .222 and it has a little kick," Yuta parroted what Serena's dad had told him.

"Yes, I know," Serena replied. She patted his head like one would do with a child. "What a good boy," she cooed.

Yuta's eyes shone with pride, and something else Serena couldn't quite place. "I'm trying really hard," he said. "I really like you and I'm trying to do anything I can to please you," he admitted.

"Well, you have one more hurdle," she replied. "You have to get through a couple of days with my grandparents and my aunts and uncles on the family farm. If you can stand that, you can stand anything," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Do you want to take a walk?" she offered.

"Sure," replied Yuta.

Serena led him across the street from her house to a long dike built up along the side of a small creek. They walked along the raised dike in peaceful silence until Yuta began to run down the steep side toward a patch of purple wildflowers that were blooming there.

"What are you doing?" Serena scolded. "It's dangerous to go running down this embankment!" she warned.

Yuta seemed oblivious to her protests as he picked wildflowers by the handful. He arranged them into a lovely bouquet and began the steep climb back up the side of the dike. When he arrived at the top, panting in exhaustion, he presented Serena with the bouquet. She smiled at the innocent sincerity that was evident in his gaze.

Just then, a tiny rabbit crossed in front of them. It stopped and stared at them curiously. It shook slightly but did not seem afraid of the pair of humans in front of it. Yuta slapped Serena's arm repeatedly and pointed toward the rabbit.

"It's a bunny!" he whispered intensely. "Do you see that? It's a real, live bunny!"

He stepped toward the tiny rabbit slowly and it made no motion to bolt. He got within two feet of it. The bunny sniffed the air and stared intently at Yuta.

"This place is magical!" he marveled.

Serena shrugged, unconvinced, but made no effort to refute it.