Chapter II: Change of Scenery

The elevator opened its doors to let Tomoko and Akira stepped off onto their floor and they walked down the red, carpeted corridor, looking as ostentatious as one would see in a hotel. Akira looked around, letting the fact sink in that they just climbed 74 floors up. "It's not much, but it's cozy," Tomoko said, leading the way. She carried Akira's book bag over her shoulder in her insistence. "I had to move some things around to get you your own room, with all the boxes that came over. The best part, though, is that the walls are sound proof, so you can play your music or movies or games as loud as you want."

She stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall with the number 7430 labeled in gold just above the peephole. She fished in her pocket, pulled out a single key, and held it out to him. "Go on, open it," she said, smiling encouragingly. He took it and inserted it into the knob. The door swung inward and she motioned him inside where she turned on the lights.

The day was still young, but it was ready to draw to a close with the sun about to dip behind the tall buildings through the curtained glass door at the end of the living room to his right. "Your room is down the hall, last door to your left," she pointed straight ahead of them. "I'm going to return the car back to my friend and come back with some dinner. Anything that you want?"

"Anything's fine," Akira said.

Pausing for a few seconds, Tomoko nodded. "Okay. Just remember, you have to eat whatever I get you," she said teasingly. "Go on and relax, take a bath. This is your new home, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Akira said with empty emotion. Seemingly ignoring his behavior like it was normal, she gave him a quick kiss on the head and an affectionate rub of his hair for good measure. She placed the book bag onto the floor and walked out of the door, locking it behind her. Alone, Akira study his new environment.

Modest looking, the living room looked as though it had more than the bare necessities with a black leather couch sitting up against the white wall along with two tall, fern plants on each side of it to give some color to an otherwise dank room. They looked very well cared for with how lush their green leaved looked. On the opposite side sat a huge, flat-screen television resting on top of an entertainment stand where a couple of Tomoko's personal game systems rested on its bottom shelves along with some game cases laying on the blue carpet. A coffee table sat in the middle of the room with considerable room in between it and the television. It look so clean that either she cared for it a lot or she just recently cleaned it up.

On his left held the kitchen, smaller in area with the counters wrapping around the perimeter with one lone counter sitting as an island that looked like it also serve as a table with two bar stools placed at each end. The sink overflowed with dirty dishes and he could see the linoleum floor hadn't been touched, with dirt stuck around the edges and corners and crumbs scattered across. The refrigerator stood the furthest away from him, a white-board calendar floated from the top door with dates and several notes covering many of its squares along with "X's" marked for each passing day, but he could see that she hadn't followed it up for a few days as if distracted with the note of his arrival on today's box unmarked.

He slipped out of his shoes and walked over to the sink, astonished to find it in such a state. He looked at the counters to find endless crumbs and damp dirt. He figured that if he was going to live here, it would not look like a pigsty. Taking off of his jacket, he hung it on the back of the barstool and proceed with the cleaning.

He wiped down the counters with paper towels, pushing all of loose grime into his hands, and tossed it into the trash where he found it completely full. He knew that she can be a bit of a slob, but it was becoming ridiculous. He shuttered on what the bathroom might look like. He went to the sink, separated the dishes out onto the lone counter for some room, and filled the metal tub with soapy, hot water.

He cleaned each individual dish and silverware, scrubbing them thoroughly until they look clean and placing them in the drying rack. Finding the pots sitting on the stove tops, he figured he need to soak them overnight. Cleaning the silverware, he pulled out a knife and paused to stare at it. Gripping on the black handle with its curves along its sharp side, he remember watching a movie where one of the characters killed himself by slitting his wrist while sitting in a hot bath. He did thought about doing that before he decided on hanging himself, but he didn't like the thought of cutting himself and wondered how effective it really was. Holding the blade over his exposed wrist, he imagined how much blood it would spill out. It probably would be gruesome and quickly washed the knife before he decided on making that final move.

Music immediately filled the air and he instantly recognized it coming from his iPhone. He managed to program "Fight On" from Final Fantasy VII as its ringtone, one of his favorites. He hastily dried his hands and quickly went for his jacket pocket, thinking that it was Tomoko asking him what he really wanted. He pulled out his flashing iPhone and, instead, it told him that it was from his father. Taking in deep breath, he pressed the answer button and the music stop.

"Hello?" he said.

"Akira?" his father's calm voice came out from the speaker. "We just got your message that you arrived at San Fransokyo alright."

"Yeah. I'm at Tomoko's place right now."

"That's good," he said, sounding relief.

