About a Year Later
His cousin was changing.
There was a time when Eimi would raise her hand for every question a teacher asked. There was a time when her chirping, birdlike voice directed and shaped conversations with ease. There was a time when she never questioned herself and behaved however came naturally. Taichi watched her accept the soccer ball from one of their teammates and immediately pass it on to him, and he knew that time had passed.
Eimi, Koushiro, Sora, and himself were all in the Odaiba Elementary soccer club. They were doing very well this year, and, as the captain, he couldn't have been more fiercely proud. There was just one problem: Eimi's parents rarely came to practices or games, because Junichi's were often scheduled at the same time.
Fueled by his temper, Taichi kicked the ball with thunderous force. The opposing goalie hardly had time to blink before it hit the net. He smiled when he heard Hikari blowing her whistle from the crowd, which was her form of cheering. The other spectators didn't really like it, but he did. Taichi glanced at the score board, and was shocked to see that the game was pretty much over. He often lost track of time when soccer was involved.
Soon, the game ended in a victory for Odaiba, and Koushiro's mother was passing around orange slices. Taichi shoved one in his mouth so that the peel looked like teeth, then chased Sora around, making her laugh and flap her hands at him.
"Cut it out, Taichi-kun!" She stuck her tongue out and reached for the plate of oranges. Taichi spat the peel out and laughed.
"That was a great shot, Taichi." Taichi twitched with surprise and turned around. He hadn't even heard Eimi step up behind him. This quietness, this ability to sneak up on people and go unnoticed, was also a new trait for her. Taichi had asked Koushiro about it, and he had looked away and muttered "Self-defense mechanism." Taichi tried to ask for an explanation, but Koushiro didn't seem to hear him.
Taichi grinned and playfully punched her arm. "Couldn't have done it without your help. Great pass." She shrugged and stared into the sidelines. Taichi wondered what she was looking for. Did she think her mom would magically appear at the end of the game?
Frowing, Taichi tried to think of a way to distract her. He decided to talk about Koushiro, because it usually got her full attention. "Koushiro-kun was awesome in goal today, huh?" To his surprise, she slammed her hands on her hips and stuck her lower lip out.
"Can you believe Masa-kun was on the other team? He always used to bully Kou-chan at our old school. He was aiming for Kou-chan, not the goal."
"Do you think?" Taichi asked, trying to hide his skepticism. "I thought he just sucked." Eimi cocked her head to the side and snickered.
"Well, he didn't get hurt, so I'll try not to worry about it."
"'Atta girl. What are you doing this afternoon?" Taichi turned around long enough to shove a few more orange slices into his mouth. He was always famished after playing.
Eimi flicked her long, braided hair over her shoulder, then grabbed the braid again and picked at the loose hairs at the end. That wasn't a good sign. "I don't have any plans." Her voice dropped in volume, and Taichi had to lean closer to catch what she was saying. "I don't know when people are coming home."
Taichi willed himself to keep his voice bright and easy. "Great! Okay, so, you're coming back home with me today. My parents asked me to take Hikari to the zoo. It would be a lot easier if you came, you know how she wanders off sometimes."
"The zoo?" she asked, brightening. Eimi and Hikari both loved animals, and he really would have an easier time handling his sister with his cousin around. "Let me just tell Kou-chan that I don't need to go home with his family."
He watched her bounce over to Koushiro. The little redhead nodded, then looked past Eimi and met his eyes, smiling. In some ways, Taichi and Koushiro were partners, working together to promote Eimi's happiness. They were beginning to become friends, especially since Koushiro joined the soccer club. Taichi liked him well enough, but he had yet to find a reason for Eimi's extreme attachment, other than Koushiro's devotion to her. Maybe the little guy would grow on him. Either way, he'd take all the help he could get.
One Year Later
Koushiro knocked on Eimi's bedroom door, waiting for her acknowledgment before entering. As usual, she was sitting on her bed (she did everything there, as it was the only place to sit in the room). An English copy of Jane Eyre was open on her lap.
"Oh, you're reading that book again," he said, coming closer. "Is the English version different than the Japanese?"
"Yes. The translation is good, of course, but the original English just...sings." She sighed happily and closed the book, running her fingers affectionately down the cover. "When I grow up, I hope I can write something half as wonderful."
