Chapter 1:
~Mika's P.O.V~
It was 4:59 pm and my Niisan, Shun was outside in the yard practicing his ninja skills. Grandpa was the one who always made Niisan work so hard on being a ninja and I could tell that it annoyed him sometimes. I wanted to be out there training with him because I wanted to be a ninja too, but grandpa said that I couldn't go because I was too young.
"7 years old is not that young" I had protested, flashing my best puppy dog eyes at grandpa, hoping that he would change his mind.
"Onegai! Can't I go outside and train with Niisan?"
"No Mika. 7 years old is way too young to begin ninja training. You have to wait until you're at least a teenager" grandpa told me, patting me on the head.
I sighed in defeat but decided not to argue with grandpa. I didn't want him to be mad at me. Instead, I stayed inside and watched Niisan train from the kitchen window. While I was studying his moves and trying to memorize them for when I became a ninja, grandpa was cooking something on the stove behind me. I didn't know what it was but it smelled delicious!
I looked at the clock. It said 5:00 pm. I smiled because I knew that Niisan could stop training now. Grandpa made him train from 4:00-5:00 but at 5, he could stop.
"Grandpa, its 5:00. Should I call Niisan and tell him to come inside?" I asked.
"Yes, tell him his training session is done for the day" grandpa said to me.
I nodded; hopped off the chair I was sitting on and pushed open the door that led to the backyard. I stood on the porch and called out to my big brother.
"Niisan, its 5:00! You can stop training!"
He stopped kicking the training dummy and turned around to look at me. Panting, he slowly walked over to me. As he came closer, I saw bags under his eyes, meaning that he probably didn't sleep good last night.
"Are you ok Niisan? You look extra tired today" I said, frowning a little. I didn't like it when my big brother was anything but happy.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A little tired maybe, but fine" he assured me, ruffling my hair and giving me a small smile.
"Well, ok" I said, smiling up at him.
Niisan was so much taller than me that sometimes I felt like I was an ant while he was a giant. Then again, I was a lot younger than him. I was only 7 and he was 13. That's 6 years apart.
"Come on Mika-chan, let's go inside and see what grandpa made for dinner" Shun said, looking down at me.
"Yeah, let's go Niisan!" I nodded, pulling the door to the house open.
"I don't know what grandpa's cooking but whatever it is smells really good!" I said with excitement as me and Niisan entered the house.
By 6:00, me, grandpa and Niisan finished our dinner. It turned out that grandpa had made steak and mashed potatoes. It made me happy because that's my favorite meal.
"Dinner was great. Arigato grandpa!" I chirped as me and Niisan started walking into the living room.
"Yeah, thanks grandpa" Shun called over his shoulder, following behind me.
"You're welcome kids. Now you two just go inside and relax" grandpa said to us.
"Ok!" I called out as I plopped down on the couch.
I saw Niisan walk past me and start up the steps.
"Wait Niisan!" I pleaded.
He stopped and turned his head to look at me.
"Can you stay and watch TV with me?" I asked in my cutest voice.
I saw him smile. It was a genuine smile that he never showed to any of his friends. The only time he smiled like that was when he was around me and grandpa (but mostly me since grandpa usually just bugged him about training).
"Sure" he said, walking over to the couch and sitting next to me.
"Yay!" I squealed with happiness.
Having Niisan spend time with me made me happy because lately we haven't had any time to hang out. If he's not training, he's over at Runo's café chatting with his friends. I know Niisan wants to spend time with me, but there just isn't enough time to do everything. That's ok, I understand.
I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. I flipped it to channel 61, Cartoon Network. My favorite show Yu-gi-oh was on and it was a marathon. There would be 6 new episodes in a row.
"Yay, look Niisan, it's a marathon of all new episodes!" I squeaked.
It was very clear that I was excited and even though Niisan didn't like Yu-gi-oh, he didn't insult it like some other big brothers would have. Instead he just smiled warmly at me. That's something I've always loved about my Niisan- he's never mean to me. He doesn't tease me or make fun of me like my friends' big brothers do. I think I know why too.
