Reaching for the Stars
Part II, Chapter 2
Prologue
A beautiful girl leans on the railings of a snow-covered balcony, her eyes looking out the snow-covered landscape. A thick blanket rests on her shoulders and a warm mug of cocoa steams up in her hands. As I got closer and closer to that home on a hill, it became unmistakable; it was her.
"Ami-chan!" I cried out from where I stood, waving my arm out so she could see me.
Startled, the girl turned to where I was frightened, nearly dropping her mug in the process. Well, I would've been frightened too if someone shouted out my name out of the blue, so I don't blame her. When she saw that it was me though, she sighed in relief and said,
"You know Satoshi-kun, you shouldn't go around shouting on cliffs in the mornings."
"I'll try not to next time." I apologized, scratching the back of my head "Anyways, mind if I come in?"
"Sure thing." She said coming back into her house and opening the door for me. She then smiled and said, "Welcome to my home."
Ami Kawashima's Vacation Home
"Wh… whoa!" I gasped, looking around the entrance like a stock broker surrounded by green flashing lights, "This is… this is amazing!"
"You like it?" Ami-chan said showing me to the living room
"Yeah." I said, still amazed by the sheer size and beauty of the place.
"Stay here for a sec Satoshi-kun," Ami-chan said heading out of the room, "let me get you some cocoa."
"Sure thing, thanks." I said rubbing my hands together to ward off the cold. Though I've been having chocolate for the past few days on that train, I still think that a warm mug of cocoa would be nice. Hey, what can I say? I may be trying to be an independent man, but I'm still a kid at heart after all; the thought of chocolate makes me all giddy. A few moments later, she came back to the living room with a second mug of cocoa.
"So tell me Satoshi-kun," she said handing me a mug, "what brings you to my humble home on such short notice?"
'Humble' was hardly the word I'd use to describe this place… I mean, it was pretty… and huge… pretty-huge that is! Man, if Ritsu saw this place, she'd definitely want to bring her band here for a… wait. No. No, no, no, no. Stop. Don't think about them… they're the past. I have nothing to do with them now, and they have nothing to do with me. After all, they're probably not thinking about me either…
As I sat there in silence, Ami-chan, with a curious and faintly irritated look on her face, waved a hand in front of me to call my attention.
"Hello? Anyone there?" She grumbled, "Am I talking to Hamlet here?"
"Oh!" I said, realizing I'd been spacing out, "Sorry, I was just thinking about something… and NO I am not Hamlet! I failed English because of that cursed book…"
"Doesn't that make you want to have an emotional soliloquy about grief and the meaning of life?" She prodded, "I'm sure Shakespeare would be proud."
I chose not to respond, making Ami-chan laugh heartily.
"Anyways," Ami-chan said changing the subject, "you still haven't answered my question you know."
"Ah, why am I here?" I asked. As I started to conjure up a response, my heart sank. I realized that I was running away from home after all… For a while, I kinda felt like I was on some sort of vacation... Also, telling that to someone something like that, even to just an acquaintance like Ami here felt quite awkward.
"C'mon, tell me." Ami-chan prodded relentlessly, seemingly intrigued by my hesitation to respond.
"Hmm," I replied as casually as I could to save face, "well, my… family and I decided to come over to the mountains to celebrate New Year. We heard from our bus driver that you lived in the area, so we thought we should drop by and say hi."
"Ah, I see." She said in realization, "Where are they now?"
Argh… clearly, I should've cut back on using 'we' in that sentence.
"They're at the inn in town," I said lying casually once again, "they were too tired from the… train ride that they decided to rest up first before coming over."
"What about your sister?" She asked with rising interest, "Didn't she go with you?"
"N… nah." I denied, "She was pretty tired to, so she asked me to go on ahead."
"That's strange." Ami-chan said thoughtfully, "I thought she was the energetic type… When I saw you out on the trail, I thought she'd be with you."
"What makes you say that?" I asked
"Well, after their performance at the concert hall, I happened to see the two of you with the whole band." Ami-chan explained, "She was very peppy, obviously, and the two of you were very close. I just thought that you and your sister were inseparable…"
"Well, we're two different people after all…" I said half-heartedly, "we won't always be together."
"I guess you're right." Ami-chan said with a sigh, "Anyways, now that you're here, I might as well show you around."
Leaving our mugs behind, the two of us went around her summer home which was much larger than I had first thought. It was a two-storey home with a large balcony-slash-deck that surrounded. From there, I had a 360-degree panoramic view of everything around us and it was a breathtaking sight. On top of that, the lot Ami-chan owned included a small private beach connected to the house via a wooden staircase and the whole cove itself! Exactly how rich is this girl anyways? This villa isn't as flashy as the ones Tsumugi-senpai has but it was astounding nonetheless. One thing I did notice though was that there was no one else around… was it just her?
"Uhm… Ami-chan." I said as we were returning to the living room, "don't tell me you're living here alone now, are you?"
"Something wrong with that?" She asked a little defensively, "I'm living alone and I'm proud of it."
"I guess you're right." I said with a sigh, "Being independent is something you should be proud of."
"I know…" she said thoughtfully, "but it's kinda hard too you know. My parents themselves are in the fashion business you see. They're hardworking people and they provide me with everything I ever need, I'll give them that, but we rarely see each other nowadays… I'm the only child too, so when I'm not working, I'm usually by myself."
