ATTENTION: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ OUTSIDER PERSPECTIVE, PLEASE GO BACK AND DO SO BEFORE READING THIS, AS THIS IS AN ACCOMPANIEMENT PIECE AND WILL THEREFORE HAVE SOME SPOILERS. Thank You ^^
So, as I promised at the end of Outsider Perspective, here's some more of the characters. This particular one takes place soon after Outsider's Perspective's epilogue. This is kinda slice-of-lifey , and mostly light-hearted. I hope you enjoy it.
Reuben checked his phone again, then stuck his hands in his pocket and watched the people rushing by. He seriously hoped that the directions he had given were enough.
He had been looking forward to this for a long, long time. Almost 10 months ago, his usual internet-surfing habits had led him into a murder mystery, resulting in him saving 10 lives. He still had trouble getting his head around that fact. Not least because everything had happened in Japan, while he hadn't even left his hometown, let alone the country. But it had happened.
His stomach rumbled, and he reached into his coat pocket for the chocolate bar he had bought earlier. If he didn't eat, his family would get mad at him. Last year, after his last exam, he had collapsed. It had turned out that stressing over Hope's Peak and his exams, combined with working at The Bird House, had made him forget to eat. And he hadn't even felt hungry. Of course, as it had caught up with him, now his parents, sisters and friends were always on his case about food. Even though he had been fine in the end. So it was rather annoying. Still, it was better not to repeat such events.
He had just finished the last bite when a Union-Jack pattered jacket caught his eye. He looked closer at the girl wearing it, and recognised her face straight away, for she looked exactly like her sister. And as soon as he saw her, it wasn't hard to spot the others.
Shoving the wrapper in his pocket, he held up his hand, ready to wave when they actually looked in his direction.
…
Emi was having trouble looking at both Eirik's handmade tourist guide and the photo of Reuben on her phone while navigating the crowded station.
"Sorry!" she said as she bumped into yet another passer-by, before letting out a colourful string of curse words.
"Here, let me do it." Makoto plucked the tourist guide out of her hand. "It's not like we need to look at this right now."
"Hmm…" Emi rubbed her side. She was tired of bumping into random Londoners.
"I think that's him, over there. Yes, it is. He's waving." Everyone turned to Akihito, who weaved through the crowd effortlessly until they were standing in-front of the dark haired boy.
It didn't feel strange, clapping eyes on him for the first time. And it wasn't like he was a complete stranger-they had been corresponding via email and Facebook (and in her case the occasional blog comment)-so she felt that they knew each other pretty well. Even so, there was an awkward silence for a moment as they all figured out what to say.
"Nice coat, Arisa-san." Reuben said eventually, surprising them all by talking Japanese.
"Ah, thanks. But really, drop the honorific, it's fine." Arisa turned to stick her tongue out at Akihito, who had been teasing her ever since she'd spotted it at a market stall. Then she seemed to clock, and turned to Reuben.
"You just spoke in Japanese!"
"I've been learning. But I can't read it to save my life."
Emi laughed at that.
"Well, whatcha know?" Reuben looked at her questioningly, so she explained. "Maeda-kun's been drilling the basics of English into us, and he even made us phrasebooks-slash-tourist-guides. Show him, Naegi-kun."
Makoto tossed over her copy to Reuben, who caught it neatly.
"It's actually really good." Makoto told him. Reuben flicked through and nodded before handing it back to Makoto, who gave it back to Emi.
"Perhaps we should head off now. We're taking up space, no?" Kyouko asked.
"Ah, if it wasn't us, it'd be someone else. But yes, you're right. My sisters-Matilda in particular-have been looking forward to meeting you."
They left the station and began walking down the road. Now the ice had been broken, they chatted easily, exchanging stories. They showed off the photos of all the tourist attractions, and Reuben shared anecdotes of his life. Eventually, they arrived at a rather cosy looking building, with a sign reading 'The Bird House.'
