A Night for the Birds (Introducing Hummingbird)

That was a slap in the face....Hiro and Mrs. Shultz have both loved here for years.Junko was never able to find them,though they were right under her nose! "P-Party? Oh,no....I-Im not that very sociable." Xuan makes a small smile and a nervous laugh.She waited to get her slice of the cake,and sat down with the others.She noticed something,and was a bit weary to say it. "H-Have there been um....Any other men around besides Mr. Shultz?"

"Well...no, not really." Mrs. Schultz felt a little uncomfortable when she was answering Xuan's question. Xuan didn't mean any harm whatsoever, but the mention of her husband made her eyes start to fill up. "None at all," Mrs. Schultz added before quickly walking away and sitting at the couch with her head hung low. Her back was facing the girls so that they wouldn't see how she's feeling right now.

Even with her back to them....Xuan knew that she messed up a bit in asking about men around Mrs. Shultz.The thief girl also knew that Hiro and Junko werent dumb,and knew that their mother was tring to keep it together,but was slowly falling apart.

Getting up,Xuan walked over to the couch,kneeling down in front of Mrs. Shultz. "Mom...Dont feel so down.He wouldnt want you to relish on the bad.He would want you to keep going on strong.Not for just yourself,but for your girls....And for him."

Hiro and Junko would follow Xuan for they knew how their mother was feeling. Having lost their father in the fire also made them feel depressed and they shouldn't go through it alone.

Mrs. Schultz's eyes would be streaming with mournful tears as Xuan came and kneeled in front of her. Hearing her say that she needs to be strong had somehow made her heavy weight on her shoulders lift up. She would smile through her tears as she came over to kneel and hug Xuan lovingly. "Oh, I know, honey, I know. It's just...my husband would've loved to see his third little girl come into our lives. He would've loved you and cared for you. And having three beautiful girls without a father has been such a financial struggle."

She gasps softly when her new mother pulled her in for a hug.There have been very few times where the thief was caught off guard.This was one.Slowly wrapping her arms around Mrs. Shultz,Xuan made the attempt to comfort her. "I know he would have.Carry it on and do the same.For him."

As for her financial problems... "You have 3 girls here signed up for the AFW.We get money from matches that we participate in,win or lose."

"The AFW? Oh, that place." Mrs. Schultz remembered that when Hiro saw Junko's picture on a commercial about it. "I know you three are all fighters, but as a mother, I worry for your safety. I cannot risk losing any of you girls."

Junko held her mother's hand as she said, "Mama, I know you are concerned for us, but we are already grown up now. Even after years of living out on my own, I learned to take care of myself."

"And I trained for so long to put my skills to good use," said Hiro. "We'll get the money for you, Mom. We promise."

Xuan didnt blame her new mother at all for being worried for their safety.She seemed to have needed a little bit of convincing to feel safer with the three of them being in such a strenuous place.Hiro told her that she had trained hard;Junko explained thatt she could easily take care of herself.

"I-Ive been told that you trained the two of them when they were younger.....Maybe you need a 'refresher' on their skills.As well as an insight into mine."

Mrs. Schultz would think back to those times in the past and she knew what Xuan was talking about. "Yes...Yes, I did. I remember. Perhaps I do need to see that again for myself." But then she smiled as she added, "But first, your father would've wanted you three to eat some of that cake."

Hiro's eyes lit up as she ran back to the countertop with Junko following behind.

Happy to have cheered Mrs. Shultz up,Xuan gets up and goes back to the table to sit and eat cake with Hiro and Junko. "Hey! Dont you dare even think about looking at my cake,let alone eating it!" She warned Hiro.Xuan looked back. "Coming....Mom?"

"Sorry!" Hiro said defensively. "It's just that your cake looks just as delicious as mine!" She would eat her slice little by little to savor every bite in her mouth before swallowing.

Mrs. Schultz would say, "Yeah, I'll be there in a couple minutes."