"Is that so…" I said, reminiscing about my own family
"You're very lucky to have a loving family Satoshi-kun," she said with a kind smile, "and a fun sister to be at your side when you're alone."
"Actually I…" I said, staggered by everything Ami-chan had been saying up to now. Every word she spoke felt like daggers slicing through my chest.
"Yes?" She said, seemingly innocent of my plight, "What is it Satoshi-kun? You can tell me anything…"
"I've been lying to you…" I said shaking my head, "my parents aren't here… my sister isn't here. They're not at the inn downhill and they're not anywhere nearby… I ran away from home."
"Knew it." She said with calm composure, "I knew you were lying all along."
"Eh?" I asked, shocked by her reaction
"Being in the modeling business at such a young age, I've learned to observe people closely; more closely than others." She said looking straight into my eyes, "Just by the look in their eyes, I can see exactly what a model is thinking. 'The lights are too bright', 'the catwalk is too long', I know. I figured you were trying to hide something all this time… but I still can't believe that you did what you did."
"I had to." I said turning away from her gaze, "You don't understand… my family didn't love me. Yes, my sister may have been there for me every so often, but she wasn't able to defend me… not once!"
"What about that girl you were with when we met at the mall?" Ami asked further, "You just went on ahead and left her… just like that!?"
"I was a weak person, shackled by authority… always being treated like a kid. She deserves better than me," I said trying hard to fight back tears, "someone who can make her happy…"
"I can't believe you…" Ami-chan said, amazed by everything I was saying, "Leave now. Go back to them… everyone who cares about you must be worried."
"NO ONE THERE CARES ABOUT ME! I'M NOT WORTH CARING ABOUT!" I cried, unable to suppress the tears any longer, "I can't show my face to them after what I've done… If ever I do cross paths with them again, I want them to see that I've grown…. I want them to see that I'm no longer the kid they could neglect… I want them to see that I am a responsible, independent man capable of living on my own. For now though… please let me live with you."
"Satoshi-kun… that's some story you just told me, but… I can't just let you…"
"Please Ami-chan! Don't turn your back on me!" I begged, "You're the only one I can turn to now… I'll work hard! I'll… I'll… I'll do anything you want!"
"You're really not going back, are you?" She asked.
I could only nod as I fervently wiped the tears on my cheeks.
"I guess it's useless to argue with you any longer." She groaned, "I'll let you stay here."
"Really!?" I asked, surprised by her sudden kindness
"Yeah." She said with a nod, "The thing is, I won't be staying in this house all year, but we'll talk about that later."
"Thank you Ami-chan! I'll make it up to you somehow! I promise!"
"Don't worry about it." She said with a smile, "I'm letting you stay here on one condition though."
"Sure, sure!" I said happily, "Anything you want."
"You have to be the one to pick up groceries while we're here."
"Eh?"
"You heard me; groceries."
"Ok-kay..."
As she showed me to the room I'd be using in my stay here, I looked back at the things that had been said. Surely Ritsu still cared about me... after all she's done for me. Even though in the end, she wasn't able to protect me, I still hoped that that little part of my past was true. She was the only glimmer of happiness I ever truly had. I know that no matter how hard I try to stand on my own, no matter how much i grow or how much of a man I become, I won't be able to forget her.
To Be Continued
Epilogue [ O ]
"Ri-chan..." Yui Hirasawa said as she tried to rouse the dazed Ritsu Tainaka in the clubroom of Afternoon Tea Time, "Your tea's gonna get cold, you know..."
"Let her be Yui." Mio Akiyama said, calling Yui back to the table, "It's no use. She just lost her brother after all..."
"Her family is taking this very hard," Tsumugi Kotobuki added, "even Azusa-chan has been under the weather..."
True enough, their fifth member, Azusa Nanako, wasn't even there.
"Satoshi-kun..." Mio hummed in thought, "why did you have to go away like that that night... look at what happened... you ended up at the bottom of a freezing lake... you're dead."
"He's not dead." Ritsu then said coming back to life. Upon hearing Mio's thought, she sprung up from where she sat with a hint of anger in her eyes. "Who are you to say that he's dead!?"
"Ritsu..." Mio said stunned, "It's undeniable... everything the police found leads to that."
"And you're just going to accept that!?" Ritsu challenged, "Don't believe everything you see... Satoshi-kun is a smart kid. He's probably out there... no... he's definitely out there. Don't give up on him! If you give up on him just like that, then he had every right to run away and I'd never forgive myself!"
"What do you propose to do then?" Yui asked
"We keep working on our songs." Ritsu said picking up her drumsticks, "We will rise up and become stars, famous throughout all of Japan, and the world even! As we do that, we'll be searching for him, using everything we have to bring him back to us..."
"You really love your brother, I can tell." Mio said with a smile, "If that's the case, then count me in."
"Me too." Tsumugi said
"And me!" Yui said excitedly, "Somehow, I too feel that Satoshi-kun is out there... I love my sister Ui too, you know, so I know how you feel. I'll definitely help you Riichan!"
"Thanks guys." Ritsu said wiping a tear, "Azusa-chan will join us too hopefully... but let me tell you this. We will definitely find him. No matter how distant or obscure the place Satoshi-kun has found himself in, we will shine so bright that the light will reach him! I believe... he's just waiting for that light. When he sees it, he'll come back. I'm sure of it."