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[i]"The only thing more unpredictable than life is people."[/i]

Hotaru vaguely remembered her father muttering that phrase to himself once upon a time. If she recalled correctly, he had gotten into an argument with the neighbor; they had decided to claim one of his tools as their own, and when he put up a fight, things escalated into a shouting match. Eventually, he conceded, but not until making it clear that there was no longer a camaraderie between the two. She had thought it was awfully silly to get into an argument over a wrench of all things, but it had also been unexpected. Until that point, their neighbor was someone reliable and respected, and there was no reason to think a tool would be what would ultimately crack the friendship. And thus came the saying, her father advising her to be wary of people.

That said, the unpredictability of the lord's son was definitely something Hotaru had underestimated.

Having to hold in her initial shock when she had laid eyes on her former master's son was more difficult than keeping her calm in general. Her head was buzzing with questions, the primary "why?" being at the forefront. She hadn't expected to see [i]anyone[/i] who she recognized, much less [i]him[/i]. And of course, he was doing what he always did: standing up for people. But he didn't belong here, he had a life ready for him! It was actually frustrating her the more she thought about it, and watching the instructor speak to him was more painful than she considered.

Of course, outwardly she couldn't bring herself to worry or to let her expression show she cared at all. Her plan was to keep her head low, get through training, and hopefully come out on top so she could choose to be in the Military Police. Then she could live out her life in peace and with the freedom she wanted. Easier said than done, of course, and she had no idea what her prowess would end up being, but it was worth a shot. Having some sort of goal was better than being aimless, anyway.
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