"Akira honey?" a woman's voice called out from speaker and he instantly recognized his mother.

"Hey, mom," he said.

"How are you, my son?"

"I'm doing well."

"How was the train ride?"

"It was…uneventful."

"Really? I thought you'd be excited, going on a trip across the nation like that, getting to see everything," she said, trying to sound excited for him, but he could detect worry in her tone. "Are you sure that you are doing okay? Like, really okay?"

"Yes, I'm doing good, Mom," he said reassuringly.

"Okay." A pause lingered in air and he could hear repressed cries and sniffling from the other end. "Akira, don't you ever forget that you are precious son and I love you very, very much. Okay?"

"Okay, mom," he said, his eyes stinging with tears while he held back his emotions.

"I don't care who you are, you are my baby, always will be. So…" A small cry escaped and he could hear muttering for a few seconds between his parents. "Here's your father. Be a good boy and know that there are people that love you, especially your sister."

"Yeah," Akira whispered.

A pause lingered for a few seconds while he hear his mother's cry fade in the distance. "Akira?" his father came back on.

"Dad?"

"Is there anything that we can do for you?"

"N-No," Akira answered.

"Okay. I know that this is very sudden, you having to move to the big city like this and so far away. I wish that…things were a little different. But, that's how life is, sometimes it can come out of nowhere where you are not prepared for it and you have to go along with it, no matter what. Summer vacation is here, so, take the time to relax, breathe a little better. I know the last few weeks have even incredibly rough for you."

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I'm…I'm sorry."

An uncomfortable pause lingered in the air and the tears finally let themselves fall from his eyes, his guilt filling up inside of him.

"No, no," his father said calmly. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Like I said, sometimes things just happened, whether we wanted it to or not. This is nobody's fault, especially not yours. Just hang in there. You're a strong boy. If you need to talk to me about anything, do not hesitate to call me at any time, 24/7. Or, to anyone that you trust. Alright?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Are you sure there isn't anything that we can do for you right now?"

"Yes. I'm good, Dad."

"Okay. I love you, son."

"I love you, too, Dad."

After they say their goodbyes, Akira pressed the end call button and the phone went silent. Placing it on the countertop, he forgot all about the dishes. He felt tired. He walked down the hall, passing the first doors on each side of him, curious of locating his new room. Just as Tomoko said, he found it on the last door on the left. He opened it and stepped inside. His bed lined up against the wall on the far right, already made with its sheets covering the mattress along with his blanket and pillow. His computer desk sat on the opposite wall and corner with his computer on one side and the television facing his bed. Two bookcases and a DVD stand stood up along the wall, all empty of their contents, figuring that all of his books, movies, and video games were still packed in the boxes that sat on the floor. His dresser, made by his father for him, was set up in between his bed and closet next to him where he flipped up one of the light switches, but the ceiling fan began turning. He quickly switched it back down and turned the other one up, lighting the room.

Walking inside, he didn't feel productive at all and flopped himself onto his bed and just lay there unmoving, planting his chin into the blanket. His body, mind, and soul felt fatigued and he held no interest for anything, not for the rest of the day, the next day, or even for the rest of the summer. He didn't want to do anything, leaving the many ongoing projects abandoned in his computer, his drawings hidden in his sketchbook unfinished, or to even to read anything or watch anything or play anything. Just lay on his bed and try to forget about the world outside while a sense of restlessness continued to stir inside of his heart.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, maybe a couple of minutes or an hour, but he began to feel like taking a bath. Maybe it might snap him out of this rut. He got up from his bed and made his way to his suitcase, pulling out a set of pajamas and a towel, and headed for the bathroom.

To his surprise, he found it immaculately clean. Small and compact, there's just enough room to hold a sink, toilet, and a bathtub in the back. He turned on the hot water and dump bath soap into the tub, took off his glasses and clothes, and step into the filling tub. Settling down, he watched the water rise slowly while white foam spread across the surface until it reached his face. The tub nearly full, he shut the water off and lay back down, the steam hovering around him while his chin sitting on just above the plateau of bubbles.

"A new home, huh?" he said. "A new place, with new people. To start a new life. All because I made a stupid move."

It was a big surprise when he invited Akira to come over to his house over the weekend, but Akira felt so excited and happy by it because he had never been good at making friends the entire time that he had been to school. He always kept to himself, never interacted with any of the students, barely with the teachers unless it was related to schoolwork. When he came up to him and asked him for some pointers during art class, he didn't know what to do. It was when he was about to walk away that Akira finally spoke up and helped him out with his project, and it slowly led to them talking about other things that the two actually sat next to each other during class, discussing about anything that came to mind. Much of the time he talked about his basketball team and the games they played during the season, but they would delved into video games or movies. He wasn't as interested in the old movies like Akira who adore black and white films, but he was an avid gamer much to Akira's delight.

