A taxi was parked in front of a sizable home in the middle of nowhere in the Kansai District. On the long stairwell down from the front door, a young lady in a loose sun dress and open toed heels sat with a couple of large roller luggage decorated with dozens of stickers from travels and hobbies. In the muggy heat of the summer, she hugged her knees as she waited.
Her father, Dr. Mikamura, watched from the shade in the threshold of the door, not enjoying her somber mood. This was, after all, a time to be overwhelmingly happy. His pride and joy was off to university earlier in her life than many of her peers and was on the fast track to becoming someone great. But here she was, pouting as she waited, the hair in her ponytail beginning to frizz in the humid air.
"Rain… perhaps he got tied up with work…" Dr. Mikamura said as he began to make his way down the steps.
Without turning to him, Rain mumbled, "Kyoji keeps his promises, Father. I'm not leaving until I can say goodbye." While brilliant, she was still young and impulsive.
As Mikamura made his way to the second flight, the taxi driver called out to him, "Sir, the meter is at 2,500 yen already…"
"It's fine, thank you for your patience," he replied. The taxi driver raised an eyebrow, but rolled the window up once more. Mikamura slowly took a seat next to Rain who scooted slightly to make room for him. His back wasn't what it used to be. He took her hand and squeezed it gently.
"I know it's hard to leave for a new life sweetie. And I know it's hard to leave everything you know behind," he spoke from his own experience leaving for college around her age.
He began rubbing her hand with his thumb, as he always did to calm her down ever since the divorce, "But you're a young woman who has a responsibility to start out on the right foot. And that begins with making it to the spaceport on time."
Rain burrowed her face between her knees, "I-I know Father…" He felt her hand tremble. He knew full well how much Rain admired Kyoji growing up. While he knew it to be an innocent crush, he wasn't fond of the idea of her getting so attached to one of the Kasshu boys. But there was no harm he could see in it, and he most certainly understood young love. He took to rubbing her back and gently kissing the side of her forehead as she stubbornly stayed in place.
He whispered in her ear, "Come on Rain. You can't miss this flight…" Defeated, Rain slowly stood to her feet. Her makeup had been messed up from her crying and rubbing her face on her knees, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed on the way to the Osaka Colonial International Spaceport. As Mikamura grabbed one of the roller luggage by the handle and struggled to steady it, he heard rushed footsteps in the distance. Rain saw him before Mikamura did.
"Kyoji! You came!" she shouted as she bounded down the steps. From the direction of the considerably larger Kasshu household, a young man in an unbuttoned lab coat and messy black hair was in a full sprint. In his hand, a pink paper gift bag jostled helplessly with his movements. Rain ran as fast as she could in her heels to meet him in the middle. Mikamura watched as he continued to struggle down the stairs with the luggage. The taxi driver popped out of his car and walked up the stairs to help the much weaker Mikamura. Rain practically jumped into Kyoji's arms, which took him by surprise as he had to take a couple steps back.
As Rain buried her face into his chest, Mikamura heard her beginning to cry again, "I knew you would come! I knew it!" she sobbed. Kyoji, still out of breath and flushed held her in his arms. Mikamura frowned as the driver got first luggage in the trunk. A crush was one thing, but physical contact was pushing his buttons.
Once Kyoji caught his breath, he apologized, "I'm so sorry I'm late. Father and I were caught up in something…"
"It's fine… You made it and that's all that matters," Rain managed to say as she tried to wipe her face. They finally let go of each other.
"Still I should have been on time… Please don't cry," Kyoji frowned as he held her face and wiped stray tears from her cheeks.
"I'm just happy you're here, Kyoji…"
Mikamura was becoming increasingly annoyed as the driver loaded the last of the bags into the trunk. He stood cross armed, beginning to scowl as sweat dribbled from his forehead. He felt his gut burning as he watched the two of them. Whether it was indigestion or anger, he wasn't sure.
Kyoji presented the bag to Rain once she composed herself, "For good luck." He smiled warmly as she meekly took the bag and held it to her chest.
"Rain! You can't miss your flight!" Mikamura called out.
Rain tried to protest, but Kyoji stopped her, "Open it when you get settled in," He winked at her reassuringly, "Just promise you'll let me know what you think once you do, okay?" Rain nodded, trying to hide how wide she was smiling. Then, the two of them jogged back to the taxi and Rain's father. Once they reached the taxi, Mikamura hugged Rain once more.
"No more dawdling, okay?" Mikamura said as he held his daughter in his arms one last time.
Rain nodded, markedly happier, "Yes Father."
He stood on his toes and kissed her on the forehead, "Now… go do great things."
Dr. Mikamura and Kyoji watched as the taxi sped off around the bend into the hills. They stood together in the heat for an awkward moment before Mikamura broke the silence.
"You know, she would've been heartbroken if you never came," he muttered as grit his teeth.
Kyoji looked down toward him, somewhat ashamed, "I know, sir."
"And another thing," Mikamura looked up at him, his eyebrows furrowed deeply, "Learn common courtesy and how to conduct yourself as a gentleman."
"E-Excuse me?"
"You have the arrogance to assume that holding her like that was appropriate after showing up late. Especially in front of her father…"
"Doctor, I just hugged her…" Kyoji blinked, looking confused, "Is… Is everything okay?" Mikamura looked down at his toes to compose himself. Kyoji was still young. There shouldn't be too much of a reason to be upset with him. Besides, Rain was a young adult, capable of making her own decisions…
"Forget I said anything."
