The week after Kimikura Youhei's defeat, for Takeru, filled with many other challenges, from baseball to tennis to basketball, from the diehard fans of his beautiful friend Yagami Hikari. Initiated by the Kendo Captain's first challenge, the movement gained intensity as more joined. Annoyed as he was, Takeru took care of them one by one. And, unnerved then by the blonde transfer student's superb athletic abilities, they reluctantly gave up trying to separate Takeru from Hikari's side. Takeru, Hikari, and Sakuya were all glad that the ridiculously long list of challenges had finally come to an end. The time then quickly passed into the month of April in Kiromachi, the Crossroads Town. The cuts and bruises healed with the passing days, and the outrageous week's events were out of the students' discussions as it switched to more recent topics about the upcoming Golden Week. Everything resumed to normality as cherry blossoms bloom, their annual peach-colored pedals filled the town's air for the first time this year. Likewise the naked sakura tree of the Yagami Inn also became liven with the full-blooming sakurahana. Shortly after Kiromachi High dismissed for spring vacation, and for once since Takeru's arrival it was a full house at the inn…minus one person.
Vacation had begun, and Takehara Takeshi saw this as a perfect opportunity to pick up extra shifts to rake in extra income. The grocery store manager, though preferring the kid to be enjoying his childhood instead, nonetheless welcomed his extra inputs for the week. So, adding on to his usual afternoon shifts, he decided to take up all the earlier shifts as well, meaning that he would now be absent from the inn from sun up to late at night. Hikari, as current acting guardian of the Takeharas, decided against her better judgment to give him permission after he so adamantly demanded for this opportunity. Happy that he can earn more money, Takeshi awoke before sunrise and left the inn at around five thirty in the morning.
Takehara Minako woke up at around ten, and yawned as she stretched out her limbs. She looked about her sparsely occupied room groggily, and sighed sadly at the vacant spot next to her where her brother Takeshi had been the night before. After rising to fold her futons away, she proceeded out the bedroom door, leaving behind the lonely room. She headed toward the bathroom sleepily to brush her teeth in her gold and white lined pajamas, her head weighing heavily on her neck.
"Ah…Minako-chan, morning!" said a cheery, incoming voice as the six-year-old girl was on the way to her morning routine. Minako stopped her steps and looked toward the source of the voice. Matsuda Sakuya walked toward her, dressed in a dark blue hooded sweater and a light red, breezy short skirt. For once she did not tie her hair into twintails on the two sides of her head. Instead, her straight, black hair now reached a little pass her shoulder. "Good morning, Sakuya-nee, are you going out?"
"Yeah, I just got a call from Tou-chan and I'm meeting up with him for lunch. Can you tell Hikari that for me? I'm kind of in a hurry."
"Sure, I will."
"Thanks, Minako-chan! I'll bring some tasty snacks later ok? Look forward to it!" After giving her a pat on the head and waving goodbye to Minako, Sakuya headed speedily toward the inn's entrance.
The young fuchsia-haired girl in her pajamas saw off Sakuya until the teen turned the corner. She then headed on to the bathroom to finish her business, and decided to look for things to do with the other tenants. She first tried Shiratori Ryuushi's place, and peeked into the door ajar, revealing the black-haired author's room. She was about to call out to him, but saw that Shiratori was sitting before his desk, concentrating deeply in his work lying in piles before him. Not wanting to bother him while he was busy, Minako tip-toed away silently. The moment soon after she had vacated the doorway the author turned around. Hmm…was someone there? he thought, before shrugging it off and resumed his work.
With Shiratori-san unavailable, Minako then headed to the Osaka University graduate student Furude Fumiko, who had returned home the night before after nearly two months of absence. She gently knocked on the door of room 5, but yielded no response. She then tried to open the door, only to find it locked. Leaning on the door and placing her ear on the door, she could barely make out a snoring noise coming from the inside. Apparently Fumiko was sleeping quite soundly. Discouraged, Minako then headed off toward the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, two friendly faces met hers.
"Ah…Minako-chan, you're finally awake," said the teenage innkeeper in front of the sink cleaning up the dishes from breakfast.
"Good morning, Hikari-neechan, Takeru-niichan." Minako greeted them.