However, they never spend any time together outside of art class and he acted as if they never knew each other. But, Akira wanted to say "Hi" to him whenever they walked past each other in the hallways, or to join him in class projects, or eat with him during lunch, but he would be with his friends and he never aimed his eyes towards him. Akira actually went out of his way to attend a couple of basketball games alone and he would only focus his attention on him while he played vigorously out on the court. He was star player and he had many fans of the opposite sex who would constantly cheer for him the loudest. After the last buzzer sounded to end the game, he tried to reach him, but the crowd would surround the team in an instant, making it impossible for him to get anywhere close that he left the game empty-handed. By the way he talks about those games made it clear that he never noticed Akira there and Akira would follow his story like he never went there in the first place.

Then, out of the blue, he invited him over to his house over the weekend. He didn't understand it at first but he quickly forgot about it, immediately saying "Yes!" It was the first time that he told his parents about it and he saw how happy they were for him to make a friend in school. His mother treated it like a momentous moment when he left for his house, giving him a big hug and his father patting him on the back as if a job well done and he walked out of the door.

At the house, he was surprise to find that his parents weren't there, nor were any of his friends. It was just the two of them, but he didn't question it. They played a couple of video games together as well as talking about them, and he remember having a great time. After some time, he offered Akira beer to drink. At first, Akira wanted to refuse, but wanting to impress him and not look weak, he took it. He didn't like the taste, but he didn't comment on it and he kept drinking until he finished it. Then, he took another, and another, until he felt himself a little off.

And, it happened.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted. Maybe a few seconds, a few minutes. He didn't know. All he could remember was being forced out of the house and walking back home, sneaking back inside and sleeping until the next morning, but that little memory still lingered in his head. He wasn't sure how he really felt about it. He didn't think it was terrible. In fact, thinking about it made his heart fluttered with delight, but Akira figured that maybe he didn't like it anyway given how he was pushed out of the house like that. When he arrived at school the next day, the first thing he did was to apologize to him for what he did and hoped that they can still remain friends. Instead, his nightmare began.

He wanted to tell his parents, his sister, to anybody, but he was too afraid of him having to explain to them of what happened and how they would react if they began to suspect something of him. Akira admit that he found him attractive, but he never thought more of that, never wanted to anyway. How could he tell them that he felt himself attracted to another boy the same way that a normal boy would be to a girl? They would find him revolting and could even disown him, wanting to get rid of him and to never speak to him again.

In a way, they did just that, sending him away to some far away city. But it was for his protection, and he would be staying with his sister. He could still feel that squeezing hug his mother gave him just before he step onto the train, not wanting him to go, and how his father told him to be brave and to follow his heart. He said that he was still a little shock of what happened and wondered what will happen, but he promise that will continue to love him like always. He never forgot how his mother fainted when his train rolled off and his father had to carry her.

A knock on the door woke him up from his thoughts. "Akira, you in there?"

"Uh, yeah," Akira said. He realized that the water was becoming cool and the foam shrinking.

"I got dinner all set up on the table whenever you're ready," she said.

"Alright! I'm coming out!" he said.

"Okay. Take your time, there's no rush. Don't want you to slip in there," she said.

Standing up in the tub, he lift the release valve to drain the water and he stepped out. After he dried himself off, his winkled fingers told him how long he had stayed in the water. He slipped into his underwear and pajamas and looked himself in the mirror. No frowns or tears he told himself, not wanting to worry Tomogo too much about him, reminding himself that she had too much work with school. He pushed both sides of his lips up to mold a smile, but it refused to stay put. He quickly gave up.

He stepped outside and found her sitting at the counter in her seat, already digging into her food with chopsticks, placing a bundle of noodles into her mouth. He found his food on the other side with a bottle of soda. There were several containers, one with noodles, the other with dumplings, and a box of sweet and sour chicken along with the sauce.

"I figured that you be pretty hungry," she said, looking proud of the amount of food she got. "Go on, eat up."

Taking his seat, he picked up his chopsticks and began digging into his noodles. He love Chinese food, but this looked much different than what he was used to. He didn't feel all that hungry, but he began eating in silence.

"I know this isn't exactly Mom's cooking. I never did have her touch, but I'll give it a try and learn how to cook. It'll help in saving some money," she said, sounding apologetic.