"No, if I offended you, I'm sorry."
"It's fine Kyoji-kun."
Kyoji rubbed the back of his neck nervously in the awkward silence that followed, save for the cicadas, "Well, I do need to get back. We still have a lot on our agenda today…"
Mikamura held his wrist and looked up at him, "What are you and your parents working on anyway…? Your father didn't submit a design for the 12th Gundam Fight, nor has he said anything in relation to the Defense Ministry. And his normal braggadocio hasn't shown itself in quite some time…"
Kyoji narrowed his eyes, "I can't say anything."
"And why's th-?"
"I can't say anything…" Kyoji repeated, "He'll tell you when he's ready, but I'm in no position to speak on his behalf. Now if you're done Doctor…," he glanced down at his wrist. Mikamura, somewhat surprised that he did that, sheepishly retrieved his hand. Kyoji turned, bowed, and took his leave as he jogged back to his home. Mikamura watched him as he faded into the muggy haze emanating from the asphalt. Before he could turn back to his house, he saw Kyoji turn around and wave.
"Doctor! I almost forgot! Father wants to invite you to tea soon!" Kyoji shouted, his voice ringing surprisingly clear over the cicadas' chirping. Mikamura only managed to wave in response and turned back to his door. He wasn't going to bother shouting back in this heat. He had an empty home to return to and mobile fighter designs to perfect. If Doctor Raizo Kasshu wanted to invite him, he sure as hell knew how to use a phone.
It was already past ten p.m. and Kyoji was finally done for the day. He dried himself off after a long soak in the tub as he meandered to his bedroom. As he rubbed one of his towels through his hair, he heard his cell phone vibrate.
"Where did I put it…," he never seemed to know where it was. He rarely used it save for his games. He was far too busy for a social life nowadays. Kyoji held on to his towel as he crouched by his nightstand to find his cell phone lying on the floor. He picked it up and unlocked it. There were two notifications; the first for one of his games. The second was a Neo American number had called and left a message about fifteen minutes ago. That had to be Rain. He unlocked his phone, opened his voice mail, and listened to the message.
"Kyoji! It's Rain. I just called to say thank you so much for the earrings! I absolutely love them! It was so kind of you to give me something like this. Thanks to you, I'll be the cutest freshman on campus! I'll message you when I get a new phone. Good night, and thank you again!" She sounded so energetic in spite of the long flight to the Neo American space colony. Kyoji only felt reassured hearing her in such high spirits. He knew that she'll do well, even if she was a little nervous right now.
As he was about to turn his phone off, he decided to look at the notification from his game. It was one his favorites, a calligraphy and word guessing game called 'Kanji Shuffle.' An oddity in the Future Century era, it was a game focused on learning increasingly obscure and difficult kanji characters in a time where simplification and slang were in vogue.
Kyoji opened the notification and found one of his favorite rivals was online, a man he simply knew as 'ushitaisaKMKR', though he simply referred to him as 'Ushi-san.' The two of them were matched up a few years ago before the game became popular. It seemed to be a perfect rivalry as the two of them quickly advanced to the upper echelons in the ranking boards and pushing each other to learn more. They began chatting outside the game and found out that they had a lot of common interests; gunpla and model building, engineering, classic literature, and much more. Though Ushi-san was about ten years older, Kyoji genuinely saw him as a peer and the closest thing to a friend he had at the moment; most of his Western college buddies now living their lives independently and were slowly drifting away from him.
It had been a couple of weeks since they spoke, so he sent a message.
kansainousagi: Ushi-san? Are you awake?
It took a moment for a reply to come.
ushitaisaKMKR: I am. Getting packed up for a trip. Sorry I haven't been around Usa-kun…
kansainousagi: It's fine! I know you're probably busy with work. But I hope you have been well. You didn't sound in the best of spirits the last time we spoke.
ushitaisaKMKR: I've been dealing with a lot of difficult circumstances. A lot of it work related. But I will be okay. I just have to get my mind focused. ╰(๑'ൠ '๑)╯
Ushi-san had a strange habit of using custom cow emoticons on occasion. According to him, he made them based on a childhood nickname. He was self-conscious about it at first, but Kyoji found it to be really charming. He just started using rabbit icons to make him feel comfortable about it.
kansainousagi: I understand. So where are you going? /(-・ × ・-)\
ushitaisaKMKR: I'm going to Earth to visit family. Breathe in fresh air. Swim in an actual ocean. Maybe pick some peaches.
kansainousagi: That sounds really relaxing! I haven't been to Earth in so long. I wish I could go with you. But I have a lot of work tying me to the Colony at the moment.
ushitaisaKMKR: Maybe I could take you with me one day. I could always use pleasant and intelligent company.
kansainousagi: You really mean it? /(,,Ő x Ő,,)\
ushitaisaKMKR: Eventually. But I would like to meet IRL before we make elaborate plans. How about we discuss it when I get back?
kansainousagi: Of course! And I won't keep you. I know you're busy. But I do have a surprise for you when you get the chance to talk.
ushitaisaKMKR: You're no bother. But I'll message you as soon I make it to Earth. You have a good night Usa-kun, and I look forward to your surprise! ୧╰(*゚ൠ゚*)╯୨
kansainousagi: And you sleep well Ushi-san.
Kyoji smiled to himself as he closed the app. While the conversation was short, it was certainly sweet. It was nice having a friend in the all encompassing life of being the eldest Kasshu brother, even if it was just online.