"Have you brushed your teeth yet, Minako-chan?" asked the bespectacled blonde Takaishi Takeru, who wore a gray hooded sweater and a pair of blue jeans and sat at the large kitchen table, sipping at a cup of tea brewed by Hikari.
"Of course! Minako is a good girl!" the young girl said happily as she walked up next to Takeru and showed him her teeth, as if letting him inspect.
Takeru chuckled, and ruffled her messy, unbraided fuchsia hair, "Of course you are, Minako-chan. Do you want anything to eat?"
Minako rubbed her stomach before making up her mind, "No, it's okay. It's almost lunchtime already, so I'll wait. I'm going to watch TV now, bye!" she began to dashed off, but turned around suddenly, remembering something. "Oh…I almost forgot. Sakuya-neechan went to have lunch with her papa, and she wanted me to tell you. That's all!" Having finished her entrusted duty, she proceeded out of the kitchen. The two saw her off before resuming their own business.
"You know, Minako kind of reminds me of someone…" Takeru stated after taking another sip of his tea.
"And who might that be?" asked Hikari, who resumed washing the dishes.
"My little sister, Mogusaki, when she was about Minako's age. How would I put this…I guess she kinda gives off the same vibe."
"You don't talk about your sister too often, Takeru-kun," Hikari said as she turned on the faucet to rinse the plates and bowls.
"Really? And there I thought I would pass off as a doting brother. Well is there anything you want to know about her?"
"Just general stuff, like what kind of a person she is."
Takeru thought about how to describe his little sister Mogusaki, before beginning, "Well…she's around Takeshi-kun's age, younger by seven months. She was quite sickly before turning five, but she turned out fine. Oh…and she loves to read. It was all I use to see her do since she was very young. We get along really well. Maybe that's because she hasn't reached the rebellious age yet, but who knows? She's usually happy and cheerful, and loves to do all house chores except cooking. We tried once to rotate making dinner every night because our parents are never home, and let's just say her cooking is…only a bit above the edible level. What else…oh, I think I mentioned this to you before but she's a prodigy in school, and is going to graduate from the school I had just graduated from last year."
"Oh yeah, you did say that she skipped many grades."
"Yeah…It's hard to believe but it's true, and because of that my friends back at home and other people often tease me about it. They're always like, your sister is so smart…so what happened to you?" he said this with a slight trace of indignation. Hikari giggled at his show of emotion as Takeru continued, "But even though she's mature for her age, around me she still acts like a little girl. She still jumps and clings onto me out of the blue, play harmless pranks on me, and follow me everywhere. Oh, and we live in the same room back home, so she'd always climb into my bed at night. She claims that my bed is more comfortable, but in my opinion she just likes giving me a good scare in the morning, especially now that she's in the teens. I don't mind it at all when she was younger, but now that'd she's older I don't know if it's still appropriate."
"Sounds like she really loves you as a big brother, and is able to be more like a child when she's around you. That's a good thing. It'd be bad if she can't, because it wouldn't be healthy for a child not act her age."
Takeru chuckled, "Are you hinting at Takeshi-kun?"
Hikari nodded, "Sometimes I really don't know what to do with him. He always acts so distant, even after I got to know him better on a personal level. I would really love it for him to open up and rely on me more, but he's just too independent. Perhaps it's because they were orphaned at such a young age?"
"If I have to say, I think it's because Takeshi developed an awry sense of responsibility that he had to take care of everything they need, and couldn't help but see help from other people as favors that needed to be repaid. Therefore he'd rather shoulder everything on his own. Being a brother myself I understand his way of thinking, but I think he's just taken this brotherly obligation to the extreme," Takeru analyzed the older Takehara sibling's situation.
"In any case, I just wish Takeshi-kun act more like his age, like your sister do. It's heartbreaking to see such a young child shouldering so much responsibility alone."
Takeru lifted the ceramic tea cup and sipped some tea. "Hikari, since you brought it up, don't you realize you're exactly like that as well?"
This surprised the innkeeper, and made her turn around to look at him, "Do I? In what ways?"
"Well, for one, you're running this inn, and you're only older than Takeshi-kun by a few years, right?"
"But that's different. Shiratori-san and Fumiko-san had actually taught me a lot when I first inherited the inn, and I had all sorts of help when I first learned how to run an inn. Even now I know I can count on everyone to help me out when I'm need it."
