Miako: The Child of the Night

Chapter 1 - The Ice and the Fire I

"Yaaaaaaawn~" A cute yawn sounded across the dimly lit room. Dawn broke across the simple, modest bedroom—pure white walls and pristine windows complete with cutesy pink curtains. In the corner of the room, there contained a queen-sized single [bed] and a generic wooden desk, stacked with various books and stuffed toys.

On the bed lay a petite brown-haired girl dressed in a pink t-shirt and shorts, engulfed in a pitch-black robe and tangled blankets. Eyes still weary, she rolled over and planted her face onto her pillow.

Ughh... cold...

Was her first thought as she came online.

What day is it? Monday? No... Thursday? Please be the weekend...

It was a strange feeling. Knowing what day it was was usually second nature. She reached for her phone, which she always placed beside or underneath her pillow, only to grasp at air.

Must've fallen again... where... ah...

Latching onto the rectangular object, Moe retreated back into the warmth of her blankets. Just as she started fumbling for the power button, a sudden knock sounded on the door.

"Oi Moe, did ya forget what you had planned today?"

A gruff, masculine voice called out from the other side. He seemed... angry.

"Uncle?! What are you doing here?! Um... what 'plans'? I don't remember making any..."

"Huh? Ya going with ya friends to the mall, ain't ya? 'Saturday, 10th July, at 1:00 pm sharp' is what ya said last week, right?

Plans to go shopping? When had she made plans to go shopping? Scanning through her memories, she tried searching for anything that had happened in the past week —

"Ughhh..."

— which was a bad idea. A wave of fatigue assaulted her body. Whatever happened during the past week—maybe even yesterday alone—must've taken a huge toll on her. She brushed it off as early-morning exhaustion, but there were still some doubts lingering in her mind.

"Oh... right! I'll get up soon then... What's the time?"

"Sleepy li'l lady, it's almost noon."

Noon?! If she didn't leave immediately, she'd probably be late.

"Hey. She's gone already, if that's what ya worried about," he stated in a lower tone.
"Huh? O-okay."

Moe didn't know, but he was referring to Moe's mother. Some recent events had caused a massive rift between her maternal and paternal families. As their child, Moe was the middle ground tying both sides together, and was caught in between said events. Fortunately, he (Moe's uncle) was able to defuse the situation before it spiraled out of control, all parties fearing the prospect of police involvement.

Thus, to ensure Moe's safety, the savior himself moved in. Her father was rarely ever home though, so it was treated mainly as a safeguard against her mother.

"C'mon, get up. Take ya time, I can drop ya off at the mall. But don't take too long, 'kay? An hour at most."

"I'm not a kid, you know?! An hour is..."

"Not enough? Ahahahaha, ya need two hours huh? Teenagers are so picky about their appearance nowadays."

"UNCLE! An hour is plenty! I'll be out in thirty minutes at the latest, okay?!"

Moe forcibly put a stop to the "savior" and his morning antics. The last thing she needed while still half-asleep was a clown for a conversation partner. Perhaps sensing her sentiment, he slid the door to her room open, and trod away with a hearty grunt.

What a way to start the day... Uncle slept over, huh? I wonder why...

Moe sighed, peering sideways at the vacated space.
Hopping off the bed, she trudged over to the bathroom—which was, fortunately, only a few meters down the hallway—and let herself in. What awaited her were white walls, a small shower section, a toilet, and a utility sink, sitting underneath a large, rectangular mirror. Quite the minimalistic room compared to hers.

Staring into the mirror with tired eyes, Moe reached for a hair brush and worked away at her knots.