Nina the Miraculous

Chapter 3: Brother's thoughts

Himuro Tatsuya was standing in the living room's corner, silently observing Nina, while she was busy making what looked like a hand-made card, which was for Kuroko no doubt. It was nice of her to make something like this for a person she had yet to meet. He even heard her asking the boy's teammates a couple of questions about him, so that she'd know what to put on the card's cover and what to write in her birthday wishes to him. It honestly was very sweet and considerate.

Despite knowing Nina for only a couple of hours, Himuro was already very fond of her and by no means was he the only one. Takao and Seirin guys, Taiga included, have all fallen under the girl's charm, but that wasn't really a surprising outcome. Nina was a very nice girl. Mature, well behaved and a little mischievous. However, at the same time she could be fragile and timid. One thing Himuro noticed about her was that Nina seemed to be wearing masks, covering her actual face. Not the physical masks, but invisible ones that hid her true self. So far Himuro only saw a glimpse of her actual face and it was in no way a pleasant experience. Quite the opposite actually.

He couldn't erase the image of Nina's tears and fear out of his mind. He probably never would. At the same time, somehow Himuro knew that it hadn't been Nina at her worst or weakest. If anything, that panic attack showed him that she was a tough girl, who sought to be strong and wise beyond her years, but something was weighing on her shoulders. Something heavy.

Himuro tried to pay attention to little details and almost immediately noticed that she didn't like sharing anything too personal. Not that she was particularly shy. While Nina didn't have problems with talking about her origins, she clearly disliked the idea of talking about her past and family. That much was written all over her face. Nina didn't say anything about her mother or siblings, if she had any, and only shared one piece of information about her dad.

She didn't have one.

Whether he left her mother and Nina for someone else or was dead, Himuro didn't know, but could imagine that it might be a sensitive topic.

And there was the matter of her coming to Japan. Nina did say she used to live in Glinno, which apparently was a small village in southern Poland. Himuro checked on the internet for confirmation. Glinno was smaller than small. A mall wouldn't fit there. But just as Nina said, the village was very beautiful, according to photos he saw. Himuro really had no clue how to answer himself the following question: what were Nina's mother and Nina's reasons for coming to Japan? What could possibly drive them away from their peaceful life in Poland's mountains to a completely unfamiliar country on the other side of the world?

Himuro was certain that whatever their reasons were, it wasn't a decision made in the heat of a moment. Nina spoke Japanese like a native, which Himuro knew she wouldn't, had her moving here was a last minute call.

And there was also another problem, which bothered Himuro to no end. Why on earth was Nina left alone in Japan, while her mother went back to Poland for a week, with no one to look after the girl? What sane parent did something that foolish, for the lack of a better suited term? Just an hour ago Nina had a panic attack, because a crazy driver had almost killed her. And she experienced said panic attack, while being on her own in a foreig country she just moved into. Himuro wasn't positive that Nina would've been alright, had he and Takao not gone to check on her. He was so glad that they did.

Himuro was glad that he and Takao met Nina.

If they haven't...

"Wow! What a masterpiece, Nina! Kuroko's gonna be ecstatic when he sees it!" Hyuuga exclaimed, pulling Himuro out of his thoughts.

He blinked once, then twice, and then looked at what Nina created. A masterpiece indeed, he thought, smiling widely as he watched the card she made with an immense interest.