"I see your point, and I'm glad you're doing this because you've made this place such a nice home for all of us. I probably don't say this enough, but you're an excellent manager," Takeru thanked her.
This made Hikari blush with embarrassment and gratitude, "Wow, Takeru-kun, I didn't know you're such a sweet talker."
"Only saying what's true, Hikari. But back to Takeshi-kun, what are you going to do about him?"
Hikari sighed as she placed the last of the washed dishes in the dish dryer, and turned on the machine. She dried her hands with a kitchen towel, took off her apron, and sat down opposite to the spectacled blonde, "Well, I've tried my best with Takeshi-kun since the Takeharas started living here, but nothing worked. So I'm thinking the only thing I can do is making sure, to the best of my ability, that Minako-chan doesn't feel lonely without her brother's company."
Takeru said nothing to this as he only gazed at Hikari, making the brunette a little nervous, "What is it, Takeru-kun? Is there something on my face?"
Takeru smiled, "No, that's not it. It's just that it I'm quite taken back on how much time effort you spend caring for the Takerhara siblings. I was just thinking that what a wonderful mother you're going to be one day."
Hikari smiled at his compliment, "Takeru-kun, you're just giving compliments one after another today! Are you hitting on me?" she joked.
"Any guy in the right mind would hit on you, Hikari. That's why you're so popular, after all." said Takeru, averting being embarrassed.
Seeing that she failed, Hikari decided to go a little further, "Well, I'm quite flattered, Takeru-kun. So does that mean you're interested in me?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be interested? You're a good friend of mine after all!" Takeru sidestepped her jab.
Surprised how well Takeru was faring in this situation, Hikari then took it one step further, "Then, you wouldn't mind going on a date with me then?"
"Of course, I would love to go on a date with y…wait, what?" this finally broke Takeru, as he leaped out of his chair in an instant, surprised.
"Yeah, I mean you've gone on one with Sakuya-chan when you first came here. It's only fair you go on one with me too!" Hikari said with a big smile, clearly enjoying the surprised look on her friend's face.
"Hi…Hikari…are you serious? Does that mean we're…we're…" Takeru couldn't even finish.
Having satisfied herself seeing the distressing blonde, Hikari revealed her true intention, "Yup! We're going out to have fun with Minako-chan today!" Her revelation made Takeru-kun fall onto his back with surprise, along a trace of disappointment.
Meanwhile, having reached the living room, Minako sat down on the black leather couch and turned on the TV. She casually flipped through the channels until something caught her interest. It was a commercial about a recently opened amusement park in a nearby city. She stared sadly at the television screen. Stupid onii-chan…you promised…she thought to herself as the commercial ranted on about the new exciting rollercoaster rides and other attractions.
"Ah…that's the commercial about that new theme park isn't it?" said a voice approaching from the hall. Takaishi Takeru emerged in the same attire of gray hooded sweatshirt and faded jeans. He walked to the couch and sat down next to the six-year-old girl.
"Yeah…" Minako replied simply, and flipped to another channel when the commercial ended.
"Minako-chan, what's wrong?" Sensing a displeased feeling radiating from the young girl, Takeru asked.
"My brother…" she started, "he promised me a month ago that we'd go to that park today. I was so excited when he said that, but who knew he would break his promise!
"I wasn't asking for much! I know that onii-chan is busy with his work and all, and that's why I asked him on his day off. Who knew he'd forget about it completely and pick up an extra shift…"
"Takeshi-kun, huh…" Takeru sighed, placing a comforting hand around her shoulder. The two sat in silence, watching the television screen for a quiet moment before Takeru spoke up again. "Minako-chan, if it's not too late…"
Minako turned her head to face him, "What is it, Takeru-niichan?"
"…would you, by any chance, like to go to the park with me and Hikari?" he said with a kind smile.
His suggestion piqued her interest, "To the amusement park? With you and Hikari-neechan?"
"Yeah! Why not? I would love to go!" exclaimed a thrilled voice. Yagami Hikari came in dressed in a white, woolen sweater and a pink short skirt, coupled with white, knee length socks.
Minako looked at them for a few second before cracking into laughter, "Hikari-neechan, Takeru-niichan, that was the worst acting I have ever seen!"
