"I said—what are you doing here?!" Mary's father snapped.
"Don't tell me… you came just to mock me," he scoffed, eyes narrowing.
"My business here has nothing to do with you," the woman replied calmly, "The world doesn't revolve around you… You do know that, right?"
"SHUT IT!" he barked, "You handed Mary over to me, and she's mine to shape however I see fit!"
"Your presence won't change that!"
"That's enough!" the woman cut in sharply.
She turned—
And slowly knelt in front of Mary.
"Are you alright?" she asked, reaching out gently.
But—
Instead of reaching forward, Mary flinched.
She stepped back.
Instinctively retreating, moving closer to Urara's mother instead.
"Who… who are you…?" she asked.
And the woman instantly froze.
Her hand hovered in the air...
Then trembled.
"…I…"
Her fingers rose to her mouth, covering it as her eyes shook with disbelief.
"I... I'm sorry, Mary…"
Her voice cracked, and tears began to fall.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner…"
"I'm sorry I left you here…"
"I…!"
With that, Mary hesitated, slowly pulling out from Urara's mother.
Stepped forward slightly, eyes fixed on the woman's face.
"Are you…Mo-mother…?" she asked, tilting her head.
The woman trembled even more.
Tears fell faster.
"I…!"
"Mary… I…!"
"ENOUGH!" her father interjected harshly, "You're not taking her away from me!"
"SHE'S NOT LEAVING HERE ANYTIME SOON! AND SHE'S NOT LEAVING ME!"
Upon hearing those words, the woman steadied herself.
She wiped her tears.
Then, with a soft, trembling smile, she reached out and gently stroked Mary's hair.
Before standing and turning sharply back to him.
"I'm sorry… Shin," she said, "but she's coming with me."
"Whether you like it or not."
"I don't think so!" Her father grunted.
Before she knew, "MARY!" her father called out.
Instantly, Mary flinched inveterately.
"Come home. NOW!" her father added.
Without restraint, her body moved on its own before her thoughts could catch up.
Even though she was hesitant, she grabbed the clutches and walked, staggering.
Past Urara's mother.
Past Urara.
And past her own mother.
With that, Urara's mother murmured, "Mary…" gaping softly behind her.
But then—
Before she could go any further...
Mary stopped.
Right in front of her father.
She lifted her gaze, meeting his eyes.
Immediately, he smiled.
"I knew you'd make the right choice… Mary Jane."
His hand then reached out, trying to hold on to her.
But just before he could touch her—
Mary flinched, and she took a step back.
"I-I…" she stuttered.
"I can't, father…"
"Not after everything…"
Her hands clenched.
"What are you talking about?!" her father added, "Let's go, now!"
Meanwhile, Mary remained firmly, shaking her head toward her father.
"No... I can't... Father... I had given you everything I had… and yet… You never even looked me in the eyes."
"Not once."
"And told me you were proud."
"You never praised me… for what I did… for what I achieved… for what I sacrificed…"
"You see, father… all these years… I tried to become what you wanted…"
"What you wished for…"
"But why…?" She finally sobbed.
"Why are you never satisfied… with anything I do…?"
"Why… aren't you proud of me…?!"
"BECAUSE YOU FAILED!" her father roared back, pointing at her aggressively.
"You think that was everything you had?! If that's all you could muster! Then you're a fraud, Mary Jane!"
"Don't act like you did your best when you performed so pathetically in today's trial!"
With that, Mary lowered her head, her fist tightening.
"T-Then…" she added, sharply glancing up at her father.
"Screw you…!"
Instantly—
"HOW DARE YOU!" her father boomed, his hand shooting up again, right away.
Ready to give her another slap.
But before it could fall—
Urara's father stepped in once more, blocking him.
At the same time—
Urara rushed forward, spreading her arms wide in front of Mary.
Shielding her.
While being held back, her father began to struggle, trying to pry himself free from the restraints.
"YOU DO NOT SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" her father bellowed, "HOW DARE YOU, MARY JANE!"
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME WITH THAT TONGUE!"
But before her father continued to scream at her.
"I…" Mary added.
"I loved you… Father…"
"I tried… I really tried…"
"But…"
"But you never did."
"You never gave me the reassurance I held onto."
"The reassurance that you'd love me if I followed the path you set for me…"
"That you'd be proud of who I became."
"But…"
"It was all just a figment of my imagination…"
"An imagination you were never part of…"
"An imagination I naïvely held onto without acknowledging the truth behind its thorns..."
