Tender Heart with a Tenacious Spirit (Mysmic Series - S1)

Ep3 - "Where the Arrow Goes"

Later that morning, Carmine goes back home, having bought the 3 carton of eggs from the market and putting it down on the table. His father walks up to him with a worried look in his eyes.

"Didn't I tell you to hurry back home? Why did it take you a while to get back?" His father asks him.

"I really was gonna do that, but then I saw someone who needed help" Carmine answers. "A girl's kitten got stuck up in a tree. Knowing that, I couldn't just walk away, and so I helped her"

Hearing his explanation, his father's expression softens. "I suppose it couldn't be helped. I wouldn't have wanted to leave someone in need either" He then smiles softly. "I'm just glad you didn't get hurt, sport"

Carmine laughs nervously. "Well, the kitten almost scratched my face, but I managed to dodge her attacks"

"Wait, you didn't fall off that tree, did you?" His father asks, growing a little concerned again.

"That's... Me and the kitten did, but she landed on her paws and as for me, umm..." Carmine looks away, blushing a little at the memory. "she... she caught me in time"

"Who? The kitten?"

"What? No, the girl"

His father chuckles. "I know. I was just messing with you. Unless kittens can move and talk like humans, it's just not possible. Not to mention, they need to have the strength to carry your weight"

"How... oddly specific"

"Anyways, I should go make some breakfast. You go wait by the table. It won't take long"

Carmine's a bit confused as to why his father doesn't ask about the girl who saved him, but nods anyway. He sits by the table and waits for breakfast to be ready.

Soon, two plates of omelettes are served and once his father takes a seat across the table, the two of them starts eating.

During their breakfast, Carmine puts his fork and knife down on the plate. Still looking down at his nearly finished omelette, he asks, "Is it okay if I ask you a question, dad?"

His father stops eating as well, putting down his utensils on his own plate and turning his attention towards his son. "Sure. What is it, sport?"

Carmine looks at his father. "Aren't you curious about the girl? You know, the one who saved me? Don't you want to know about her?"

"I admit that I am rather curious" His father starts to say. "But I don't want to know about her yet in case you two end up being a couple in the future. In fact, if it can be helped, I'd much prefer you introduce me to her instead"

Carmine doesn't really get what he's trying to say, but the mere thought of himself and a girl being a couple one day is enough to make him blush. "I-I see"

The two of them continues to eat their omelettes until the plates are empty and then, the dishes are washed by his father. Carmine would've liked to help with it, but he unfortunately can't reach the sink, so like always, his father does it.

Thinking back to what happened earlier, Carmine ends up saying, "Still, this town really is peaceful, huh? Other than the bad stuff that would happen every now and then like a girl's kitten getting stuck up in a tree, there doesn't seem to be a need for any chosen ones around here"

By then, his father has just finished washing the dishes and wipes his hand with a clean cloth before facing him.

"Now that you've mentioned that, it really does sound like it" His father says. "But while you might not get to use your power to fight off against evil, you could still train that kind of power and use it for other things"

"Other things? Like what?" Carmine asks.

"Hmm... Oh! You could provide fire for when I'm cooking our meals. That way, we won't need to buy cooking gas anymore and save up on money"

"Hmm... that does sound like a good idea"

"In any case, it's up to you if you want to train using it and what you choose to use it for. Just as long as it's not for any bad reasons, then I'll be fine with it. Oh, and do be careful when you use it. Again, I wouldn't want you getting hurt"

"So... as long as I follow those two rules, you won't mind using it?"

"I wouldn't really call them rules, but yeah, I won't mind as long as you keep that in mind"

"Well, I guess I'll think about it for now"

His father nods and smiles at him. "Alright. Just let me know if you need anything and I'll do what I can to get it for you"

Carmine smiles back at him. "Okay. Thanks, dad" He then goes to his room and keeps thinking about what he and his father just talked about. It ends up being a lot to process when the toy chest in his room catches his eye.

Not wanting to think much about it for now, he decides to look for something to play with inside the toy chest.

As he looks inside the toy chest, he says to himself. "Maybe I have a toy sword around here. Something cool like what Scarlet used to defeat the bad guys. Well, mine won't be as cool as the real thing. But it would do for now"

Sadly, there's no signs of one and nothing catches his interest, except for the toy bow and arrow. Something his father got him for his birthday this year and never played with again.

Looking at the toy bow and arrow, he says to himself. "Well, it's no toy sword. But archers are as cool as people using swords, right?"

"I wonder why I stopped playing with this though? Hmm..." Carmine begins to wonder as he picks up the toy bow and arrow. He looks at them for a bit longer before shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh well. Probably nothing important since I can't remember" He says, bringing them out and closing the toy chest.

With the toy bow and arrow in his hands, he looks around for a target he could use and notices a drawn target on the wall.

"Was that there before?" Carmine wonders to himself until he remembers. "Oh yeah, my dad draw that since the set didn't include any targets. But I guess this could work"

"I hope I'm still good at this" He aims at the target and then shoots the arrow. But to his surprise, not only does it not hit the target, it also flies out the window.

"Eh?" Carmine voices out his confusion, wondering how he didn't manage to hit the target. He's always been good at this... isn't he?

He looks out the window to see where the arrow hit, only to find the suction cup of the arrow sticking on someone else's forehead.

She doesn't look angry though, just surprised and confused. What's more surprising to him though is that she's a familiar face.

"V-Viridi--You?!"