Chapter 3: Family

Mamoru's gaze never left the doorway as he watched the woman turn and leave the store. His mind was reeling with some weird feeling that he just couldn't shake. He was so lost in thought over Saeko, that he hadn't noticed a very large, very rude lady complaining that he was blocking the doorway. Motoki grabbed his arm, apologized on behalf of his absent minded friend, and dragged him by the magazine rack. He chewed him out for a grand total of 3 seconds until his gaze shifted to the floor to a slip of paper that he had seen fall from Mamoru's hand. Motoki leaned over and picked it up and unfolded it. To his surprise, a number was written on it...underneath which read "Call me ^_~"

"What's that?" Mamoru shifted his attention to Motoki

"N-N-Nothing. Must've been your receipt" Motoki was tempted to throw out the woman's number on the sole basis that...well...she was evil.

"Give me that!" Mamoru snatched the paper away from Motoki.

"Just toss it. That woman is evil. You don't need her number!"

"Hey! A woman finds me attractive and wants a hook up. You are always harking on my issues with women! You should be happy that this could be a potential find" Mamoru stuck out his tongue and added the number to his cell.

"But...with THAT...ugh...WITCH!"

"Just because YOU don't like someone doesn't mean that I can't either. Besides, she seemed very...interesting."

"So, you're going to call her?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Whatever. Just be careful. She seems nasty"

"Not to ME she doesn't! Maybe she has a sexy man fetish and she's only nice to the cute ones?"

"Oh? And I'm not?"

Mamoru raised an eyebrow "When was the last time you got any?"

"Shut up!!" Motoki huffed "What does THAT have to do with me being sexy?"

"Maybe that there WAS an alternate reason Rieka left for Africa" Mamoru nudged Motoki in the arm with his elbow " I mean, come on...those African tribal-"

"SHUT up! We're leaving!" Motoki grabbed Mamoru by the collar and dragged him out of the store.

They walked around the corner to the burger joint Motoki had requested instead of the Crown Cafe, only to find it had been closed for repairs. The front window was covered in tarp and the door looked bashed in. After seeing the green slime covering the broke windows, it was apparent another attack had commenced. Someone who appeared to be the owner stepped out and apologized for the mess. He explained to the two how his eatery had been attacked the day before by what he could only describe as the gayest rainbow beast ever. Motoki chuckled. He was lucky that the 3 soldiers came to the rescue but it still doesn't stop his store from getting fired, electrocuted, and shot through with weird orange beams. The two men walked away as the man waved them good bye. Motoki sighed, knowing it was the Crown Cafe again. He knew his waitress of a sister was working there today and due to PMS, she was already being a super bitch. They had done nothing but argue for the past 2 days and it always seemed to be HER who started it. He swallowed his pride and walked along side Mamoru, who was as happy as can be that he was going to his favorite joint.

Moktoki continued to sulk as the two walked down the streets toward the crown cafe, disappointed over the burger place and that his manhood having taken a large stab into the gut. It was a slight irritancy for Motoki, as it would be for any man who had been deprived of certain needs for so long. Even Mamoru had managed to sneak some in, though never to the full extent of passion as to be expected when you are in love with someone. It was always mediocre at best, and he could never get into it. No matter what woman, how many woman, where it was at...it was never right. Shortly thereafter, the so called significant other would break things off saying "It's me, not you" but Mamoru knew the truth, and quite frankly, he didn't care anymore. It made Motoki jealous. The fact that, even though the love making was never any good, at least he was getting some and Motoki was not.

The rest of the walk to the Crown cafe was silent. Motoki was to busy sulking over his manhood while Mamoru was to busy trying to read and walk at the same time. The silence would be broken with an occasional growl of a stomach, other than that, nothing was said. The smell of fresh baked goods filled the air, causing Mamoru to stop in his tracks, slam his book shut. He stood there several seconds as his nostrils filled with the glorious scent of baked cakes and cookies. Across the street was a local Floral and pastry Shoppe, which as of recent, started attracting lots of customers. It had gained near gossip status when the owners of the Shoppe recently passed away in an airplane accident, leaving the store's sole ownership to their young 14 year old daughter. It was said that despite her age and the gossip rumors to slander her name, "Cooking Kino" as she was known, was said to have the best baked goods in town.