"So will you come with us?" Takeru asked, chuckling as he stood up from the couch and walked to Hikari's side.
"Yeah, of course! I'm going to get ready. Thank you, I'm so happy!" she said as she gave the two quick hugs before skipping off toward her room, singing merrily 'I'm going to the park' in a self-created melody. As the two teenagers watched the merry little girl skip happily away, they gave each other a high five. "Mission complete!" they said simultaneously.
Not long after Minako returned dressed in a faded red, unzipped jacket a size too large for her, and a flowery blouse underneath, completed with a plain brown skirt. Hikari hurriedly braided her hair into two pigtails and when done they were on their way. Minako walked between Takeru and Hikari, her hands holding to theirs as they walked down the maze-like streets of the residential section of Kiromachi.
"Hey, Hikari! Takaishi-kun!" the three halted their advance and turned to the direction of the caller. It was Sakagami Tomoyo in a sports jacket and gym shorts. Judging by her appearance she was jogging around the town for exercise.
"Tomoyo-chan! Good day!" Hikari greeted her friend pleasantly as the silver-haired girl jogged toward them.
"Sakagami-san, you are sure diligent," Takeru said.
"Well, it's for your own good health to exercise," she replied and turned her attention to the girl standing between the two. She observed Minako for a few seconds, and with a large grin on her face she looked at Takeru and Hikari, "Wow…you guys sure had me fooled, to have a child this big already."
The jest worked, as it successfully turned both Takeru and Hikari bright red simultaneously.
Tomoyo then turned to Minako and placed a hand on her head, "So are you going out for a walk with papa and mama today?" she winked at the six-year-old.
"Yup! Papa and mama are taking me to the amusement park today!" said Minako happily, playing along with the two teen's friend.
"Mi…Mi…Minako-chan!" Hikari stuttered, embarrassed more by her admittance to Sakagami Tomoyo's joke. Takeru just looked away while scratching the back of his head out of embarrassment.
Having seen the priceless expressions on their faces, Sakagami laughed. "You two are way too much fun. Catch you later! Bye Minako-chan!" she waved goodbye as she jogged off.
"Bye Onee-san!" Minako waved back while Takeru and Hikari were still in their embarrassed trances.
Twenty minutes later the three caught a crowded bus on its way to Kamiyama, a large city next to Kiromachi where the theme park was located. Having never really taken any trips besides for school, the excited Minako moved her head left to right during the bus ride while squirming happily as she sat on Takeru's lap. Takeru and Hikari chatted, happy that Minako was so cheerful. Upon reaching the city, the three descent the bus and walked with the crowd traffic that was heading for one single destination, the Kamiyama Amusement Park. It was a magnificent sight, a conglomeration of rollercoaster rides for children and adults, and everything that the commercial had promised. Minako was ever more hyped up as they passed through the park's entrance gate beholding the land of fun.
For the next few hours it was nonstop parade through the park for the Hikari, Minako, and Takeru. The two teenagers followed the young, tireless girl as she beckoned them onto one ride after another, and had to soothe her disappointment when she couldn't get on some of the rollercoasters because of her height. While watching the parade of life-sized cartoon characters, Minako sat atop Takeru's shoulder to have a clear view over the sea of adults, teens, and children. They even went to see the live action shows of the Kid's TV's newest hit while enjoying their ice creams. Fun time pass by fast as it was now late afternoon. The sun had lowered to the western horizon, dyeing everything orange. Takeru and Minako sat on a wooden bench to rest while Hikari went to get some crepe from a side stand.
"Wow…I'm hungry…" Takehara Minako pouted as she rubbed her growling stomach.
"Well…you were the one that would rather do other stuff than eat lunch, after all. On top of that you didn't have breakfast either." Takeru said.
"Ah…I guess so…" she said as she looked away from Takeru to Hikari. Her face darkened a bit and she started to stare at her shoes, as if lost in thoughts.
"Minako-chan…did you not have fun?" the spectacled blonde teen beside her quickly asked, worried.
"Hmm? No, of course not, I had a lot of fun!"
Takeru observed her for a bit before continuing, "You wish Takeshi-kun could be here too, don't you?"