Koushiro felt his brow raise up. "I thought you wanted to be a singer."
"I can do both," she said imperiously. "I'll go on tour and write in the bus. There can be a lot of travel involved when you're an international sensation."
"Naturally," he said, smiling. "I'll miss you terribly when you're an international sensation." Koushiro tried not to think about the time when their lives would lead them to their separate ways. It happened to everyone, no matter how much you cared for them. They would be alright for a while, since they would both end up in the local high school, but after that... They were likely to attend different colleges, to have vastly different lives. He banished the thought and focused on the here and now.
"Well," she said seriously, "as a best-selling author slash international singing sensation, I'll be able to fly you to wherever I am anytime." She grinned and adjusted her new glasses.
"How kind of you." His tone was dryly amused, but beneath it he felt warm and happy. Maybe they would still manage to see each other when they were older. Eimi could be awfully stubborn when it came to getting her way, and Koushiro was aware that he was her favorite person. "In the meantime, I want to go buy a new infrared internet connection device. Would you like to go to the mall with me?"
"I though you did most of your shopping on the computer," Eimi said, hopping off the bed. She began to kneel, probably intending to put the book in one of the containers under the bed, but stopped halfway and put it down on the dresser instead. Koushiro tried to keep his face clear of sympathy. He wouldn't be able to function in such a cramped area. And what would he do without a desk at which to work?
"Yes, and I probably will purchase it at home instead of in the store, but I want to check a few things in person before I make a final choice." Eimi tilted her head to the side.
"I wonder if some day stores will be nothing more than places to browse before you buy on the computer. Maybe they'll charge you a little to get in, because no one will buy anything." She glanced into the mirror on the door of her armoire and straightened her skirt.
Koushiro watched her fondly. Sometimes she would throw insightful nuggets like that out, never realizing that she was clever, that she was unusual, that she was strange and wonderful. When they were alone together, she was the same girl he had grown up with. She donned her shy, bruised, brooding persona when other people came close. He didn't like that stranger, and sometimes had difficulty reconciling her with the playful, confident girl he knew.
Eimi frowned as she reached for her purse, which she kept on a hook on the wall. Koushiro could see the reason why; it was worn and stained with use, and Eimi became stressed when her surroundings and appearance weren't clean and tidy.
"Alright, let me tell my mom where we're going, and then we'll be on our way," she said. A few minutes later, they were walking to the train in silence. Sometimes Eimi chatted nonstop, and sometimes she was totally quiet. Either way, Koushiro appreciated her willingness to sit in silence or to carry a conversation on her own. She didn't mind his monosyllabic responses, didn't mind if he worked on the computer while she talked. Most people assumed that he wasn't listening, but Eimi knew that he was paying attention, and that he preferred listening to speaking. He pulled his laptop out of his backpack and worked on the train, and she leaned into him and closed her eyes, trusting him to listen for their stop. As always, she smelled nice. She wore perfume, or lotion, or body spray, or whatever it was that females liked to put on their bodies. It smelled like flower petals coated in a thin layer of icy sugar. Beneath it was her body smell, which was sweet and fresh. Her nearness was soothing.
The trip wasn't long, and he shook her gently after a little while. Her eyes opened immediately, so he knew she had been daydreaming rather than sleeping. They got off the train and walked to the mall. Eimi stared into space as he browsed the electronics store. He wondered if he should narrate his thought process as he compared the devices, or if he should leave her to her musings. He decided to leave her alone, but he held her hand so she wouldn't feel left out.
A store clerk approached them, all smiles. Koushiro sighed internally, knowing that he would have to fight to convince him that he knew what he was doing. His small stature made people think that he was much younger than his ten years of age, and most ten year olds would have no idea what the devices he was comparing were meant to do. Eimi, on the other hand, was by far the tallest child in their year, and her body build was thicker, as well. Koushiro always assumed this had to do with her American blood.
"Are you shopping with your little brother?" the man asked Eimi. She made a noise that might have been a stifled giggle, but kept her face composed.