Before Motoki could even utter a word, Mamoru had darted light speed across the street and was already in line with his money out. He waited patiently until it was his turn at the register, to which he then proceeded to order a hefty sized bag of cookies. The young girl at the register flashed him a smile as she greeted him, making a joking comment to his large order of cookies. Mamoru pointed across the street to his friend, stating that if he felt like it…he would share. The girl looked over his shoulder to the man waving across the street to get Mamoru's attention.

"He looks like my old Sempai" she muttered silently, a dazed look in her eyes

"Excuse me?"

"N-n-nothing! Umm, your total will be 875 yen please!"

Mamoru dug through his hand at the appropriate amount of yen coinage to hand the cashier. He proceeded to place the change in her hand, but the moment their fingers touched, a flash of a memory flooded his eyes and his mind. He could hear a young girl's laughter. He paused a moment, and then stared intently at the cashier. It caught the cashier off guard as she spilled a few coins on the counter.

"Do...I know you? You seem familiar"

"I don't believe so, Sir. I get mistaken for celebrities all the time" She joked, a nervous laugh hiding behind her smile as she gathered the fallen coins.

The transaction was completed and Mamoru stepped to the side to wait patiently for his order to be filled. The girl's laughter plagued in his mind but the moment his cookies came to the counter, he had forgotten all about it. He opened the bag to let the wonderful aroma of fresh baked cookies fill his nose. With out any hesitation, he plopped one of the cookies in his mouth and ran joyfully across the street back to Motoki.

"Give me one!"

"Mmm-mmmm-m-mmmm-mmm-mm-mmmmmmm-mm"

"Oh, Sorry, I don't speak 'mouth full'. Take that damned cookie out of your mouth."

Mamoru took a large bite and finished it, nearly choking. "No! These are MY cookies, paid with MY money! Get your own!"

"You've got, like...a gajillion cookies.. LARGE cookies you fat glutton! Would it kill you to give me just ONE!"

Mamoru sighed and dug out the smallest macaroon cookie he could find and handed it to his friend. They continued to walk to the cafe, this time the mood filled with poking and prodding at Mamoru's undying need to eat. In one way or another, he was always hungry, or ready to eat. He would always choose sweets over anything else, and usually the largest quantity he could buy. Motoki was always in awe at the fact that no matter how much food he shoved down his throat, Mamoru could always find room for more. There may be things in his life Mamoru lost interest in, or stopped caring about but food didn't seem to be one of them. He shoved another cookie in his mouth and chewed as happy as can be. Motoki was about to warn his "fat" friend about losing his appetite for lunch, but stopped in mid thought. It was silly to even think such a thing, and he sighed as he let his friend shovel more cookies down his throat.

By the time the two had reached the cafe, the entire bag of cookies had been near devoured. Mamoru had eaten majority of the bag, only allowing Motoki to have a few. They walked up the steps to the cafe and upon opening the door, were greeted with a big hello from Motoki's little sister.

"Motoki!" She waved "I told you not to bother me at work anymore!" she laughed

"Oh Hush up Unazuki! I am proud that my little sister makes wages and is kind enough to share her gracious tips with her handsome older brother"

"You wish! Any other reason aside from eating that brings you to this fine establishment?"

"He's with me, and we're hungry...well...sort of" Motoki pointed to Mamoru, who was stuffing his face with the last cookie.

"Oh! You brought your fat friend!"

"I AM NOT FAT!" Mamoru yelled, causing him to start choking on his cookie.

Unazuki poked at his soft belly. "One too many cookies!" She sang as she grabbed two menus and walked them to their usual corner booth. They both ordered their usual drinks of Cream Soda and iced tea, before plopping their books on the table. Motoki had pulled out a small Math book and a spiral notebook that he had been carrying in his bag while Mamoru spread out the several manga he had bought. Motoki chastised him that midterms were fast approaching and if he wished to save face, he should study instead of wasting his time with silly books.

"I, on the other hand, am the model student! As you can see, I brought my books with me so that I may study! I didn't understand a certain chapter in math, so I am reviewing the material."

"As soon as I finish this book I'll study!" Mamoru flipped back to the page he had left off at before getting cookies.

"So you say. But I know how you've changed. You'll SAY you are going to study, you'll hit the books for 10 minutes. Soon after you'll fall asleep and nap. Or Go to the fridge for a snack and TV. You NEED to start being more serious about your studies!"

"Nag, nag, nag! What are you, my dead mother coming back to haunt me from the grave?!" Mamoru flipped a page

"Well, if she WAS alive, she'd be telling you the same things! Hey! You aren't even paying attention to me!" Motoki sighed and gave up on trying to lecture his friend.