With that, she turned, gently staggering away.
"For that, I… I'm sorry, father…" she added.
"I can't stay with you anymore…"
"Not when everything I did… every perfection I forced myself into…"
"Was just a fraud."
Then, slowly and surely.
She was getting further away from him.
"MARY!" her father shouted, still struggling, "COME BACK HERE!"
"DO YOU HEAR ME?! COME BACK HERE! I DEMAND YOU!"
Then—
His voice shifted.
"Please…? How about this—I'll let you be friends with that pink scoundrel! You wanted that, didn't you?! Just come back—I'll give you everything you want!"
Desperated.
"I promise I will praise you even more after this, OKAY?!"
Mary then stopped, just for a moment.
And glanced back over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry… father…" she murmured.
"But that 'pink scoundrel' you mentioned…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is Haru Urara."
Then—
She turned away.
And continued forward.
"Goodbye… father," Mary said softly as she walked beside her mother.
"…I hope we…"
"I hope we never see each other again."
"Not in this life… not ever."
And with that—
She continued forward.
Fading into the distance, side by side with her mother.
"MARY JANEEEEEE!" her father desperately called out, trying to reach her one last time as his s voice tore through the air.
But it reached nothing.
And Mary didn't stop, never stopped.
Not even a turn for a glance.
She simply... disappeared further away.
Step by step.
Until she was gone.
Gone into the nothingness...
Far away from him...
...
...
...
Only then—
Urara's father finally released him.
He dropped to all fours, hands striking the pavement, fingers curling tight.
"Damn you…" He muttered.
Then he snapped his head up.
"DAMN YOU ALL!" he shouted toward Urara and her parents.
"DAMN YOU FOR TAKING THE ONLY THING I HAD!"
"DAMN YOU—"
"I'm sorry," Urara's mother quickly interjected, replying firmly while holding Urara close at her side.
"But we did no such thing."
Her gaze hardened.
"You dug this hole yourself."
"And now you fall into it yourself."
"You either pull yourself up like a man you are. Or you rot in it as we care."
With that—
She turned.
Urara and her father followed.
Leaving him behind.
"Don't you DARE!"
"DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME!"
He staggered back onto his feet, rage spilling over.
"I'M NOTHING BUT A RENOWNED TRAINER MYSELF!"
"So listen here, you bunch of rogues—don't you dare leave or I will… I will…"
His voice faltered.
"I will…"
He stopped, and his breath hitched.
Because—
Someone stood ahead, watching from afar.
Someone reminded him of everything about the day that led him here.
The day that stripped him of everything.
"You…!" his voice wavered, "You were there… the whole time?!"
The figure only smirked, tilting their head slightly as they looked down at him.
"I see…"
"I never expected myself to find you here again, Mr. Shin."
"YOU… YOU!" he snarled.
"You're the reason I was banished from this academy!"
The figure shook their head calmly.
"No… I didn't do that, Mr. Shin."
A pause.
"You did that to yourself."
"Just like what you've done to your daughter."
"HOW DARE YOU!"
"YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THIS!"
"YOU MADE ME WHO I AM!"
"YOU'RE THE REASON I LOST MY JOB!"
"I LOST MY NAME AS A TRAINER IN THIS GODDAMN INSTITUTION!"
"And who's to blame? Me?"
"No—you're the reason the institution made that decision, because of your reckless conduct as a trainer."
"You ruined so many by forcing them to follow a preposterous training guideline, exploiting them just to satisfy your own pride."
"I HAVE THE RIGHT AS A TRAINER TO TRAIN THEM HOWEVER I SEE FIT—!"
"Enough…!" the figure said calmly, "Your presence is no longer welcome after what you've done."
"And I'm here… to see that you are—"
"Dismissed."
With that, she turned.
At once, school staff moved in, brushing past her and closing in on him.
"WAIT!" Mary's father struggled as they restrained him, "I'M NOT DONE YET! I'M NOT DONE TALKING!"
He thrashed against their grip.
"DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME TOO!"
"DON'T YOU DARE! YOU HEAR ME?!"
"SYMBOLI RUDOLF!"
And Symboli Rudolf did not turn back.
She simply walked on.
Leaving him behind.
"RUDOLF!!!"
With that, he was dragged away.
His voice echoed faintly with each step as they pulled him along.
Before he could cause any further disturbance, Mary's father was banished from the institution's grounds once again.