Please Stop

Amies

June 10th, 2007

Japanese schools began their school years in April, and ended in March the following year. It was broken into three semesters with breaks in between. The first break was summer vacation, which normally began July 20th and the students would return some time in August. More prestigious—or higher academically ranked schools—tended to have shorter vacations than the others.

Since Yūta had just turned six that year, he was enrolled in his first year at elementary school.

It was still an adapting process for Yūta. He had been homeschooled by Lilly all of his life up to that point, only ever interacting with children his own age when Lilly took him to parks. He didn't even want to attend, but Lilly would hear none of it. He needed socialization; she would not allow him to skip school until he had finished his middle school education at least.

He needed to learn to be around normal humans so he would have the option of normalcy over their supernatural life when he was an adult.

Lilly waited for Yūta outside the gates of his school, along with several other parents. At her feet sat the nekomata who had morphed into a perfect disguise of a golden tabby cat. He wore a blue collar Yūta had picked out for him with his name written on the tags: Tora.

Yūta had chosen the name for the nekomata. The name—which literally meant tiger—was inspired by the nekomata's true form.

Although the nekomata was significantly larger than a true tiger, had six eyes, and was golden and white instead of orange and black. Close enough in the eyes of a child, Lilly guessed.

The nekomata's eyes were half-lidded as he watched the children come out of the school.

Lilly and Tora did not need to pick Yūta up from school. Lilly had woven a magical blessing into Yūta's hands that allowed him to turn any door into a door that would lead him home. All he needed to do was touch a door handle, want to go home, and voilà. He'd be walking through that magical red door that lead to the café.

But Lilly wanted to give Yūta a chance for normalcy. The other children had their parents or older siblings pick them up, so Yūta should be given the same right.

Lilly's body was born in 1993, which put her at only fourteen years old (physically). Far too young to be considered a normal mother. Therefore, when she enrolled Yūta into school—and came to pick him up—she transformed herself into a young woman.

While she did not wear an apron to school, she continued to tie her gradient pink hair off to the side like any good Dead Anime Mom™ and wear simple, modest, and delightfully comfortable clothes—such as sweaters or blouses with skirts. 

Yūta came out of the school with the rest of the students, he did not walk beside anyone in particular or with a group. It was clear her son had not made any friends (yet).