"I need a dream? I have them every night though Daddy." a younger, naïve version of myself questioned the large male beside me dressed nearly all in black as I was. Mommy had just gone away, buried into the ground by an old man reading from some book as everyone stood round and watched. I didn't understand, a few days earlier mommy hadn't woken up. Daddy began to cry and called Dr. Owens, our family doctor. He said that mommy was 'dead' after that everything seemed to fall apart. As soon as daddy had told me what 'death' was and that mommy wasn't coming back, I'd been lost and every day I cried. Now he was saying I needed a dream?
"Not that kind of dream exactly sweetie. This kind is very special." he began to explain.
'A special dream?' despite the circumstances I began growing excited.
"It's something that everyone needs, and it's something that will help…ease mommy's passing." I didn't know back then he was talking about making it easier for me, I thought I would be helping her. I looked up at him, eager to help.
"Well where do I get one? What's mine?" I asked. A small smile, the first I'd seen since mommy had died, lit his face partly.
"It's something you must decide for yourself." he told me.
"Another name for it, is a goal. it's something you strive for, something you live for. It gives you back meaning and hope when then it's been taken away." He explained it simply, yet peculiarly. I began to grasp the concept but was still missing something.
"What's your dream daddy?" I wanted to know, to get something to base mine off of perhaps. He smiled down at me again,
"I have already fulfilled my dream sweetie. My dream was to find your mother, and to have you." I looked at him oddly but nodded anyway.
"Well than my dream will be…" I trailed off, unsure.
"Don't decide now sweetie, think about it for a while. It could be anything from getting the bike you wanted to growing old with someone you love." he insisted. He then knelt down and hugged me, seeming incredibly sad for some reason. That night was the last time I ever saw my father and from then on I made it my dream to find him again.
"Last station, Ikebukuro." the speakers on the train rang out as it grinded to a halt slowly. I let go of the bar that had steadied me all the way from Osaka and stepped out, mingling with the rest of the crowd making their way off of the metal transport. I clutched my suitcases, walking over to a bench out of the way of all the people filing by, to look for my cousin. Several minutes ticked by as I waited for him. We had agreed before hand to meet specifically by the bench nearest the entrance of the station.
"Ugh. This is just like him. He probably got into another fight." I muttered angrily under my breath. I stiffened as a hand was lain on my shoulder and whipped around to see who it was only to be met by a blonde wearing blue tinted glasses and a bartender's uniform, cigarette hanging from grinning lips. I eyed said cancer stick cynically.
"Those things will kill you, ya know." I warned halfheartedly while returning the grin and launched myself forward to embrace the taller man. It had been YEARS since I'd seen him last and I didn't realize till just then just how much I really missed my older cousin.
"Oh please. Do you really think some puny little stick can win against me in a fight?" he asked and scoffed. I thought about his absurd strength and laughed, a mental image of him wrestling a man in a cigarette costume popping into my head briefly.
"No. I guess not." I conceded,
'Not even if it WAS a buff cigarette.' I added mentally. He stepped back from the embrace finally and moved to the bench to grab both insanely heavy bags in one hand. He then returned to me and slung the free arm over my shoulder familiarly as we began to walk off. We didn't talk much on the way to his apartment but we didn't really need to. Neither of us were ever particularly vocal about our feelings so there was no need to say how much we'd missed each other or anything like that. I took the chance to observe Ikebukuro as well as to try to memorize where at least some things were. After a relatively short walk(10 minutes) we arrived. The place he stayed was much like my old apartment, 2 bedrooms, one bath, sparsely furnished…
"Hey squirt." he called to me. I snapped out of my musings to see him in the doorway of what seemed to be the guestroom, where I'd be staying until I got my own apartment. I laughed,
"Sorry. Just lost in thought I guess." I apologized and followed him in. He set my things down on the bed where I could unpack them later. I opened my mouth to ask him a question but before I could my stomach gave a loud growl. My cheeks tinted a slight shade of pink and he raised a brow at me,
"You up for some Russian Sushi?" he asked already knowing what my answer would be. I nodded,
"Sounds great Shizu." I commented wondering how much different Russian sushi would be compared to normal sushi. Again we walked to get to our destination which was nothing new to me, but the sights were. I had never been in a big city before, and Ikebukuro definitely fell under that category. In the middle of ogling a particularly large building a booming voice rang out not to far ahead of me making me jump. I turned to look and saw a mountain of a man with dark skin, silver hair and the lightest blue eyes I had ever seen. He seemed to recognize Shizuo.
"Ah! Shizuo! You eat Russia sushi? Russia sushi good." he rumbled pleasantly. I tugged my cousin's sleeve.
"A friend of yours Shizu?" I asked, hinting that he introduce us. He seemed to mentally face-palm.
"Akane, this is Simon. He works at Russian Sushi. Simon, this is my cousin Akane. She just moved to 'bukuro." he introduced lighting up another cigarette. I shook the man's hand, which completely enveloped mine and said my pleasantries before we went inside to eat. Shizuo ordered something I'd never heard of but I played it safe by ordering Ootoro, my favorite. It was really good and I was relieved to find that no, it was not made with vodka. When we finished it was still only 2pm so we decided to wonder around a but so I could familiarize myself. As we walked he told me of the Dollars, the yellow scarves, the blue squares and after she passed by, about Celty. It was a lot of information to take in along with remembering where places of interest were but I wasn't too worried. If I got lost, I could ask for directions. If I got in trouble I knew a thing or two about self defense plus I could always call Shizuo. We had dinner at a western style café and stopped at a park on the way home. We sat for hours just talking or star gazing, generally just relaxing. After a while I felt my eyelids grow tired and my head fell to rest on Shizuo's shoulder sleepily. He chuckled and stood up before kneeling with his back to me. It wasn't often he was willing to give out rides if my our childhood was any indication so I hopped on and clung to him.
"Hey Shizu. Do you have work tomorrow?" I asked randomly, wondering if I'd be by myself. He nodded,
"Yea."
"What do you do? Are you finally going to tell me now that I'm here?" I pried slightly, hoping he would answer the question I'd been asking for years. He was silent for so long I thought he wouldn't answer so when his voice rang out suddenly I nearly jumped.
"I'm a bodyguard to a…collector." I knew that wasn't the whole story and my mind filled in the blanks easily. His boss was a loan shark. With a smile I finally drifted off.