Mina wasn’t much far from home, but the slow pace of Ishikawa was certainly good for a change from her life in Osaka. She doubtlessly needed a rest, at least she believed so. Although she was born with a silver spoon in , she still found some bits of it draining, mostly because of her father. She is the youngest child, raised with the best toys, clothes and furniture. Since very young, she was used to the word troublemaker, and up to these days, is still a matter of countless complaints due to her immodest and reckless attitudes. It wasn’t just once that she had to call her father and get extra money to pay for her stuff. The last time her folks scolded her, it ended up in an argument, and the outcome of it is behind the reason she ended up in this small town called Hakusan, which she knew nothing about. Thankfully, she had internet to help her out.

She stepped out of the train and breathed in some of the cold air, cleaner than Osaka's. Mina got her phone, ignoring all the missed calls and unread texts and asked the phone's assistant about a place to stay. After being recommended the least worst hotel in town, she hopped on a taxi. The driver widened his eyes to the name of the hotel, not many people went to Hakusan and stayed at a hotel. He figured she was certainly someone important, given not only where she was headed to, but her outfit. The old man was on the blue when it came to modern fashion, but she dressed like the fancy women he sees on western shows. Mina’s presence was intimidating, so they didn’t share more words than the absolute necessary.

“Thank you”, she said as she exited the vehicle after having paid. She quickly checked if she had all her stuff and walked down the hotel’s sidewalk, making it her own catwalk, although the building itself was everything but classy. A concierge opened the door and welcomed her, to which she only glanced. She only stopped walking once she had reached the counter.

“Good afternoon, Miss. Are you here to check in?”

“I actually don’t have a reservation. Are there any available rooms?” Mina said, a persuasive tone in her voice, and taking her sunglasses off to show an intense glare.

“W-we only have the presidential suite available at the moment. The others are reserved, and part of the building is under maintenance.”

“I’ll get it”, she reached for her purse, looking for her card, pulling it out with way too many swings to show off that it was a black card. The attendant looked surprised at her boldness, but complied. After having finished the reservation, it didn’t take too long for her to get the key card and head to her room.

It was cozy, slightly big and it had a somewhat fancy tone because of the ceiling fixtures. Not the best Mina had seen, but a good presidential suite, given the price and the hotel rating. It had a living room with cable TV, a separate bedroom, the bathroom was large and had a bathtub, the room’s main attraction was the large tall windows. She took her time to put her stuff into the wardrobe and change into casual clothing: a black sweatshirt and jeans. Once finished, she headed to the living room. Just as she sat to relax on the fluffy reclining couch, her phone rung. The name on the screen read “Sana”. Mina sighed in annoyance, but couldn't not pick up. She let Sana speak first, willing to see what was her deal.

“Where the hell are you?” Her tone was a mix of worry and anger, it almost made Mina feel bad. Almost.

“Not home.”

“Oh, you think!?”

“God, Sana, give me a break.”

“It's easy to say. You're not the one having to bare your father yelling about you.”

“Now you get me, I suppose.”

“Don't tell me you ran away because of an argument. How old are you, sixteen?”

“Okay, so, my folks spend two hours whining, then scolding, then yelling at me about all the faulty things I have, call me useless, tell me to grow up and now that I wanted some time away from people not minding their own business-.” Sana interrupted Mina, raising her voice:

“Mina, you're their daughter, you are their business! Plus, you work on their business, and all the money you burn daily comes from it!”

“Who do you think you are?” Mina was usually very put together, but at that moment the woman was getting on her nerves.

“I'm your friend, and I, unlike those other asslickers that you put first, way before me, I care about you. Perhaps you should take your precious time away from Osaka to reflect on what really matters, because I assure you money and status ain't it. I'm sorry I have to say this, but no one stands you, and I'm getting there myself! It's past the time you stop being a punk and, quoting your parents, grow up.” The hang up sound came about, Mina wasn't given a chance to speak, and thought it was better this way.

The girl let her back sink in the couch and she closed her eyes, scrunching her nose, and clenched her jaw. She grabbed one of the cushions and screamed into it, before harshly tossing it to the floor. For the first time, Mina wondered if she was really that much of a bad person.

The lonely girl spent the rest of her afternoon watching Discovery Home & Health, didn’t even touch her phone, avoiding to see any messages from her parents, or from Sana.

She wasn't having fun, not even relaxing. Her thoughts were torturing her with the lingering dilemma of her being right or wrong. That was simply what she was used to behave like, she had always been like this and always got life to work out. Mina acknowledged Sana was right in one aspect, though: she is the only one who actually seems to care about her, while her other friends just use her. The girl tried to wipe these thoughts away by channel surfing, stopping at random shows, then get bored, and keep switching. Wasn't successful.

Inevitably, she got hungry, didn’t have anyone she could simply call and get her food, and the hotel was more of a sleep-only place, so didn’t have a restaurant, forcing her to either starve or go out to buy food. She was reluctant, but her stomach won the battle, plus, she was already feeling confined in that room.

Before leaving, she obviously changed into her expensive clothes. Mina will often say she ain’t a basic when questioned about her overdressing habits. Once sure she had her wallet on her, she left.

On her way out, she asked the concierge about places to eat, to have him reply:

“I'm afraid I don't know of fancy restaurants around here, but there is sort of a street food alley just two quarters away from here, just go right when you leave and keep walking, you will either see it or smell it.”

“I see, thank you, sir”, Mina replied, putting her dust mask back on her nose.

