Philophobia 2.0

The Banished Fox

Every friend Kimura Ai ever made always thought her name was ironic.

Ai was a fantastic friend, but she was a classic kuudere—exhibiting an icy aura and an aloof personality. Her face was akin to a statue, rarely showing any sign of emotion. Even more, if you brought the notion of love to Ai, she'd likely laugh in your face. However, her friends never blamed Ai for that—especially not when they learned about her home life.

It was easy to see why Ai didn't believe in the romantic side of love.

Ai loved her friends. She also loved art, video games, coffee, and volleyball. Ai was familiar with the platonic version, but the idea of romantic love was always lost on her.

Once upon a time, Ai even held familial love in her heart, but even those feelings disappeared between her parent's busy schedules and constant fights. After all, it was difficult to earn Ai's affection—what was easy was losing her.

When that first happened, she tried to remember a time when her parents were happy. Surely, they had to have loved each other at one point, but no matter how far back she looked, Ai couldn't recall such a thing. It was even more challenging for Ai to remember when she didn't have to wonder if her parents loved her.

And then Ai's mother, Ichika, died—courtesy of a drunk driver.

Many people told Ai and her father, "At least she didn't feel any pain. It was a quick death."

Any other teenager might have grown angry or even sadder after hearing something like that, but Ai didn't feel anything. She was so numb that, at the time, Ai wasn't sure if she knew how to feel in the first place. The whispers and mockery at the funeral regarding her stone-cold expression made Ai angry, but no grief or sadness came for her. Even as Ichika's lifeless body was lowered into the ground, no tear was shed.

Rio, Ai's father, even took a sabbatical off of work after Ichika's death—and for a while, Ai accidentally began to hope for a better future. She even started thinking that maybe, just maybe, Ichika's end was going to shock Rio out of his neglectful parenting and workaholic lifestyle. Sure, Rio wasn't outwardly warm or loving toward Ai, but that wasn't news to her—her days had become quiet and peaceful, and Ai began to feel a semblance of happiness. A life without the constant petty arguments and fighting matches felt so nice and new that Ai thought she and Rio could finally build a relationship.

However, such thoughts and hopeful thinking died the day Rio sent Ai away—moving her all the way from Miyagi to Hyogo.

The distance between the two prefectures was enough to assume Rio never intended to return for her—Ai also thought her father hated her. As far as she was concerned, he had to have detested her if Rio was willing to buy an apartment in the prefecture so he wouldn't have to look at her anymore.

Don't get Ai wrong—Hyogo was a decent place to live, and the school was beyond her wildest dreams, but... Ai couldn't help but wonder why Hyogo. If Rio's only problem was seeing Ai every day, he could have just let her attend Shiratorizawa Academy—it was a boarding school, after all.

With that in mind, it only further begged the question: Why the Hyogo Prefecture and Inarizaki High?

No matter how much she racked her head for the answer, Ai couldn't figure it out. Even when Ichika was still alive, Ai was never a disturbance. She'd always kept to herself (having been raised as a latchkey kid) and was a dutifully quiet daughter, often in her bedroom with homework, art, and video games—or she'd be at school, practicing for upcoming volleyball games.