Note:
"People that talk in italics are talking a different language in this story's case, Japanese!"
Hope you enjoy this chapter! And see you next week with another update!
-4-
A Heartache
Atsuki's neighborhood was one of the many located in Edogawa.
The houses were cramped together side by side, one floor, two, sometimes three floors. Old man Fukuyama's shop lay just a street away, and Satoshi Kagari's home was right next door, while the Takedas lived on the left. All the houses in this particular street were colored a pale white, coupled by brown and gray roofs, all except Fukuyama's store, who was bright and cheerful with that bright red neon sign on the top of his front door. Each house had its own front lawn, surrounded by brick fences, a path of rocks or tiles, leading towards a wooden door and out the street. The lawn in front of Atsuki's home was simple, neatly cut short, with a maple tree lying near the corner, clashing the white with its vibrant reds. Her old man had planted that tree years ago, when he and Mother had first moved into this house. Atsuki's mother was gone now, and only the tree remained.
Atsuki sometimes found herself staring at the old thing, wondering why it still remained while her mother had gone. She remembered feeling silly about it. Blaming a tree. Her father had done the same thing once, as old Fukuyama would say. He had threatened to cut down that infernal tree in a drunken stupor a year after her mother passed away. Atsuki had been two years old then. Her mother had already left the world then and her father was all she had.
It had been a painful time for all of them.
Atsuki couldn't help but let out a tired sigh, barely hearing Megumi as she closed the door behind her.
"Are you ready, darling?" Megumi asked her, linking her arms with Atsuki's, as they began to walk, slowly, down the path towards the street.
"...a little bit, yeah..." Atsuki answered, not even bothering with a smile. "I...I did see him yesterday." Megumi patted her arm gently.
"And you were miserable then, too." Atsuki let out a shaky breath as Megumi reached for the gate and opened it, the two girls finally stepping on the sidewalk.
"I...just...I hate it." Atsuki began, clenching her eyes shut. "I...it...those machines...all those memories...huh...I hate going there...I...just want him back home…" The young girl let out a shaky sigh as her friend massaged her back, trying to soothe her. But Atsuki wasn't going to cry. Not anymore. She didn't want to.
They began walking with Megumi guiding her friend, but not even two steps and Atsuki let out a small little whimper. "Akko-chan...it's going to be okay…" Megumi murmured, pulling her into a hug.
The two stayed still for a while, before Atsuki broke the hug, and smiled a sad smile towards her friend. "Thank you…" Megumi gave her a soft smile.
"No need for that, Akko-chan...that's what friends are for, after all. Now, let'sー"
"ONEE-CHAN!"
Atsuki and Megumi blinked in surprise at the sudden noise. Before they could look around, they heard that voice again.
"Onee-chan!"
The two girls turned and finally spotted the little boy. He was young, four or five years old, with short black hair and shirt and shoes that were both wrinked and messy with grass stains. One of his little shoes was untied, but he didn't seem to care as he ran up to the girls and jumped up and down excitedly.
"Onee-chan!" the little boy cried again as Atsuki smiled down at him. She kneeled in front of him so she could be face to face, the boy jumping into her arms, squeezing her into a hug. "You're home! You're home!"
"So I am...hello Go, how are you?"
"Booorrreeedddd!" Little Go replied, finally letting go of the older girl to pout. "You weren't around to play!"
"But how can you be bored, Go? Satoshi's been telling me you're switching our mail around. Again." Go let out a sheepish laugh, a hand behind his little head as Megumi crossed her arms over her chest and let out a huff.
"It's not like it makes much of a difference," the other girl pointed out. "You don't live in the middle of Shibuya. You live right next door to each other."
"What have I told you, Go?" Atsuki asked the youngster, ignoring her friend's remark. "No playing with the mail. The letters could be super important." Go kicked a bit of dirt, giving Atsuki a rather adorable guilty expression. Atsuki smiled at the display. "Tell you what, Go...if you promise not to play with my mail again, I'll take you to Fukuyama's shop and buy you some mochi...how's that sound?" Go's eyes brightened and he let out a small cheer as he began to jump up and down with joy, as Atsuki stood up, dusting her knee.