He opened his text book to begin some studying before his sister returned to take their order. They ended up with the usual again, Mamoru ordering a large bowl of ramen and a double cheese burger and shake, and Motoki ordered his usual BLT on wheat with a bowl of soup. Everything in moderation was the thing for him now a days and he would cringe at the filth Mamoru would ingest on a daily basis.

Motoki tried to create small talk while they waited for their food, but he just couldn't seem to draw Mamoru away from his book. His eyes gazed at each page intently, reading at a pace that seemed to defy a brains capacity to read. It was almost as if he didn't have to read, everything about that manga just absorbed into his brain page by page. Motoki even asked if Mamoru was even reading the words or just looking at the pictures but was shushed away. Each page seemed to warrant a different expression on his face.

Mamoru had just reached the page where the heroine was going to sacrifice everything she had just to save those precious to her when a chill went down his spine and it brought sadness to his heart. Distant memories were flooding into his brain and the feeling if loss hit him hard, making him want to cry out. The main character was torn between her losses but realized that in order to save everything; she first had to lose everything. Somehow this rang all too familiar with Mamoru and it made his heart so heavy he couldn't take it. He slammed the book closed and placed his hands on his head and breathed sporadically. He tried so hard to hide the tears that were welling up behind his eyelids, so much so it started to burn. His only ruse now was to pretend to yawn, rub his eyes methodically as to fool Motoki. Thankfully Motoko was too much into his book to notice Mamoru wiping away his eyes. The food came which darted Motoki out of his studious trance, at which point he noticed his friend and his troubled aura. He looked at Mamoru in a perplexed manner but sighed in defeat when Mamoru's disposition changed the moment his burger hit the table.

"Finally! I am STARVING! Unazuki is the slowest waitress ever and her service is deplorable. I doubt I'll be tipping today!"

"You're just a cheapskate and you WILL be tipping. Tipping, or else I hold your milkshake hostage." Unazuki said nonchalantly as she placed his ramen on the table.

"Don't mind him, sis. He's just hungry"

"I expect a hefty tip from you. You haven't forgotten that dirt I have on you, do you?" Unazuki arched an eyebrow.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Motoki waved a 10,000 yen bill and Unazuki smiled and walked away.

"Just like Cheiko." Mamoru said, stuffing his face with fries.

"Hmmm?"

"Cheiko ALWAYS has dirt on me...well...we always have dirt on each other. We always knew that the dirt we had could put the other in terrible trouble with mom or dad. It was a weird love hate relationship. I guess, it was really just the two of us vying for our parents love. It was a competition so if we could get one parent mad at one of their children, it meant more love for the non offender. I guess our parents passing made us both realize that what we are doing is childish and it has to stop. Our parents loved us both equally. Speaking OF, I should probably head over to my aunt and uncles place to visit her. I would like to drop off the book. She can't buy it now seeing as she got the punishment for defying my uncle's word. I haven't seen her in a while anyway. Do you mind if we part ways after eating? I doubt you want to drive in a car with me for half an hour."

"I needed to go to the campus anyway to talk to my professor about math. I doubt you wanted to go to school with me anyway. You'd just get bored." Motoki laughed as Mamoru sloppily slurped up some ramen, splattering soup and green onions everywhere. "This is not like you either! I think that heat stroke did something to your table manners too. You are eating like an animal!!' Motoki handed him a napkin

"It's just a sign that I enjoy the food that I eat, and this is good food" Mamoru crossed his arms

The rest of the meal went with out much saying as Mamoru again turned his attention to finishing the rest of the chapter that had him so emotionally turned. Motoki resumed his math studies and occasionally the silence would be broken when Mamoru would laugh hysterically at a new panel or gasp in surprise. He would laugh so hard he would start to choke only causing Motoki to chastise him to eat more mannerly. While Motoki was still dabbling in his soup and sandwich, Mamoru had finished the entirety of his meal. He sat there, groaning with each burp, as he complained about the ache in his stomach. Motoki paid him no heed and continued to study. Realizing he was getting no attention, he called over Unazuki to come take his plates. She sighed at the deplorable nature the food had left his shirt. Ketchup and ramen bits seemed to be the fashion statement for him as Unazuki chucked a towel at his face.

"I hope you don't go on dates with women covered like that. Us lady folk don't really care to see that."

"Dates? What dates?" Motoki laughed.

