The small figure named Kon floated up towards me and then spoke to me in a small yet raspy voice, "Guardian Characters."
I stared at him, "Guardian Characters? What are they?"
"Guardian Characters are creatures born of your heart," Kon replied, his voice sounded scratchy, "We are who you would like to be."
I looked at his army getup, "So Ryo wants to be in the army?"
Kon nodded, small tufts of dark brown hair stuck out from under his bucket hat. Ryo rubbed the back of his neck, obviously embarrassed. I let a small smile shine through, "Well, on the plane trip here these two were born," I murmured pulling out the two eggs.
Kon floated up to it and pressed his small ear to the smooth surface of the checkered egg. He looked up, his dark eyes glittering like water in a deep well, "This one's about to hatch soon!"
I looked at Kon, "Soon? How soon?"
"Five days minimum, eight days maximum," he muttered, scratching his chin.
Akane returned downstairs, "Who're you guys talking to?" she asked looking at the space between me and Ryo. I clearly saw the floating creature, but why didn't Akane? Oh right, Ryo said something about only bearers can see them. I stammered, "Uh-um…"
"That's right Ikuto. My suspension ends in five to eight days. Which is good, since Spring Break ends at around that time," Ryo said. I saw that he had pulled his cell phone out and pressed it to his ear. He was talking to someone named Ikuto. Ryo looked up, looking through the screen of his dark hair, "Oh hi Akane, sorry, was I talking too loud?"
Akane waved dismissively, "Oh it's alright. And don't let that suspension happen again, alright?"
I stared at Ryo and noticed a scratch on his cheek and one above his eyebrow. They looked like they were only a few days old. He looked at me and cocked his head to the side, "What are you staring at?"
I flinched as I came back from my dream world, "Oh sorry! Um, why were you suspended?"
He rolled his eyes, brushing his hair from his eyes with his fingers, "Started a fight," he lowered his voice so that only I could hear him, "I Character Changed with Kon and got in a fight with the tough guys in school," he groaned and then let his voice rise again to a normal tone, "They were picking on some freshmen. They think that they can do whatever they want just 'cause they're seniors."
"What year are you?" I asked.
"I'm a junior."
Akane started putting the food on the table, "Caramelia, you're a freshmen right?"
I guess she liked calling me by my full name better, "Um, yeah, I am."
We sat down at the table and ate for an hour. Then we talked and told stories for the next half hour. The food was delicious. Hideki came home with some fish and crab and some vegetables while Akane cooked some rice. Our dinner was sushi, which was amazing. It wasn't the same type of sushi that I bought at the store, this was real sushi, from Japan! Afterwards, Akane made some food from her bakery for a small snack. Ryo was pretty quiet during the whole thing and we mostly talked about my life in America. My friends, my parents, what I learned in school. I was always ahead of everyone and Akane told me I'd fit right in at Seiyo High.
"I'm going to the bath," Ryo muttered under his breath as he stood up. The chair behind him squealed in protest. He stalked off to the bathroom and I finished up my last might of bread.
"Caramelia, you can bathe after Ryo. Do you know how to bathe in Japan?" Hideki asked.
I nodded. I wasn't stupid. I had read some instructions online. The bath was usually used to just relax and unwind before bed. I had to shower before entering the bath. It sounded a bit strange in the beginning, but it was alright to me. I nodded, "Alright, thank you Hideki-san."
"You can call me Hideki," he said stuffing some more bread into his mouth.
Akane started to pile the dirty plates. I extended my arm to take them from her so I could wash them for her, but she shook her head, "Oh Caramelia, don't worry about it. Go to your room and unpack. Ryo should be done in a half hour. If he doesn't come out, knock on the glass door."
A glass door? See through? I shook my head, shaking away the wrong thoughts in my head. Ryo must be rubbing off on me. I nodded, "Alright, I will," I said as I took two steps at a time to reach the door.
When the door swung open, I was greeted by light cream colored walls with light pink cherry blossoms drawn on. The brown branches stretched across the walls and ended by the windows. The pink blossoms feathered the walls. There wasn't a futon like I had expected. Then again, I expected a paper house. This house seems to be more of a westernized place. Instead, there was a king sized bed that matched the colors of the wall. Dark wood held up the soft yet firm mattress. Four comfortable pillows decorated the bed. There was a bookshelf empty except for a few empty notebooks and school textbooks and workbooks.
"Lia, I'm done."
I jumped up from the bed, startled, "Whaa?" I exclaimed. I looked up and saw Ryo, "What are you doing here?"
"It's my house as well Lia. I'm done with my bath. You can go now," he said laughing. He looked around, "Like it?"
I nodded, "It's beautiful!"
I swore I could have seen a bit of blush on his face, "I painted it."
"Yep, he sure did," rasped Kon. The small character was strutting on the dresser. Jumping up and hiding behind my items as if they were shields in war.
