ATOMIC STRUGGLE

2「swing set」3

"Whoaaaa!" Mihoko held up the device in her hands, her eyes practically sparkling at what was being displayed on the screen: Izak Morgan's contact information. As her and her guardian left the store, the little girl was more estatic than she had been when she realized that Izak wouldn't abandon her like everyone else had.

That's right, Izak had gotten his charge her very own phone. The phone was the latest model, so she shouldn't have any issues, plus she had plenty of storage if she wanted to play games or anything.

It was Sunday afternoon, and the two children had slept in very late, one because he was really tired and the other because she was growing and needed all the damn sleep she could get. Therefore, they had only managed to get going after almost 2pm.

Mihoko had refused to stop and get food on the way, so they'd had to take a little while to eat at the apartment before they left. After that, though, it had been smooth sailing. Even though Izak wasn't all too familiar with technology, the sales clerk had directed them to their best product, and had ecstatically taken the platinum card from the boy to make the purchase.

If Mihoko knew any better, she'd probably ask why he had such a flamboyant card. All Izak knew was that the American and Japanese government teamed up to give him a specific amount of money each month so he could take care of himself and Mihoko. They had decided that giving him a black card was too much, so they ended up giving him a tier lower, which would be the platinum card he currently possessed.

After having wandered around for a bit longer, Izak and Mihoko stumbled upon a park. Instantly, Mihoko's eyes were sparkling up at Izak pleadingly, though she really didn't need to since he just held out his hand for her new phone, then gestured for her to go have at it.

As she went to the play structure, Izak headed towards the swing set and sat down on one, beginning to sway himself back and forth with his feet on the ground. The chains were cool on his fingers, the molecules greeting him happily like a family member.

He was used to it. It wasn't exactly surprising at how talkative most atoms were, since he was the only one that could hear and understand and converse with them. "Don't you look bored," A voice jerked Izak out of his thoughts, causing his eyes to find the person as they sauntered over to him. "Can I join you?"

"Sure," He saw nothing wrong with someone wanting to swing, even though it was probably weird for this person that looked like an adult to be swinging. Even so, the person smiled and took a seat on the swing next to Izak's.

"So, is that your sister?"

"No," Izak replied as he glanced towards where Mihoko was running up the steps to take the slide again. From his count, she had probably gone down that thing at least eight times.

"Hm, I see. Someone you're babysitting, perhaps?" The person suggested, and this time, Izak shrugged.

"You could say that," He confirmed halfheartedly. For some reason, his brain had told him to not explain that he was the girl's guardian since that could be perceived as weird. It was also because he couldn't use his quirk as he pleased out here, so if there were complications like the guy trying to take her, things could get messy. "What are you doing out here?" Izak decided to be proactive to see if the guy had any bad intent, though he couldn't see or feel any at the moment.

"Me? I was just on a stroll for some fresh air," the person grinned. "Business is a bit slow these days so I usually have time for a few walks during the day."

"Getting air is good, especially if you're in an office job," Izak recalled some of the doctors at the lab talking about some of their former experiences in office jobs. Not to mention, he knew how it felt to get out in the air of the outside world for the first time; it really was different and impactful.

"Haha isn't that the truth," The man chuckled, then suddenly an angry little girl was scowling in front of them, causing Izak to raise an eyebrow. "Oh, hello there little miss," The person greeted, but she just kept glaring at him.

"Izzy is mine today! Leave him alone!" Mihoko puffed up almost like a puffer fish to try and intimidate the guy, who took it in stride and didn't seem to be intimidated in the slightest as he laughed and stood up.

"Oh my, that's my bad, little miss! I apologize for taking up some of your friend's time," He smiled down at her. "How about next time we all hang out together?"

"Hmph, I'll think about it," She squinted at him, scrunching her entire face in scrutiny. The guy just hummed and patted her on the head, which made her blink in surprise.

"Okay then, I'll leave you to it," He nodded to her, then Izak, and finally sauntered away while whistling to himself like that wasn't the weirdest conversation Mihoko had ever had. Once he had vanished from sight, the little girl finally shook herself out of her confusion and faced Izak with a determined expression.

"Who was that?"

"No clue."

"What?" She deadpanned at him, but he just shrugged.

"He just came over and asked to sit with me. There was no reason to deny him, so we chatted a bit," The teenager explained. "So, did you want to swing, or did you just come over because you were jealous?"

"Both!" She huffed, stomping over and pulling herself into the swing that the older man had been inhabiting until she had driven him off. "Now push me!"

"Sure," Izak stood up from his own swing, moving so that he was behind Mihoko, then put his hands on the chains and began to sway her.

"More!"

"Chill before you fly and fall on your face."

"I WILL NOT!"

"Whatever you say," Izak rolled his eyes slightly, a small smile on his face as he made her go higher and higher. Then once she was giggling and pumping her own legs to keep that height, the boy returned to his seat and began swinging alongside her.

We're definitely coming back here, Mihoko thought to herself as they left to go back home, I've never had so much fun.