“Uh, Miss Myoui? Mind if I recommend you one of the stands you'll find there?” He interrupted before she left the front door. She just nodded.

“There's this place that sells an amazing okonomiyaki. They need more customers. It's called Hirai No Ki (hirai tree)", hearing the dish captured her interest.

“I'll see if it pleases my taste”, Mina, once again, showed her cockiness. She resumed her walking, hands in her pocket and thinking about the amazing okonomiyaki. Her grandmother used to cook her that, it was her favorite.

Mina made use of her walk to observe her surroundings. Although it was a small town, it wasn’t that much outdated, she supposed it was because of the technology and science institute the province held. It was way too quiet, although the air was significantly more breathable than Osaka’s, she was wearing a dust mask. In that particular place, kids could run freely across the street: there weren’t that many cars circulating. The landscape was also a big feature, as she could notice during her taxi ride.

Just as she thought it was taking too long, she could finally sense the delicious smell of food. It only took her a few quick steps to find that alley the concierge had mentioned. It had a few recycled wood tables spread, few people and the lights were on in advance. The sun would set in a while. The street was a dead-end, so the stands were placed as a hall.

She had a judgemental look on her face, questioning how clean those people were. As she walked slowly, a kid approached and stopped in front of her.

“Uh, may I help you?” She said, confused as to why he was staring.

“You’re new, Miss?" He had big, shiny eyes, and wouldn’t break eye contact.

“Yeah, sorta." She dodged him and kept walking. He followed her.

“Cool. Where do you come from? America?”

“Do I look like a westerner?” She asked back with an annoyed tone.

“I don’t know”, he tilted his head.

“Well, no. I come from Osaka.” Mina questioned him:

“Are you alone? Where are your parents?"

“I am. They are working."

“How old are you?”

“Eight.”

“Shouldn’t you be, like, home? Or school? Or literally anywhere else?"

“You sound annoyed."

“Took you long to figure it out", she stated, and for a while, she thought the conversation was over, but he brought something else up:

“Your clothes are cool, are you, like, rich?” Mina raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, very.”

“Cool. Must be nice to buy whatever you wanna eat.”

“That’s what you wanted in the first place?” She sat down by one of the empty tables. He sat across her. Mina wanted him to go away as soon as possible.

“What do you mean?" She was far from a philanthropist, but the chance of having him leave made her ask, with - clearly fake - excitement.

“Hungry?”

“Yeah.” He said, looking at her long nails. She digged a some bucks from her pocket and handed him.

“Then do me a favor and go eat whatever you want”, he took the money and hopped away with a big smile on his face.

Mina thanked for the silence that took place once he left. She looked around, willing to spot the recommended food place. It was right behind her. The banner was handmade, but actually looked decent. Whoever did it had nice handwriting. Inside of it, she could see three people: two women, and a man. They seemed stressed. There was this one short haired woman, though, who was smiling all the time. She remembered the words from the concierge when he said they needed customers, she wondered why, since there were some people in front of the stand waiting for their food. It did smell amazing.

Before she could think of enjoying herself, the boy came back, food in his hands, smiling brightly. He sat in the same spot and thanked her. She rolled her eyes and observed as he ate quickly. When he finished, he handed her the change.

"Keep it."

"Thanks, Miss! Oh, I didn't say my name. I'm Hirai Shido. Nice to meet you."

"Myoui Mina."  A few seconds was she needed to link the name to the stand behind her. "Wait, Hirai? Are those your family?" She snapped, pointing at the people inside the Hirai No Ki.

"Yeah. You should buy mama's okonomiyaki. She rocks."

"Kid, you told me you were alone!" Mina felt betrayed.

"I was when I talked to you."

"That's extortion!"

"I don't even know what that means."

"It's when you talk people into doing or giving you things you don't really need. Give me the damn change back."

"I was hungry, okay?" He whined. The girl leaned her back in the chair and took her sunglasses off, then scratched her eyes.

"Hand the money, kid", she growled, and before Shido could say or do anything, both of them heard a woman yell:

"Shido, you brat! What are you doing?" Mina looked back and saw that girl from the stand, she supposed she was his sister, since she was young. Sure did they look alike.

"I'm just making friends!" He argued. His sister looked annoyed, especially when she connected the dots and figured Mina had paid for his food. The latter, stared with an unpleasant look.

"I'm sorry for him", she said, then faced the boy and pointed to her parent's stand. He immediately got up, bowed to Mina, said he's sorry and walked away.

"You should be, and maybe feed him", Mina rolled her eyes. Her tone bothered the girl, she knew she was wrong, but being disrespected wasn’t an option.

"You don't have to be that pissed about it, he's a kid", the girl was fierce. Mina's buttons were being pushed, it wasn't often that strangers confronted her, even though Momo was nice, she knew she meant "stop being a ".

“Watch your tone, Miss.”

The sister sighed, knowing that she had to pay back for her brother's snacks and account for his actions.  She calmly asked:

"I’m sorry. How much was it? I’m willing to pay."

"I don’t want your money."

"Is there anything I can do, then?" She was being as calm as she could possibly be after being called out.

"You can go and make me an okonomiyaki. What are your fillings?"

"Oh, sure. We have the traditional Hiroshima style, which is the most requested, and besides that, we have shrimp, pork, chicken and yakisoba.”

"Get me the Hiroshima one."

"Eat here or to go?"

"To go."

"Okay, I'll make sure it doesn't take long. My name is Momo, call me if you need anything", Mina only nodded.