Megumi turned to her friend and frowned. "Really, darling? This kid already moves too much as it is. Adding more sugar to his system will probably make him explode."
"Nah. Go's too resilient to explode. He'll probably just fall asleep," Atsuki told her before turning to the cheering boy. "And what are you doing today, Go?"
"I'm running away!"
Silence.
Go was smiling, grinning from ear to ear. Atsuki blinked while Megumi stared at the boy. A few seconds later, the two girls reacted, Atsuki by raising an eyebrow and Megumi letting out a small worried gasp. "...he...he's what…!?" Megumi whispered, eyes wide, but Atsuki just let out a small laugh and turned toward her worried friend, pointing to a house right next door to the Kurosawa home.
"Megumi...he lives right there." And as if to prove her point, an older woman was seen getting out of her home, carrying a basket in one hand and a small little handkerchief in the other in the shape of a small box. Closing the door behind her, the woman noticed the girls almost immediately, nodding at them before turning towards little Go.
"Go! You forgot your lunch!" Go let out a small whine and began stomping his little feet in annoyance.
"Mooommmmyyyyy!" he yelled. "I'm running away!"
"I know you are, Go," his mother remarked gently with a grin, "but I don't want you going hungry." She smiled at the girls. "Hello!"
"Hello, Takeda-san," Atsuki replied, bowing slightly as Megumi watched little Go rush towards his mother to grab his lunch; she let out a small groan and under her breath whispered, "...that little brat…" while Atsuki grinned her way.
Once Go had obtained his lunch, the boy quickly turned towards Atsuki and began walking, his mother following close behind.
While Megumi was grumbling behind her, Atsuki sent Takeda-san another smile, which the woman returned. "How are you doing, Akko-chan?" the older woman asked. Atsuki responded first with a shrug before sighing.
"Better."
"I'm guessing you're off to visit your father, eh?" Atsuki gave the older woman a small nod.
"Yes, Takeda-san…"
"Ah," Takeda-san nodded. "Hopefully it's good news this time and that doctor of his let's him go today...I hate to see you all alone in that house...especially after what happened…"
Atsuki smiled sadly. "It's alright, Takeda-san...Megumi and Satoshi are staying with me until this all boils over…"
"Oh! Oh! I wanna stay, too!" Go suddenly cried, grabbing unto Atsuki's shorts with his free hand while he waved his little lunch box with the other. "I wanna sleep over at your house, Onee-chan!"
Atsuki laughed. "But I thought you said you were running away?"
"I'll run away to your house!"
Takeda-san sent her son a knowing smile and shook her head. "Didn't you say you were running away to the park?" she asked him. Go turned towards her with a pout.
"I'll do it later!"
"But no one's going to be at home now, Go," Atsuki told him, glancing behind her.
Satoshi and the little witches went the other direction, heading towards the way that led to the nearby local shrine. Satoshi noticed them first, quickly waving at Atsuki and Megumi before leading the group away, the blonde girl and ginger taking glances once or twice as they did so.
"Oh! You had visitors?" Takeda-san asked as she watched the girls and Satoshi leave. "Are...are those girls in uniform?" Megumi and Atsuki exchanged glances, before the former smiled nervously.
"Ah! Yes! Sharp eyes on you, Takeda-san!" Megumi exclaimed, while Atsuki gave her a disbelieving look as the older woman blinked in confusion. Before Megumi could dig herself deeper, Atsuki quickly came to the rescue.
"The girls are helping me, actually…" she lied.
"Yes! Yes! Uh...they...they are from a very special school! They specialize in theater and many other...uh...things...they really weren't very specific…" Atsuki sent another look Megumi's way as Takeda-san nodded in understanding.
"Oh! I see! Well, hopefully these girls will actually be trustworthy...unlike that other nasty bunch."
"They're fine." Atsuki told her, smiling sadly. "They offered to help us...on a few things here and there. Satoshi went with them to get a few supplies."
"Yes! Yes! Supplies! For the show! Yeah!"
Takeda-san gave Megumi an amused look before nodding towards Atsuki. "I can see the whole thing has you girls jumping all over the place. But, ah, look at the time, I don't want to keep you any longer, girls," the older woman patted her son's head, "Come on, Go, let's get going...we'll be seeing Akko-chan and Megumi-chan later, alright?" The little boy shook his head.