"The family restaurant, right?" Akihito asked.
"Yeah. Whatcha say to getting lunch here, before heading to Arielle's uncle's place?"
"Sounds good to me." Emi commented. The others agreed, and they entered.
"Megan and Matilda are around the back. Should I go and get them or are you OK with coming around?" Reuben asked. Emi barely paid attention, as she looked at the walls and the decorations of the restaurant.
"Wow…"
"Kasuragi, come back to earth please." Akihito grinned at her. She glared at him.
"Idiot."
"Wow, your hair is loooong." They turned to the sound of a little girl's voice, and sure enough a little girl was staring wide eyed at Kyouko, whose hair was captured in a long plait.
Kyouko seemed a little embarrassed, but laughed at the girl.
"Yes, it is."
"And it's such a pretty colour!"
"Thank you."
"So, you're the guys that my brother saved." Another girl, who looked about 14 and had her hair gathered up somewhat elegantly, appeared by Reuben's side. She inspected them closely.
"This is Megan." Reuben told them, although Emi thought that particular clarification was not needed.
"It's kinda cool we get to meet you, though I know Arielle wanted to as well. Make sure this idiot eats, okay?" Megan poked her brother in the side. Reuben glared at her.
"I apologise for her." Reuben said. They all laughed.
"No, seriously." Megan said, still smiling.
"Whatcha think we came here for?" Reuben retorted.
Megan stuck her tongue out at him.
"Fine, whatever. Mum's arranged for Mattie to have a playdate, so I need to take her there, then I'm going to meet my friends at the park. See ya later." Megan has a task separating Matilda from Kyouko, but she managed eventually.
"It was actually kind of hard to tell who was more attached there." Makoto commented. Kyouko shrugged.
"She's a lovely girl." She told Reuben.
"Well, thank you."
Reuben directed them to an empty table, and soon his father came to take their orders, resulting in a somewhat embarrassing few moments of good-natured interrogation. Then, it took a while, but they found their rhythm, and were soon conversing. It was even funnier when one of them asked something in one language, and another would respond in the other language.
When they finished, Reuben took the plates to the kitchen himself, and they headed for the place where they were staying-Arielle's house, where she lived with her uncle and cousin. When Social Services had tracked him down, Arielle was 13 and had been living at the Goodrich house for 5 years. She moved in with her uncle almost straight away, but her friendship with Reuben had remained, to the extent that her uncle knew him pretty well too, for although he was a busy man, he was the type to make sure he was an involved guardian.
"Arielle's uncle is actually really cool. Sure, he's rich and all, but the only way you really see it is the fact his house has so many rooms. He isn't stuck up at all. So yeah, that's why he let me use it while they're all on holiday."
"Does he do that kind of thing often?" Makoto asked.
"Not really."
"Ohh, so you're special!" Akihito said.
"Well…apart from once being Arielle's foster brother, not really."
"So modest!" Everyone laughed.
"What's that?" Emi pointed to the curious looking tower next to a squat, bright building.
"My primary school?"
"No. The tower thing."
"Oh, that. It's some kinda storage area, but the top bit is open to the public at certain times. It looks really nice, seeing the world all rainbow-covered."
"It looks like a freaking lighthouse." Arisa remarked.
"That sounds about right. We all call it the Rainbow Lighthouse."
"Cool." Emi got her phone out, found the camera application and took a few pictures.
"Really, Kasuragi?" Akihito rolled his eyes.
"Dude, we're tourists." Emi retorted.
"That you are. We're almost there anyway. We can stop a while." And sure enough, once he'd said that. Akihito was all too happy to snap pictures. Silly idiot.
As they snapped pictures of the Rainbow Lighthouse (and some of each other), Emi watched Reuben watch them. His expression was content, serene. But she thought she could see the ghost of dark circles under his eyes. It made her feel a little odd. Had they been the cause of that?