"…yeah…" she nodded, "I feel bad enjoying myself when Onii-chan is working hard to support the two of us…I wish he could be here too."
She continued to stare at her feet, before feeling a hand on her head, gently stroking her hair. She looked up to see Takeru looking at her serenely, with a brotherly feel. "Minako-chan…You mustn't feel guilty. I'm sure he didn't forget today on purpose. Takeshi-kun is working hard because he wants you to be happy, so you have to enjoy yourself for him, right?"
"I know onii-chan is working hard for me but…sometimes I just wished that he could think of me more than work…" the six-year-old said, her emerald green eyes welling up. "I mean…doesn't he know I just want to be with him?" Tears began to drop onto her skirt as she finally broke the happy going façade that she had always worn, and let Takeru for the first time see just how lonely this six-year-old girl truly felt without her brother.
Takeru said no more as she cried, and moved closer to her to scoop her up from her seat and placed her in his lap, gently hugging her from the behind. With her teary, green eyes Minako looked up at the sixteen-year-old. "Takeru…nii-chan?"
"It'll be okay, Minako-chan. I promise. If you ever feel lonely, just come to me, okay? Don't hide everything within. It's not good for your health. I may not be a good replacement for Takeshi-kun, but I will always be your brother too!" he said to her.
This seemed to have calmed her down, as her lip slowly cracked into a smile.
"And…if you guys ever need anything, you can always come to us…" Takeru continued.
"Because we are all family, right?" Hikari cut in midway. She smiled lovingly, and handed a strawberry crepe to Minako. The young girl used her sleeve to wipe away her lonely tear, "Yeah! Thanks, Hikari-neechan, Takeru-niichan!" Minako nodded cheerfully in agreement, before taking a large bite at her long awaited food.
"Where's my crepe, Hikari?" Takeru asked when he noticed that she's only carrying one more.
"Sorry…Takeru-kun, but this was the last one so we have to share," she apologized, and took a small bite. She then handed it before Takeru, who also took a bite.
"This is quite good!" Takeru exclaimed at the delicious tasting pastry, but turned red when he realized he had bitten at the same place where Hikari, just a moment ago, had bit. Hikari took no notice of it as she retrieved the crepe and continued to eat. She offered him it a few more times but each time he refused, too embarrassed, so in the end she ended up finishing the crepe by herself. Minako was already done with hers before she finished, and had drifted asleep leaning her head against Takeru comfortably.
"Ahaha…looks like our energetic Minako has finally run out of steam," Hikari said as she watched the innocent sleeping face of the six-year-old youngster. Takeru then gently held her by her waist, stood up, and cradled her. After shifting position, Minako again rested her head on Takeru's chest, feeling very satisfied. The two teens looked at each other, and smiled, before walking away from the bench and headed toward the exit as the last of the sun's rays disappeared beneath the horizon.
The night had set upon the town of Kiromachi. The tired eleven-year-old Takehara Takeshi walked through the remnant of the rush hour traffic and the opening night stands and closing shops. He decided to walk the whole way back, and did not arrive at the door of his home until almost nine o'clock. "I'm back!" he shouted loudly as he entered through the glass panel double door. He put away his old, worn sneakers, tucked his feet into his slippers, and proceeded to the kitchen for some dinner possibly.
"Ah, Takeshi-kun, good evening!" En route to the kitchen Takeshi met Takeru, who had just taken a nice dip in the spa bath along with Minako. The said girl was now tucked away, fast asleep in her room. Takeshi bowing lightly apologetically, "Good evening Takeru-san…I hope my sister did not trouble you again today."
Takeru shook his head and smiled, "Quite the contrary, Takeshi-kun. Hikari and I had fun with her today at that new Kamiyama Amusement Park. She was spent from all the walking and she fell asleep shortly before we left the park. She should be sleeping nice and soundly right about now."
This made Takeshi wide-eyed, "Kamiyama Amusement Park? You and Hikari-nee took her there? Man…what was she thinking wasting money!" he sighed as he dipped into his pocket to take out his wallet, and took out money to pay Takeru the expenses, but Takeru refused.
"It's okay really, Takeshi-kun. It was our idea to take her there from the beginning. She seemed like she really wanted to go."
