Seren セレン Volume 1

Chapter 9 Dear Beloved

Moka looked at Yoko who was holding her stuffed animal like a small child. Nateo sat beside her, leaning on her as though she were an extension of the couch, and casually flipped through the channels on the tv.

"Hey, Yoko. Nateo." the brunette greeted, sitting beside them.

"Hey, Moka."

"So, why are you always carrying around that stuffed animal?" The neko opened her mouth to reply, but her brother beat her to it. "It's sacred." She looked at him skeptically, but shrugged it off and continued watching.

Moka gave them both an odd look. "Okay then..."

"Hey, Ushiko." Moka said, walking into her room.

"Yeah?" the changeling neko lay on her stomach, watching YouTube on her phone... As usual.

"Why does Yoko always carry that stuffed animal around with her?"

"You mean Byakuya~chan?"

"Whatever. Just tell me."

"Mm. It's sacred." Nateo stepped out of the closet and they high fived. Moka shook her head and moved on.

"Hey, guys." Moka greeted the twins. They were playing video games that Tohru had bought them in hope of preventing them from quarreling. However, it only gave them yet another reason to do so.

"Hey!"

"What's wrong?" Kai inquired.

"Nothing's wrong." She sat beside them, ignoring the ominous pile of pillows and blankets opposite of where she sat. "Can you tell me why Yoko always carries around that stuffed animal?"

They looked at one another and smirked. "It's sacred." Suddenly, Nateo ascended from said ominous pile of pillows and blankets and high fived them both. From that moment on, Moka was 100% done.

The wolf niko plopped herself onto the couch beside Yukko, completely and utterly drained. "You alright there, kiddo?" he asked.

"No." she replied bluntly. "No one will tell me why Yoko carries around that stuffed animal. They keep saying it's sacred! What's so 'sacred' about a stuffed animal?"

"Byakuya~chan?"

"Whatever!" she exclaimed. "It's just a stuffed animal, yet she carries it around like her life depends on it!"

He scoffed. "Well, I could have told you that! After all, I am her dad."

"What... Seriously?" Had she been going to the wrong people this entire time?

He cocked his eyebrow. "Pfft! Hell yeah. It's sacred!" Moka just about died when Nateo came out from behind the couch and high fived his kid. "Now all jokes aside." Yukko continued. "There's a real reason why she does that." Moka listened intently. "Don't take my word for it, but I'd like to think that it's not the stuffed animal, but the memory it holds."

- - -

It was Christmas Eve and the young couple wanted to get their children something nice. "Yu! Yu! Look!" Iku exclaimed. "Isn't this little guy adorable?"