"Can't I go with you?" Go asked, his little eyes shining with hope that was immediately shattered when Atsuki shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Go...I won't be going to a fun place." Atsuki lowered herself down to his level and gave him a hug. "Why don't you...run away to the park and tell me all about it when you get back?" The little boy hugged her back, saddened, but eventually both pulled away and he nodded.
"Okay."
"That's a good boy," Takeda-san commented, smiling. "Come along Go or else our lunch will get cold."
"No! Not our lunch!" Taking his mother's hand, Go and Takeda-san began walking away, the little boy turning around as Atsuki stood up again, waving his little hand animatedly. "Bye onee-chan! Bye onee-chan's friend!" Atsuki giggled, noticing the look of annoyance on Megumi's face. The girls waved back, watching as mother and son left the two girls behind.
"...why am I just the friend of this equation, anyway?" Megumi inquired, once Go and his mother were out of earshot.
Atsuki shrugged and offered her friend a playful smile. "You know I don't swing that way."
"Well, I'll have you know I have more fun on my side of the playground than you could ever have on Kagari's."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
It took the girls twenty minutes to reach the hospital.
It then took another twenty minutes to get Atsuki inside, as the poor girl had, like every other time she had come to visit, began to walk to and fro in front of the hospital doors, unsure of whether to walk in or just go the other way. Usually, Satoshi or Megumi would gently push the poor girl inside, all the while the receptionist sent her a knowing look.
This time, it was no different.
After getting Atsuki inside, Megumi quickly went to the front desk, while Atsuki, nervous and sweating, began to wring her hands. By the time Megumi had finished talking with the receptionist, Atsuki looked like she was about to cry.
"...I...I can't do this…"
"You always say that, Atsuki…" Megumi began gently. "He's fine. He was fine yesterday, he'll be fine today." Megumi began to drag her, walking slowly towards the hallways and into the elevator.
Megumi was still holding her hand when they arrived in front of room #2013.
Atsuki let out a shaky sigh.
Every time. Every time she was here, she got nervous, she panicked. She remembered the past. She remembered her father, lying on the bed, machines and tubes keeping him alive, and his heart...his poor, fragile heart, barely beating, barely living.
Megumi squeezed her shoulders gently, and began to push her, slowly, towards the door. "You can do this...you can do this...alright?" Atsuki nodded, clenching her eyes shut, then quickly opening them, a determined look in her face.
Just don't think of the machines….just don't think of the past...just don't…
And Atsuki, gently, oh, so gently, opened the door and walked in, slowly, Megumi standing back, and nodding as the door was closed with her on the other side.
"Akko-chan!" came the exuberant cry of an older man, who lay on the bed, smiling brightly. Atsuki gave the old man a shaky smile, trying to ignore the wires and the slight beeping of the monitors near the bed.
Kurosawa Yuujin was looking alright, for someone that had had a heart attack a week ago.
The first attack came to him almost a year ago, a small hint of pain in the chest that went away on its own. Days later, the same thing, a little pain, nothing to worry about. Then, five months ago, while he was out drinking with the boys, his heart finally burst with agony and he had collapsed. He had not seeing Atsuki's suffering during the two days he was out for the count, and the month he spent in the hospital.
Back then, Yuujin had only been one year at his job as a police chief in the Komatsugawa Police Station. The heart attack and his doctor's diagnosis forced him to quit the job, retiring before problems were fixed as the doctor figured the unnecessary stress could cause his heart more trouble than it could handle.
But his recovery wasn't an easy one. He couldn't exercise like he used to, couldn't eat the foods that he enjoyed. His muscular body became thinner and thinner as the days passed by; the muscles were all but gone, his arms and his legs looked too thin on him, and event that small belly he had acquired during his one year tenure as a police chief was long gone.
And while Yuujin's appearance had changed, his attitude was still the same. Sure, he was sick, but he didn't care. He was still her father. Still easygoing and friendly, still bright and gentle, still...still alive.
Atsuki shook her head, and began walking towards the bed nervously. "Hi, Papa…" she whispered. Atsuki hated to see her father like this. So thin, so different...so sick. Atsuki gently shook her head as she gave her father a hug, being careful with the equipment around him, with her father holding her close.