"I'm really sorry, Takeru-san…" he apologized, and sighed. "When is she going to learn not to bother others?"
"I assure you it is one hundred percent of our doing. Don't be so harsh on her." Takeru explained, then turning stern. "On the other hand, Takeshi-kun, it is not nice to break promises."
"What promise?" Takeshi looked confused.
"The one you made to Minako-chan…that you'd go with her to Kamiyama today, remember?"
"…Mmh…" the younger blonde searched his head hard and deeply, but could not seem to remember. "Maybe, but I don't remember making such promises, especially not for this week. Not when I can get more hours at the store!"
"Well, in any case, you should spend less time worrying about your job and spend more time with your sister. Minako's been quite lonely without you around."
"But I need to work! I'm sure she will understand how important it is."
Seeing that Takeshi not relenting his workaholic nature, Takeru sighed, "Take this to heart, Takeshi-kun. Minako-chan is your family, and she should always come first before anything. Don't realize this too late, otherwise you may find her a stranger before you know it."
Now, there are many things that Takehara Takeshi hates in this world, and one of them is being lectured on the importance of family. In a tired and easily irritated state he was right now, he was twice more annoyed, and thus a few times more angry, "What the hell do you know, Takeru-san! Try seeing things in my shoes first before preaching at me! Don't give me that when you haven't got a clue how tough it is without having parents! Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than talking to you right now!" Takeshi snapped and was about to storm pass him before he felt a strong grip on his shoulder restricting his advance.
"Takeshi-kun…" Takeru started, calm despite the younger blonde's spiteful words. "Calm down…I wasn't trying to lecture to you. I apologize for sticking my nose into your business but…the way you're treating Minako-chan…as a brother, is not right! Even you should have realized how lonely Minako-chan is when you're not around!"
Takeshi turned his head around and stared straight into Takeru's eyes, the younger blonde's emerald green firmly against the older blonde's cerulean blue. "What I do is none of your business, Takeru-san. Like I said before Minako should be big enough to understand my reasons, and if she doesn't then she's too spoiled. But regardless my family affairs have nothing to do with you," Takeshi retorted indignantly.
Takeru sighed at his remark, "I hope these are just angry words, Takeshi-kun. Otherwise you will regret it, sooner or later," with that the older teen loosened his grip and retrieved his hand from Takeshi's shoulder. Once freed, the younger blonde turned around and strode toward his room, disappearing down the hallway. Takeru scratched his head and sighed yet again.
"What's happened, Takeru-kun? I just passed by Takeshi, and he seemed pretty upset," said the innkeeper Yagami Hikari, who appeared from down the hallway and was walking toward Takeru's direction. She carried in her arms a big basket of dirty laundry.
"It seems I was scolded, for sticking my nose into what is none of my business," Taker chuckled, confessing to her. "I was going to convince Takeshi-kun to spend more time with Minako-chan from now on…but somewhere along the way I screwed up and made him mad."
"Well, whatever you did, it sure angered him quite a bit. But knowing him it's nothing to worry about. Takeshi's a good kid, and he'll come apologize to you in no time."
"I rather him take my words to heart than apologizing to me. I wonder if there'll be someone who can show him the importance of sibling bonds?"
"That person would be you, Takeru-kun. You're the only one here that is a brother to a younger sister, after all," Hikari said.
"I thought I was that person too, but seeing how I had just messed up big time, I'm not so sure anymore," the spectacled blonde regretted not handling this matter in a more delicate way.
"If only you're sister were here, then she can tell Takeshi-kun about your experiences without upsetting him perhaps."
The chances of that happening are zero to none. She's too good of a mage to be assigned to this place…Takeru thought to himself. "Well, in any case, let's hope for the best. By the way do you need some help with that?" he pointed to the basket in Hikari's arms.
"Ah, no, that's okay. There are some of my 'personal items' in here anyways." Hikari kindly rejected his offer.
"Okay, if you're sure. Good night then, Hikari."
"Mmh…good night!"
The two parted ways, Hikari headed for the laundry room while Takeru his bedroom. Upon reaching his domain the seventeen-year-old blonde changed into his pajamas, spread out his futon, and covered himself with his blanked as he lied down. With the problems of the Takeharas siblings still fumbling in his head, he pondered on them for a while before finally drifting into sleep.