"No, don't worry about it," he said. "Anything's fine with me."

"Well, sure, but you're a growing boy. I can't be feeding you take-out Chinese every time. Mom and Dad say that they'll be sending money every once in a while to help take care of you. I'm thinking about doing some shopping in the morning and we ought to get you some new clothes soon. I know school is a long way off, but might as well get it out of the way when we can."

Losing his appetite, Akira felt horrible for Tomoko, knowing that she must be annoyed of her life being interrupted like this. "I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"For becoming a burden to you."

"Akira, you are not a burden. I decided to take you in, didn't I? I know I've got a lot on my plate right now, but I can manage it. Like I said, Mom and Dad are going to help out."

"Well, if things do get harder on you…I can leave and go back home with Mom and Dad."

She stopped midway with her food hanging away from her mouth and placed it back onto her plate, her eyebrow raised. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I can leave if things become too hard for you. If I do become a burden."

"Akira." He looked up, finding her looking at him intently. "You are not a burden, and you won't become one. I know Mom and Dad were against it at first, and I might not have decided to take you in if I didn't think I can do the job. But, I do know one thing and that is that I don't want you there anymore, having to be constantly bullied like that. Even if it wasn't the only choice, I still think bringing you here is the best one. I'm sure things will be hard for you right now, getting use to a new home, but it'll be only for a little while, and things will be get better. I promise."

"How can you be sure that things will get better?" Akira said, not believing her words.

"It has too."

"Bullshit!"

The room went silent, and Akira looked down at his food, looking just as disgusting as himself. His body convulsing like a tempest forming inside, he shut his eyes to hold back his tears, but they quickly flooded his eyes. Already shunned from his hometown, most likely would never go back home, and in a strange new world, he began to doubt if he could even survive here if people here start to suspect like the people back home did about him.

A little cry escape from his lips and he flung his glasses off of his face and covered his eyes, wetting them with his tears.

"Akira!" Tomoko jumped from her seat and ran towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around and letting him cry on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. I don't know how, but your worst days are already behind you. Yes, you'll still get some bad days in the future, but that doesn't mean you should fear them. As long as you still hold on to that hope, you'll make it through. And, I'll be here to help you out."

Squeezing her tightly, Akira still felt terrified of what the future might hold for him in the new city. "Even if…I might be a little different than most people?"

"There's nothing wrong about it. If you like guys, that's perfectly fine. If you like girls, that's just as fine, as well. I don't care. All I care is that you stay that sweet kid that I've always known."

Pulling away, Akira wiped the last of his tears. "I'm sorry, Tomoko, for acting like this."

"It's fine. I know that this will be scary for you, but, like I said, I'm here to help you out," she said, caressing his cheek and he nodded his head. "And, the name's GoGo."

He let out a short laugh, his lips widening into a smile. "That is such a dumb name," he said.

"At least it's not the worst that I've been given," she said, smiling. Pulling him back in her hug, Akira felt like the three years of separation hadn't dampened their relationship a bit, that they can continued on where it left off.

After the two calmed down, they went back to their dinner, their spirits a little higher while they conversed, mostly on GoGo's ongoing projects at her school as well as what the other students were doing. Fascinated, Akira became curious about it and wondered if he could actually go there and finally see her work. After they finish their food, they ended up playing video games, something that the two had done on a regular basis together before she left home and something that they missed doing. They played fighting games, which Akira was good at, racing games, which GoGo was good at, and a little bit of the new JRPG. Akira was more proficient with it, helping GoGo in beating a high level boss that she had trouble with for some time.

Just after midnight, Akira began to feel tired and decided to call it a day, feeling a little better about himself and his new situation.

"Hey, Akira?" GoGo said.

He looked back at GoGo. "Yeah?" he said.

She looked at the carpet like she was embarrassed of what she might be thinking. "Is it okay if I sleep in your bed with you?"

Raising his eyebrows by the request, the last time that the two slept in the same bed was when he was nine, coming to her whenever he had nightmares. But, he didn't feel anything against her request, maybe a little glad that she brought it up first because he felt a little embarrassed himself in wanting to ask her for the same thing, still wanting some of that comfort.

"Sure," he said, a little smile on his lips.

After the two brushed their teeth, they went to his room, GoGo in her pajama bottom and black tank top, and hopped into bed. Laying on his side, GoGo reached over and hugged him tight from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Night, little bro."

"Night, big sis," he said, feeling his mind, heart, and soul at ease, if only a little bit, while he fell into a slumber, comfortable in his new home.