Hikari Yagami: The Friendship of a Lifetime By: Takeru Takashi Creative Writing: With Mr. Akumi

How do I even begin to start on such an amazing subject. My head is in so many places right now that I honestly

don't even know where to start. When you have known someone and have been as close to someone as long as I've been to her

it makes finding a starting point a really hard thing to do. I guess that I could always start with the first time that I

ever met Hikari. It was just a little over nine years ago. We were both seven years old. Our big brothers had met not to

long before and became best friends. They both had to baby sit one day so they decided to go play basket ball at one of the

local parks in our neighborhood and bring the both of us so we could play together. If there was one thing that those two

idiots ever did that was right, it was making the decision to go to that park on that day. I haven't been the same person

since.

Sometimes I wonder what other people see when they look at her. I would like to see her through their eyes one day.

Do they see her in the same light that I do? Do they see her as the same strong, independant, compassionate, loving, and

understanding person that I do? Or to everyone else...is she just another sixteen year old teenager walking down the halls

to class. I can remember calling her up in the middle of the night crying after my pet fish Frosty died.(yes, his name was Frosty)

All of my other friends would have laughed at me and called me a baby and told me to get over it..but not Hikari. You see,

because Hikari knew how much that fish meant to me, she knew that it was the last thing that my grandmother on my fathers

side ever gave to me before she had a stroke and died. She immediatly snuck out of her apartment and crossed the street and

went up to my apartment on the ninth floor. Mom wasn't home because of the simple fact that mom is never home. We had popcorn

and icecream and gave Frosty a furneral. She held my hand as we flushed to toilet together. We both cried, she cried because

I cried, and I cried because I felt like I had lost the last thing that was connecting me to my grandmother. We were both

eleven.

When Hikari was younger she used to get sick in the winter alot. I could remember laying in my bed at night praying

to God to let the summer stay forever because I knew that the winter time meant that I really wouldn't be able to spend

much time with my Hikari. When the wind would start to blow cold and the leaves would begin to change I would always go

through this beginning stage of a depression. Hikari would always say to me "Don't worry so much Takeru, I'm alot stonger

then everyone gives me credit for. Just wait and see, have a little faith in me." But it never failed, up until a few years

ago the cold weather always meant bad news for Hikari. She would get pneumonia every winter and have to spend alot of time

in the hospital. Most years they had it in control...but one year..we almost lost her, and it was the scariest thing that

had ever happened to me in my whole entire life. We were nine (I know, always the same age..I'm only a month older after all)

at the time and I remember going to the hospital after school one day to bring her the homework from class that day and to visit.

It had pretty much become a daily routine. I visited her every day and we would play board games and watch tv and just

talk about anything and everything that was on our minds at the time. I went into the visiting area and saw her big

brother Tiachi sitting in one of the chairs crying while her parents were standing off to the side speaking with one of

the docters. My first thought was that she was dead. I had a full on panic attack. My body no longer knew how to breath.

It was like my throat had just closed up and then my ears started ringing. Everything feel out of my hands and the next thing

I knew the floor was in my face. I woke up to her mothers hands cradleing my head in her lap telling me that everything

was going to be alright. I shot straight up and began panicking and asking if Hikari was ok. I kept saying "Shes not dead right?

Please tell me shes alright?" Mrs. Yagami looked at me with such compassion in her eyes that I finally knew where her

daughter got it from. She began to explain to me how we almost lost her that day, her lungs started to fill with fluid but

now she is in stable condition. After that day she actually started to make a pretty quick recovery. She was out of the hospital

within another week. But she still was unable to go back to school. I hated winter back then but its ok now. A little to cold

for my liking, I'm still more of a summer kind of guy but its not nearly as bad now that Hikari doesn't really get sick

anymore.

If there was ever a time in my life where I needed Hikari the most it was when my parents went through their divorce. I was twelve

at the time it was happening and to be honest I really didn't expect it. My parents set me and my big brother Yamato at the kitchen table one

evening and just came out with it. "Boys, we're getting a divorce. Yama honey, you're going to go live with dad and Takeru, your staying with me."