One night I was eavesdropping in on one of grandpa and Niisan's conversations. I heard Niisan say that before mother slipped into a coma, she asked him to always protect me and take care of me. Niisan accepted and promised her that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. Of course, I don't remember this event because when it happened all those years ago, I was very young.
I watched 4 new episodes of Yu-gi-oh before I felt my eyelids get droopy.
*I…must stay…awake. The new…episodes* I said in my head. Suddenly a small yawn escaped me. Since Niisan was sitting right next to me, he heard it loud and clear.
"You just yawned, are you tired?" he asked. "Maybe you should go to sl-"
"No, no, I'm ok. I'm not tired" I interrupted.
Niisan chuckled slightly. "If you say so…"
-30 minutes later-
The 5th episode of Yu-gi-oh was about to start but I couldn't stay awake anymore. I gave in to my sleepiness and closed my eyes.
As I began to drift off to sleep, I felt my body begin to tilt. I tried to straighten myself and sit up again, but it was too late because I had already collapsed onto my side, my head resting in Niisan's lap. I forced my eyelids halfway open and looked up at Niisan, who was chuckling to himself.
"I knew that was gonna happen" Niisan mumbled.
He shut off the TV and carefully slid my head off of his lap. As Niisan looked down at me, I thought he was just going to walk upstairs and leave me here but I was wrong. Instead, Niisan picked me up princess-style and took me to the stairs.
He started climbing the stairs one at a time, probably not to wake me (even though I wasn't fully asleep yet). It took a while but eventually he reached the top of the staircase. He turned right and headed for my room.
Niisan reached my room- the door right across from his- in a matter of seconds. He opened the door and stepped inside, careful not to step on the toys I had left on my floor. Niisan walked directly over to my bed and I let out a small grunt as he laid me down on it, tucking the covers up to my neck.
"…Arigato…Niisan…" I whispered.
Niisan smiled and kissed my forehead before leaving the room.
-A few hours later-
I woke up and found that I was no longer on the couch with Niisan, I was in my room.
*How did I…? Oh yeah, I remember now* I thought, rubbing my eyes. *I fell asleep on the couch and Niisan carried me up here*
I glanced over at the clock. The green numbers read 12:00.
I was about to go back to sleep, but before I could, I heard a low thump coming from outside my room. My curiosity got the better of me and I opened my bedroom door to see what it was. It took a while for me to spot it but eventually I did- it was Niisan. He was climbing up the stairs that led to the roof. I had never been to the roof because grandpa said it was dangerous for me to be up there.
"Niisan?" I asked, sounding sleepy.
He turned and looked at me, surprised.
"What are you doing up?" he whispered. "I thought you were asleep"
"I was, but I woke up" I said, blinking at him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just going up to the roof" he answered me.
"Can I come too? Pleeease?" I begged, giving him the puppy dog eyes he could never say no to.
He sighed and I thought that meant no, but luckily I was wrong.
"Ok, you can come but please be quiet and don't tell grandpa about this" he said.
"Arigato Niisan! Don't worry, I won't say anything!" I whisper-shouted
I ran over to him and started going up the stairs. I went in front of Niisan. He insisted that I go first so he could catch me if I lost my balance and fell over. Both of us climbed up the stairs and when we reached the very top, I saw that there was a small opening and only one person could fit through at a time. Unfortunately, the opening was too high for me to reach.
"Niisan, I can't reach it" I whined, extending my arms and reaching for the opening.
"Here, I'll help you" he said, stepping closer to me and grabbing my sides.
He easily lifted me up high enough so that I could make it through the opening. Once I was all the way up and onto the roof, I heard Niisan call out to me.
"Stay right there where I can see you, ok?"
"Ok" I said, sitting down right where I was.
I watched as Niisan easily climbed up through the small opening. He walked over to me and I stood up.
"Stay close to me. I don't want you to fall off the roof" he said, taking my hand and leading me away. I nodded once again.
Niisan walked me over to the other side of the roof and we both sat down. I could see the tree-filled forest beneath us and the mountains off in the distance. The stars above us twinkled and danced around the full moon.