"I've got it under control." Koushiro stared at her. She had deflected the question instead of answering. Sensing that she had a reason for not wanting to correct him, Koushiro pushed his annoyance aside and remained quiet. The clerk hung around for a few minutes, but eventually Eimi convinced him that they did not require assistance.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Koushiro turned to her. "Why didn't you just tell him we're not related?" he asked, stepping away from the display rack.
"Because you're holding my hand. Most unrelated children of opposite sexes don't hold hands." There was a bruised look in her eyes, and Koushiro suddenly felt as though he had stepped onto a minefield.
"I've made my selection," he said, heading towards the entrance to the store. "Why don't we go to another shop?" He waited until they were in the main portion of the mall before he asked her anything, knowing that the noise and movement from the crowd of shoppers would mask their conversation.
"Did someone say something to you about our..." Koushiro paused and frowned. How could he put it without making it sound awkward?
"My parents have both expressed concern about my habit of making physical contact with you."
The strain in her voice made him grab her hand again. He squeezed it gently, hoping to soothe her.
"That's preposterous," he said, frowning up at her. "We're friends, and we're only ten. Do they think I'm going to kiss you?" At this age, kissing was the most intimate thing he knew about, and kissing Eimi was a strange, baffling, and somewhat repulsive thought.
Eimi giggled, but it was half-hearted. "Ewwww," she said, wrinkling her nose. "So gross! I don't want to kiss anyone." She paused and tilted her head. "I kiss my cat's head. I guess that must be okay."
"I think you're fine." Koushiro tried to keep himself from smiling, but he couldn't help it. "Well, just don't touch me in front of your parents, then. When they aren't around, we'll continue as we are."
"You don't think it's weird, do you? How we are, I mean." She was looking at her feet, but, from his angle below her, Koushiro could still see the strain in her facial muscles. Sensing that this was important to her, he took the time to consider it carefully before making an answer.
They were at an age where girls and boys polarized, playing with their own group (with the exception of club activities). He had gathered that, in a few years, these same boys and girls would be much more interested in each other, although he wasn't sure why. But when he looked at a person, he saw the personality before he saw the sex. What mattered was how much you enjoyed being with the person, and he always enjoyed being with Eimi.
"It is weird," he said carefully. "We were raised with the expectation that we would be very close, because our parents are friends." Or, at least, they were at one time. Koushiro was sensing more and more that his parents disliked Eimi's father. "Most children don't spend so much time together, even if they are friends. Honestly, having been made to spend so much time together when we were infants and toddlers, it seems hypocritical to oppose our being so close now. But our situation is unusual, not bad. I wouldn't change it for anything."
They walked in silence for a while. Eventually, Eimi squeezed his hand, and he looked up to see her smile. His relief felt like a cool breeze on a hot day. He knew she had accepted his answer and taken comfort from it. She began to chat about music, signaling a return to normalcy.
Eimi was halfway through describing her emotional response to a new song when she came to an abrupt stop, both physically and verbally. Koushiro followed her eyes to a shelf of bags in a store. "Would you like to go in?" he asked politely, but she was already going, tugging him along as if she had completely forgotten that they were holding hands.
She came to a stop in front of a large yellow bag. It was a peculiar butterscotch color, and seemed to be made of leather. Koushiro knew it was too expensive for her at a glance, and he watched with sympathy as she checked the pricetag. Her face crumpled in on itself.
"You really like that bag, don't you?" he asked. There was no way he ever would have noticed it just walking by, but it had pulled her in like a magnet.
"I can't afford it," she said reluctantly, "and my parents will never buy it for me." Koushiro nodded and patted her back. He quickly memorized the appearance of the bag and the name of the store.
Koushiro had a lot more money than most kids his age. He didn't talk about it, but he already did web design and programming work. It started when his father showed a coworker a site he had made, and the coworker asked if Koushiro would be interested in making one for him. Since then, word had spread about his capabilities, and he had made many sites, programs, and databases for people who had no idea that they were paying a ten-year-old boy for work that exceeded the quality of most adult professionals. He saved almost all of his earnings under his father's supervision, with the exception of infrequent purchases of computer equipment and books.
And the yearly purchase of birthday presents for Eimi and his parents.
Koushiro smiled as he listened to Eimi slowly resume her description of the song.