Yamato just rolled his eyes and said something about having some place to be in a little while. I immediatly started to cry. The thought of

being another statistic killed me. How could this be happening to me? How could this be happening to my family? I always thought that we were

better then that. I knew that divorce happened. Other people I went to school with went through it, but for it to happen to me? It felt like

a kick to the stomach. I could hear my dad going on and on about something "Now son, please don't cry, you know that I love you very much but

sometimes things don't always work out between people. We tried to make it work, we really did. But I guess keeping you and your brother in the

dark about our problems probably wasn't the best way to go about this because I know that your in shock right now and I'm so so sorry. I will

always be your father. No matter what." Then I could hear my mother go on and throw her two cents in. "We are both so sorry baby, but we'll be ok,

I promise. This is something that your father and I have to do and we couldn't hide it from you boys any longer. I just stood up and went into

my room. Any guesses on who I called?

I was almost in hysterics by time I got to the phone but I tried to sound as normal as possible when Mr. Yagami answered the phone but my

voice was so shakey that I knew he knew something was wrong when I asked if Hikari was home. "Sure Takeru, just let my go give her the phone." I

can still remember what a relief it was to hear her voice on the other line right then. "Hey Takeru, whats the word?" That was our little way of

letting eachother know if we had something important to talk about, or just the usual conversation. If I responded with "nothing really" then that

meant for the usual, but that night I couldn't even hold in the tears. I couldn't even get the words out. It took her about two seconds to say she

would be right over but I stopped her and asked if I could meet her at the park because I really didn't want to be home right now. "I will in front of

your apartment building in two minutes. We can walk together." and then she was off. I walk out of my room and slip out the front door without making

eye contact with either of my parents. I really felt sorry for the poor old lady who rode down in the elevator with me. She had that look on her face

where she wanted to ask if I was alright..but wasn't exactly sure if it was appropriate. She made the right choice by not asking. It wouldn't have been

appropriate. As soon as I saw her standing outside waiting for me I could barely even stand yet alone walk to the park so she somehow convinced me to

go across the street to her apartment building where we could just talk in her room. It didn't take much convincing before I agreed. Her house is like

a second home to me. I spent alot of time in that apartment with her and her parents and was glad for the comfort and familiarity. I remember getting

to her room and sitting on her bed. I just sat there for about two minutes remaining completely silent before she finally decided she wanted to find

out what was up. "Ok homeslice, I think its time for you to start talking. What happened..you can tell me." "My parents are getting a divorce. My brother

is going to move in with my dad and my mom and I are moving somewhere else to get a smaller apartment. I don't know where yet. But the thought of me not

having a normal family anymore...and not living across the street from you..well lets just say it makes me sick to my stomach." Hikari looked at me and

tried to smile through the tears in her eyes. "Oh Takeru..I am so sorry. I didn't even know that your parents were even having problems..why didn't

you tell me?" "I never told you because I didn't know either. They hid it from Yama and me. They never had loud arguments and talked bad to eachother

or anything like that. They just sat us down at the kitchen table today and said that they are getting a divorce." "Oh Takeru..thats horrible!" And then

after that she just held me as I cried. I never wanted to seem like the weaker person in the relationship, but the truth is, is that she has always

been there for me. No matter what. The more I look back on it and think about it the more I realize that she has always been the stronger person. Whenever

something bad has ever happened to me I've always called her. Always looked to her for advice for my problems. And she has always been there for me.

Not once has she ever let me down. Hikari is the most amazing person that I have ever met. We have never argued or disagreed about anything ever.

And you know what Mr Akumi..one day, I plan on being there for Hikari the same way she has always been there for me. Thank you for choosing this as the

subject to write on. Looking back on all those memories has really opened my eyes to something. I am in love with Hikari, and one day, I plan on

making her my wife.

So...Tell me what you think? Should I do a Sequel with Hikari's report? Or should I just leave it up to you imaginations?

Please read and review! Thanks :)