Shelly's Backstory

[Setting] Military Dining Room, late afternoon. The restaurant is less busy. Katsu, Shelly, and Daisuki(drinking from a glass bottle with 2 empty around him) are sitting at the low table while Saku and Friend lie on the couch off to the side. Shelly is explaining her life before and after she met Katsu's family.

Daisuki(takes sip): "So you lived with Katsu before the invasion? Don't tell me you kids had an arranged thing planned?"

Shelly blushes. Saku chuckles. Katsu tries to figure out what "arranged thing" means. 

The young woman cools down and starts.

Shelly: {"I was born into a military home with a father who would be called to action for multiple months at a time and a extremely beautiful mother."}

Shelly's mother looks exactly like a 30 yr old version of Shelly. Long beautiful blonde hair, deep azure blue eyes, and a face that never loses beauty no matter her age.

{"She took pride in being a full time housewife who also did great things for her community. I can only remember as far back as when I was 7. It's a late age on average for someone to start their conscious and independent mind, but almost like a 'trade off' I have a 'near photographic memory' that has helped me a lot in school."}

Daisuki(surprised): "Does that mean you remember your very first memory?"

Shelly nods her head and looks at Katsu.

{From the exact teary PoV as a 7 y/o Shelly, she's on the ground. As her eyes clear from falling tears, Katsu's smile and his outstretched hand reveal they're at the playground.}

7y/o Katsu: "Are you OK Shell-Shellwee? Don't worry, we'll go show those bullies the… pre-purr-cushions of when they bully innocent girls."

Shelly, remembering the moment, forgets she's staring right at a confused Katsu. 

Then, on cue, she blushes and turns without telling them.

Katsu: "I don't remember my first memory, but I do remember the first time I met Shelly.(smiles)...It was on a playground next to our houses. Since our moms were friends because our dads were platoon buddies, they met up for a chat and to introduce their kids for a play date. 

While I was searching the park, a group of bullies were laughing and walking away from a crying little girl on the ground. That crying little girl turned out to be the person I was looking for."

Daisuki(sips): "Wow, now that's luck. Photographic memory.

And you didn't even need an Iceman eye to get that incredibly useful power."

Shelly(shakes her head): "You would think so but there are some things you just want to forget."

Daisuki looks at his empty booze bottle in his hand. 

Daisuki: "You 3 kids are really smart for your age…If you don't feel comfortable telling us, you don't have to darlin'."

Katsu(realizes): *I never fully heard or asked about Shelly's mom. Our dad's were military friends and we knew each other before my family adopted her, but my parents made it clear to never bring up her mother.*

Shelly:{"One summer, when I was 9, while my father was on duty, I was eating lunch and watching TV(the ninja anime Katsu enjoyed). 

My mother was outside in the backyard trimming her garden and picking weeds. Until a car pulled up outside our house, hitting our mailbox. That made both of us stop our activity. 

It was my fathers brother, my uncle by blood. In retrospect, I had overheard my mom talking on the phone about how he had been drinking more since my mom and dad got married. As he stumbled out of his car and to his open trunk my mother panicked and ran to the front door. It was locked since she left from the backdoor to the backyard. I think she wanted to make sure it was locked, since it was the door into the room I was in.

As my uncle closed his trunk to reveal a shotgun, she ran around the house to the backdoor and locked it. She ran to the living room I was in and grabbed my hand.We ran upstairs and into my parents room as we heard the front door burst open from the blast of his shotgun. He shouted for my mother by her name while she put me inside a hidden crawl space in the wall. Each of our rooms had one big enough for one person but because of the situation those rooms were unavailable. She gave me the only available hiding spot."}

Saku listening to her story and thinking about his mom.

Saku(thinking): *So that's what it's like to have a mom that really loves you huh? My mom would've used me as bait to get away.*

Shelly:{"I could only listen to what was happening and the argument between them. 'I was the one you dated first', he said, 'you left me for my own brother'.

She told him, 'you were a drunk with no direction in life and that my father was a sweet man, who had a plan, and didn't drink. Having a faithful man, who is sweet hearted, and has a direction in life is worth building a family with, regardless of the short separations. Compared to a family with a stay at home drunk with no future.' 

That pure statement from my mother, in the face of death, was her true resolve as a woman. Not only was she beautiful, she stood unfazed by fear to protect what she loved. I could tell she had slowly moved away from the spot I was hiding by the increasing distance of her voice. Then as if she knew I was completely safe, she said 'Even if given a million other families to choose from, I will always choose to live my life with this one I love.'There was 3 seconds of silence, then, a shotgun blast went off. I squeaked from the surprise blast and I heard something drop to the ground. 

I sat in silence, in tears, and shaking, as I heard my panicking uncle, sober up. Trying to figure out what to do while sobbing. He seemed to forget all about me. Finally, police sirens came closer, I heard him walk down the stairs and slowly walk a few steps towards the front door. 

There was another silence, such a long silence I believed it was safe to leave the hiding spot, but as soon as I put pressure to open the wall, I heard another shotgun blast. I fell backwards thinking he saw me. I was too scared to try again.

I heard the police announce themselves but I was too afraid to respond. I was found a day later in that crawl space, by police after they had been investigating the house. I was diagnosed mute due to mental trauma."}

Daisuki looks disturbed by the story.

Daisuki:"Sweet heart…"

Shelly: {"The day I was found I was taken in by Katsu's family. His mother and father gave me more than enough care. So much, I was worried that I was now being chosen over Katsu, and his resentment towards me would be just like how my uncle resented my mother for choosing my father over him."}

Saku looks at Katsu, his arm over the edge of the couch while listening, now knowing THIS is the real reason they never continued their friendship.

Shelly: "But he didn't. In fact, he tried to "out-care" his parents. It wasn't actions with impure intent or jealousy. Katsu ONLY made sure I was OK. I would wake up and hear him softly breathing in his sleep, on the floor on the other side of my closed door."

{9 year old Shelly, gets up from her bed and lays down on the floor, opposite the closed door.}

Shelly:"'A sweet-hearted man' was my mothers description of my father before her death."

Shelly, smiling, drifts to sleep to the sound of Katsu sleeping next to her.}

Shelly holds her chin with two hands reminiscing. Saku and Daisuki look at Katsu in suspicion.

Saku:"Sleeping on the floor?"

Daisuki:"Next to her door?"

Katsu waves his arms to defend himself.

Katsu: "No it's not like that at all! You see she would talk in her sleep about her nightmares and sometimes I'd wake her up."