"You never know. Ms. Right could be right around the corner, Hell...she could be in his bathroom right now stalking him. "

Really!!" Mamoru chimed with excitement as he wiped his face

Both siblings sighed. Unazuki refilled both their drinks and walked off until Motoki had finished.

He had only eaten half his sandwich, though finishing his soup. Mamoru kept eyeing his sandwich relentlessly until Motoki gave up and passed the plate over.

"I thought you had a stomach ache?"

"That was 5 minutes ago" Mamoru said with a face full of lettuce.

Motoki sighed as he let his gluttonous friend devour the last of the sandwich. Unazuki had walked over to the table and caught the trail end of his face stuffing and sighed as well. Motoki informed his sister that they were done with their meal and were ready for the bill. She smiled as she handed them their check and made sure to remind each of them about the hefty tip she felt she deserved for serving such "ingrates". A small sibling argument ensued over tipping until defeat was brought up when Mamoru slammed a 10,000 yen bill on the table. Mamoru commented on the disgusting nature of their argument and how the two of them should cherish their moments together, relating everything back to Cheiko and himself.

"Oh shut it!" Unazuki snatched the 10,000 yen from the table, the lunch bill from Motoki and Mamoru, and then grabbed Motoki's wallet on the table and fished out another 10,000 yen before storming away.

"OH! REAL MATURE SIS! YOU CAN NEVER ACCEPT OTHERS ADVICE CAN YOU! YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE FSKING RIGHT! GOD FORBID SOMEONE ELSE IS RIGHT FOR A CHANGE!" Motoki shouted angrily from the table. Mamoru was about to open his mouth when Motoki silenced him by getting up from his seat. It was apparent that Motoki was too angry over such a trivial matter and speaking to him would only result in more shouting. Mamoru and Motoki said their goodbyes as politely as possible. They headed off in opposite directions. Mamoru sighed in relief when he got away from all that tension, and opened his book back to where he left off and continued to finish his book on his walk back home.

Oddly enough, he managed to walk all the way back to his apartment with out bumping into anything. People would stare oddly when they noticed a grown man reading such a girlish book, but shrugged it off when they noticed he wasn't paying attention. Each page filled him with a new emotion, even a sense of nostalgia. Something made him feel like he had seen it before, that he had been a part of it all but he knew that had to be just a fluke in his feelings. After all, this was just fiction and nothing more. He closed the book when he finished it and he was left with this weird feeling he couldn't explain. His heart was beating fast, a sense of euphoria going from head to toe.

Moments like this, he truly enjoyed. Happiness washed over him like a flood and everything just felt right. His entire existence felt off kilter. It was like those baby toys where you fit the square block into the square hole, the round block in the round hole, and instead...someone was trying to put the square block into the round hole. When moments like this came over him...it was like everything was falling into place and the blocks were going in their respective slots. He knew it would only be temporary when what ever nagging memory would leave his brain but he didn't care. He felt happy, even from reading a book, and that was all that mattered.

Things seemed all fine and dandy until he turned the corner to his apartment and noticed two couples kissing at a doorstep. He let out a depressed sigh and dragged his sorry little ass back to his building. Was fun while it lasted, he thought, reflecting to the emotions he felt when he finished the manga. It was that laughter again. It rang into his head as he walked by another couple holding hands. He moaned in frustration and kicked a mound of dirt, not caring that he had kicked the dirt into the eyes of a small child. The child cried, but he continued to sulk onward. As he entered his building, he debated returning to his apartment for a bite to eat, but declined. He knew if he entered that black hole, his mood would sour and he'd go back into a depressive funk. Aside from the "lovers" frustration he was feeling, he felt pretty good and he didn't want to spoil his good mood. He wanted to surprise his sister, as he was sure she could use it. He went past the elevators and headed to the parking garage toward his car.

It was sporty, it would attract babes, and it was a gift from his parents when he got his license. In the days of automatic, his friends were surprised that he still drove a stick shift. He loved it. It made him feel exuberant. Being alone out side of his apartment was a great relief for him, and it left him to his thoughts. He had no book to distract him, he never ate while he drove and the music playing in the stereo would wash away all his troubles. He inserted the key into the ignition, put in his favorite CD. A sense of calmness surrounded him as he shifted into drive. With his engine revved up, he said sayonara to his troubles and off he went.

~*~End chapter~*~

To those who keep track of this story: You will notice that Chapter 3 ends here and you may ask yourself…Where is the rest? Chapter 3 was 16 pages long while every other chapter was 6-8 pages. I always felt that chapter 3 was too long.