Reuben caught her watching, and he winked at her, grinning. Feeling just a little caught out, she smiled back.
"I've finished. Can we go now? I'm kinda tired of dragging around my suitcase." Arisa grouched.
"We might as well."
…
After they unpacked, Emi got her laptop out and decided to go sit in the living room to use it. She had a lot to write about, and so she might as well start.
Well, maybe not that much, but she was suffering from internet deprivation. Luckily, she got a signal, and once she'd actually found the living room she settled herself on a sofa and got to work, grinning happily.
Meanwhile, Arisa was in her room, on the phone to her sister.
"No, no, we're not doing much at the moment. I think Emi-Chan's glued to her laptop. "
Her sister laughed down the phone.
"And what are the others doing, do you know?"
"Playing a card game, or something."
"Why not join them?"
"Meh….do I look like someone who plays cards?"
"Arisa…"
"Ah, fine. Maybe in a moment. I'd much rather talk to you now."
"Okay, okay. So, tell me about what you've been doing. Did you visit the same places that Lucy and I visited?"
Arisa laughed, and happily began describing it.
…
The next morning, Emi woke them all and summoned them to her room.
"What, exactly are we doing?" Reuben asked, bleary eyed.
"Chihiro-Chan, of course!" Emi was sitting on the bed, with her laptop in her lap, and now she picked up the laptop and showed the screen to them. Sure enough, she was on Skype, and Chihiro Fujisaki's face was smiling at them.
"Hello, guys!" she said chirpily.
"Hi!" they all chorused.
"How's everything with you?" Emi lead the conversation.
"Oh, it's all fine, all fine. Dad wants me to take a few days off school though."
"But surely you're in very fine hands with Kobayashi-kun?" Makoto asked.
"Yeah, but he worries."
"That's just how parents are." Reuben said. "It's irritating, but it's cos they care."
"Oh!" Chihiro-on-screen's eyes went wide. "You're Reuben."
"Yes, I am." Reuben said drily.
"Pleased to meet you. Sorry we couldn't come over."
"Next time, right?"
"For sure."
Suddenly, a voice called off-screen.
"They call you 'Nee-Chan' now?" Kyouko asked.
"Yup." Chihiro looked pleased. "They don't seem to care. But I really should go now."
"Then we won't keep you." Emi said.
"See ya later!" they all chorused as Chihiro went offline. Emi shut the laptop, and then yawned.
"I really woke you up early, didn't I?" she said as if only just realising.
"Gee, ya think?" Arisa snapped.
"Since we're awake anyway, who's for breakfast?" Reuben said, cleverly heading off an argument as if he was an old hand at it, despite having only met them yesterday.
…
Just how many shoes does a girl need? Makoto wondered as he looked at the bags all three girls were struggling with as they headed to the café. Even Kyouko had a lot of bags, and she was never particularly girly.
Makoto noticed Reuben looking at the bags with amazement, and caught his eye. He grimaced, and then they both chuckled.
"What are you guys laughing about?" Arisa glared at them suspiciously.
"You guys, obviously!" Akihito said, laughing as he dodged an attack from Emi, who gave him a dirty look, before stumbling and nearly bumping into a middle-aged shopper, who rolled her eyes and muttered something. Makoto couldn't decipher all of it, but he heard the words 'teenagers today'.
"You OK, Emi?" Reuben asked.
"Yeah, yeah. It's no big deal." Makoto thought he heard something in her voice and gave her a sideways look. Was something else going on? He blinked, and shook the thought out of his head. Who cared if there was? They were all getting on with their lives, and though they'd all always be friends, that would mean going in different directions in some cases.
They sat down, somehow managing to tuck all the bags under the table so others wouldn't trip over them, and it didn't take long for them to order their milkshakes and have them served.
They sipped at the shakes, talking at times but mostly focused on the drinks.
"So, what now?" Akihito asked after one particular silence.
They all looked at each other.
"That's a good question." Kyouko said.