They stayed like that for a while, before Yuujin finally asked. "How are you doing, kiddo? Handling the fort okay while I'm gone?" he asked, getting a nod from Atsuki.
"It's alright...Satoshi and Megumi keep me company.."
"I prefer if only Sasaki-kun kept you company, though!" Yuujin told her, finally letting go of his daughter, watching as Atsuki settled herself on a chair by his bedside.
"Satoshi's fine, papa," Atsuki told him.
"Not for me, he isn't," the older man told her, crossing his arms over his chest, "What's he going to do to defend you if someone breaks into the house, eh? Throw shoes at 'em?" For the first time since she arrived, Atsuki laughed.
"You know he would."
"Only if Sasaki-kun doesn't throw him first," Yuujin replied with a grin. "I would like to see that."
"Please, Megumi doesn't need your encouragement….she's right outside the door."
"Good!" Yuujin said, before shouting, "Hey! Sasaki-kun! You have my utmost permission to use Kagari as a human shield!" From behind the door, Megumi's voice answered back.
"I would do my best, sir!"
"Megumi! Papa!"
"What?" came Yuujin's innocent remark, while Atsuki sent a warning look his way. "Okay, fine...Sasaki-kun!" he yelled at the door. "Permission...uh, retracted."
"It's alright, sir, I would have done it either way."
"You two are just the worst to Satoshi…" Atsuki said with a pout, making her old man laugh. "He's sweet...I don't get why you don't like him, papa."
"He's a boy! Of course I don't like him! He makes eyes at you and that makes this old head of mine think!"
Atsuki sighed. "You are so mean, papa..."
"Only because I love you," Yuujin answered, smiling. Atsuki smiled back. "Anyway...how's the show going?"
Ah. The show. Right.
Atsuki hated to talk about that everytime she came to visit.
Everything was wrong; those backup dancers her agent had found had left them in the dust for a better deal without warning, the stage had been vandalized for days, over and over and over again, and finally, to cap it all off, someone ha broken into their home three days ago and stole her rhyme book, all that work writing those songs gone in the blink of an eye.
Yuujin knew about the break-in. He had been told by one of his old friends from the old days about it all figuring that Atsuki wouldn't want to worry him (he was right) and so, the poor man had been almost frantic with worry, and would have marched himself out of the hospital if Megumi and Satoshi had not offered to stay with his daughter until he came back. Their neighbors, too, had offered to help, and Atsuki and her father had greatly appreciated it all.
Atsuki could handle her father knowing about the break-in, but she couldn't handle telling him about the show and how bad everything was going.
The concert would probably be cancelled if something wasn't done soon, and Atsuki was fine with that. But if Yuujin found out, he'll be livid. He'll make inquiries and he'll try to solve the case but Atsuki didn't want him to. She didn't care enough if the concert was cancelled or not, she just wanted to be done with it all and if she could spare her father the anger, it would be worth it.
So, for now, she'll just lie and live with that decision in the future.
"...it's moving along...we had some troubles...but I think we got it all settled." Atsuki told him gently. "...making it perfect...well...it's been quite a hassle…it's my last show after all." Yuujin sent her a sad look.
"...I hate the fact that it is…"
Atsuki shook her head, smiling. "That was my decision."
"...that you made because of your old man, kiddo," Yuujin pointed out. "I don't like the fact that it's me that's making you quit." Atsuki grabbed his hand with both of hers, squeezing it gently.
"It's fine, papa...I...I made my decision...this is my last show."
"...Atsuki...it doesn't have to be…"
"I want it to," Atsuki replied, undeterred. "I won't stop singing...just...not in a stage...not in front of fans...not anymore after this last show."
"But...being a singer had been your dream since you were a little girl, Akko-chan," her father said, sadly. "You love to sing."
And the tears that Atsuki was holding in, came bursting forth, one by one by one. She still held onto her father's hand, even as she smiled and the tears tainted her cheeks with anguish.
"I do love singing...but...I love you more, papa…"
And Yuujin held her, hiding her face on his shoulder as she cried, Atsuki holding unto him, not letting go.
There were no more words, only tears to wash away the pain.