"It's so pretty up here Niisan!" I squealed, taking in the beautiful view.
"I thought you'd like it" he smiled at me.
"You bet I do!" I squeaked, a big smile on my face. "Do you come up here every night?"
Niisan nodded and gazed up at the night sky.
"I like coming up here at night so I can relax. All that ninja training grandpa makes me do tires me out so I wanted a place where he couldn't find me. I figured this was the best place" he explained.
"Speaking of ninja training, I wanted to go outside and train with you today but grandpa said I couldn't" I pouted and crossed my arms.
"You're too young to start training now Mika-chan" Shun chuckled, ruffling my hair.
"I know. Grandpa said the same thing" I said. "But when I get older, can you train with me Niisan? I wanna be as good a ninja as you!" I perked up.
"Of course I'll train with you" he smiled and pulled me onto his lap.
"Yay!" I giggled, hugging him. "Arigato gozaimasu!"
"Anata wa kangei shite iru" Niisan whispered to me.
I smiled and pulled out of the hug but continued to sit on my big brother's lap.
A gentle breeze blew through the air. I could hear the trees below rustle from the sudden disturbance. The night air felt cool on my face and I smiled. Just then, the wind blew a leaf right by Niisan's head and he caught it before it could float away.
"Watch this" he said, putting the small leaf up to his mouth.
He blew into the leaf and it made such a beautiful sound. It made me feel calm, like I didn't have a care in the world. I vaguely remembered the tune he was playing as the one Okaasan used to sing to us when we were little. She called it Oracion. I quietly began humming along. We both finished a minute or so later.
"That was awesome Niisan! How did you learn how do you that? Is it a ninja thing?" I asked.
Niisan laughed at this.
"It's not a ninja thing. Okaasan showed me how before you were born" he explained.
"Okaasan played the leaf whistle?"
"Yeah. She was pretty good too, better than me"
"I wish I could've heard" I said sadly.
I missed Okaasan. I never really knew her and that always made me sad. Niisan must have sensed my sadness because he threw his arm over my shoulder.
"Just have faith that she'll wake up. Never stop believing" he said to me.
I nodded slowly. Everyone said that Okaasan wouldn't wake up again, but me and Niisan still believed she would. We would always believe.
A yawn escaped my lips and interrupted my thoughts.
"Niisan, I'm tired. Can we go to sleep now?" I asked, struggling but failing to hold back another yawn.
"Yeah, let's go back down. Its way past your bedtime, imouto" he said, standing up.
He pulled me to my feet and we walked back towards the small opening that we used to come up. I looked down and got nervous. It was very high. What if I fell and hit my head?
"I'm scared Niisan. It's really high and I don't wanna fall" I whimpered slightly.
"Ok, then I'll go first. You go after me and I'll catch you" he suggested, diving into the opening.
I looked down again and saw Niisan standing with his arms open wide, ready to catch me. I was still afraid but seeing Niisan smiling up at me gave me more confidence. I squeezed my eyes shut and jumped down.
When I opened my eyes again, Niisan was hugging me.
*Yay! He caught me and I didn't fall on my face!* I thought happily.
I pulled out of the hug and me and Niisan began walking down the hallway to our bedrooms. We walked straight until the end of the hallway. I went to the door to my right and he went to the one on my left.
"Oyasumi! Watashi wa anata wo aishite imasu, Niisan!" I whispered as I placed my hand on the doorknob.
"Watashi wa anata no imōto' o aishite" Niisan responded.
I giggled and opened the door to my room. I ran over to the bed and collapsed onto it. Before I closed my eyes, I made sure to check the time. The green numbers on my clock read 12:30.
*Wow, this is the latest I've ever stayed up* I thought, closing my eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
Translations:
Okaasan-mother
Niisan- big brother
Imouto- little sister
Onegai- please
Oyasumi- good night
Arigato gozaimasu- thank you very much
Anata wa kangei shite iru- you're welcome
Watashi wa anata wo aishite imasu, Niisan- I love you big brother
Watashi wa anata no imōto' o aishite- I love you little sister