"I'm tired. I think maybe I should have a nap." Arisa said.
"That might have something to do with all the clothes. You're worse than Megan." Reuben said drily.
"I'm older than her!"
"By about two years, dude. Two years." Emi replied.
"No, but seriously, what else should we do? " Akihito pressed. "Reuben, is there anything else we've not seen?"
"Erm…" Reuben thought about this, but the question sparked something in Makoto's mind. He raced through memories, making connections, until he had the answer.
"I think I've got a great idea, actually…"
…
"Is there anything there?" Arisa asked.
"Nope!" Emi replied. Digging through these boxes was almost disturbingly like looking for evidence in one of those god-awful investigations back in Hope's Peak. But the difference was they were about to something fun. And possibly a little bit daring. Not illegal, thankfully, but a little…beyond social norms. That was something she was up for-anything for a great writing experience.
"I seriously can't believe nobody's ever tried this before though. I mean, come on! They call it the lighthouse." Emi groused as she came out of the small room.
"You know, it might have something to do with the fact that we're in a city." Makoto said, coming out of another, holding ropes and other things in his arms. He was being genuine, but for some reason the effect was slightly sarcastic, which was funny, as he was rarely sarcastic.
"Watari-kun and Reuben have found some lamps, and I think they're rigging them up." Kyouko came down the spiralling stairs to tell them.
"Good!" Emi exclaimed, and the three of them went to join the others in the top room of the Rainbow Lighthouse. Reuben and Akihito were in the middle of the room, arranging the lamps and examining the roof. Reuben in particular was standing on a chair. Makoto went up to them and handed up the rope.
"We might need to string them up with this?" he asked.
"Hmm, yes."
They worked busily for a long while, each of them taking turns to look out of the large windows. Interestingly enough, each of them chose a different coloured window to look out of. Finally, they were ready, and they all stepped back.
"Okay. The sun's going down now, so you run out, Emi." Kyouko said as she stared out of the violet window.
"Right." Emi rushed down the stairs, out of the special entrance used to get to the Rainbow Lighthouse, and then backed up a little until she had a good view. She waved at them, and then got her video camera out from her backpack and set it to record. She knew that up there, they would be waiting, and then Akihito would switch on the power-pack, and Reuben would light the remaining lights.
And soon, they did.
Brightness streamed out of the windows, colours illuminating everything. Given that the light was made up of many little things, it was not one beam, but many, flickering lights. But all the same, it was beautiful.
And it got a lot of attention. Passers-by on their way home from work stopped and stared, and people left their houses, all of them gathering around her or by the school gates to see what was going on.
"Is that the Rainbow Lighthouse?" Emi heard one person ask.
"It is. But nobody's ever lit it up before."
"Hey, you!" Emi took a while to realise that the man was talking to her. "Who are you?"
"Emi Kasuragi." She told them in precise English. "I was responsible for this. Well, me and my friends."
"But why?"
"Because it's beautiful, right?" Emi focused back on the lighthouse, filming it for posterity. Kyouko and Reuben came down and joined her.
"I wanted to see what it looked like from down here." Reuben explained. "This has just been a fixture in my life. We call it a lighthouse, and yet…" he trailed off, entranced.
"We left the others to keep an eye on things. They're more than capable. "Kyouko added. Then she paused, and asked "Do you think we're going to get into trouble?"
"Nah. It's technically not meant to close for another hour." Reuben said. "But people will be talking about this for days."
Emi instantly thought of what it had been like after she'd escaped Hope's Peak with the others. All around her, it felt that everyone was talking about her, but only because she was associated with that horror. She didn't mind being talked about normally, for it was part of the normality of being in the internet spotlight. But that had been something else. They seemed determined to define her only by one horrible event.
It would be nice to be defined by something beautiful instead. And as the people around her realised that some of the people responsible for lighting up the Rainbow Lighthouse were down there, she felt as if that might finally happen.