Beep-Beep-Beep. Beep-Beep-Beep.
The sound of the alarm clock was rhythmic but painful, broken only by a groan from underneath the bedcovers. Blonde hair spilled over the edges as a hand snaked its way out to reach blindly for the source of the noise and silence it. Fingers met plastic. Searched. Pressed down on the surface.
Silence.
Rika Hayashi forced herself upright on the futon, heels of her hands pressing into her back as if that might alleviate the discomfort from the previous night's sleep. Two days back in Tokyo and already she was in pain. It wasn't helped by the fact that none of their belongings had been shipped from Okinawa yet, something that her father hadn't been able to explain in the brief intervals he was actually in their new apartment.
Sound from the kitchen indicated he'd stuck around to see her off for her new school year, something that she wasn't even sure she wanted. Since her mother had passed the previous year, their tenuous relationship had dwindled down to small talk and perfunctory announcements.
Like the one he'd made less than a week ago that they were moving back to Tokyo.
Truthfully, it had been a relief for her but Rika suspected her father didn't feel the same. It had been him who had moved them to Okinawa six years previously without explanation. Him, who had denied her mother's illness even as she faded away piece by piece while trying to hold her daughter together.
Sighing, Rika pushed herself from the bed and began her new routine. Dress in the uniform that had been hooked over the wardrobe door. Pull her hair into a loose braid over her shoulder. Scream internally. Well no, that last one would have to be put on hold. Kaibara high school couldn't be any worse than all the other schools she'd attended in the past, even if she was two years out of practice. Returning to high school at nineteen felt jarring, the last time she'd set foot in the place being just after her second year had begun. Now she would have to repeat those lessons, that time in an entirely new environment. She'd have to relearn interest in the fickle hearts of her peers. Maybe even try to date. Shuddering, Rika pushed that thought away sharply. High school boys had barely interested her at sixteen. Now, they seemed like an entirely different species to contend with. No, dating could wait until she figured out what she was going to do when she was done with school. Until she met someone who inspired anything other than discomfort in her.
Toying with the collar of her uniform, Rika glanced at a wad of coloured paper on her desk. Considered fulfilling the itch in her fingertips before changing her mind.
It had been her mother's choice the first time around to pull her out for a year. Let them both find a solution for the night terrors she'd had since they'd moved to Okinawa. After everything else, her father hadn't had the heart to send her back. Not that she'd have willingly gone either. Rika had convinced herself that it was enough to show up for a few cram schools and work with Master Chiba. At least until Master Chiba had announced that she didn't want to see the girl darken her doorstep again until she'd gotten her diploma. Cruel, but effective.
Lingering at the door, she hesitated in opening it. Takuto Hayashi wasn't a bad man. He wasn't even a bad father. There were just too many chasms between them to be crossed, empty space only made all the more empty because Kimiko had been the bridge.
"Rika?" His voice was tentative, startling her back from the doorway as she heard the soft knock, "You up? I have to go but breakfast is on the table. I made your favourite."
She didn't answer, instead moving to press her hand to the door in case he opened it. Hesitating. The wait was short, a heavy sigh sounding on the opposite side of the doorway before soft footsteps indicated he'd gone. The click of the heavy front door and the turn of its lock.
Rika gave it five minutes then grabbed her bag and stepped out of her room. Ignoring the rice balls on the table top she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and left.
Kaibara wouldn't wait, and something new, was better than something painful.