Nijuusei

Chapter 13: A New Place, A New Home

By Kaen

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All right! Another new chapter! And as I sit here and wait for ten more pages of pictures to print, I figured I might as well make good use of the otherwise wasted time. Yeah, if you ever want to kill your printer, computer and waste ink all in one, try doing what I'm doing… Did I mention that I'm blasting Kaze no Uta as well? I'm just too lazy to change the song, I think. ^^& Oh well. Enjoy! ^^

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"Hiashi! Hiashi, where are you?" a voice called from the downstairs.

Hiashi blinked, looking away from the wall where he had been hanging up a framed poster. When he heard his name again, he dropped the nails that he had been holding with his teeth into a awaiting hand. He set down the hammer on his bed as he walked to the doorway.

"I'm in my room, Mom!" Hiashi finally responded, leaning out of the doorway as he held on to the frame behind him. He usually wasn't so slow to respond, but after what he had just been told… Well, it's a lot to digest in just an hour.

He heard hustled footsteps on the stairs and soon he saw the flustered face of his mother, tinted pink from her haste. She was breathing rapidly, as if she had just run a marathon rather than up the staircase. It was then that Hiashi noticed the traces of wetness around her wide eyes, and he immediately knew something was amiss.

"Mother, what's wrong?" he asked her gently, guiding her by the arm into his room. She allowed him to help her sit on his still unmade bed where she stayed for a minute and caught her breath while her son waited patiently for her response.

Looking up into his concerned eyes, she inhaled deeply and sighed, allowing her gaze to stray. "Hiashi," she started softly, barely above a whisper. "We just received a phone call from your father's new company. They apologized for the short notice, but…"

Hiashi's brow creased in worry as he tried to determine what his mother's unfinished story meant. But he didn't have to think about it too long before his mother completeded his thoughts for him.

"We're going on a business trip to get acquainted with you father's new business alliances in Dallas. His company really needed a representative there at that meeting, and they said that they had no one else that was currently qualified to attend. Please try to understand how sorry we are that we have to leave already-"

"Why must you go, though!?" Hiashi asked, uncharacteristically indignant, as he didn't realizing the reason that his mother would have to leave as well. He cringed internally at how rough his question sounded; he hadn't meant it to come across as so… imposing.

But instead of looking shocked at not only her son's question but tone of voice, the small woman gazed on sadly as she explained, a strained sad smile on her lips, "I've decided to work for a while as well, Hiashi. When we were in California, your father's job provided us with more than enough income. Now, however, we need as much money as we can get to live off of if something happens where we may be required to move again…" She paused, carefully considering what else should be said. Upon finding nothing more, she stated flatly: "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, probably before you're even awake."

"'Tomorrow morning'?!" he echoed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

His mother nodded slowly, not looking up to see the expression on Hiashi's face. "There's nothing open for discussion anymore; the plan is already set and permanent. So please, don't make this any harder than is already is."

Hiashi opened his mouth to protest, but forced himself to remain silent, his hand clenching tightly the few nails in his palm, upon seeing the tears returning to her lowered eyes. He did nothing more than stare silently as his distraught mother pushed herself off of the bed and excused herself from his bedroom. After a couple minutes of her leaving, Hiashi picked up the hammer and resumed pounding the metal nails into the wall, although probably with a bit more force than was actually necessary.

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It was this event that kept on playing in his mind over and over again as he paced distractedly in front of Yui's apartment complex. He was stuck alone already; he hadn't even lived in the house for a week yet! How could his parents expect him to manage with absolutely no knowledge of his surroundings? He furrowed his brow, growling softly in the back of his throat. They said that they'd be away for about two weeks, which is quite a long time when you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing. Sure, he had been left home alone like this before, but such events were rare and he had had a familiar home then. How could they expect him to be all right by himself, right now?! Why would they trust him to be alone right now, anyway? He thought that they had been upset with him with the unexplained disappearance! And such was the chaos of his mind, making him more than distracted enough for Yui to approach him without his noticing.

She snickered silently as she snuck up behind Hiashi, laughing more at his strange expressions that were probably meant to be seriousness. She would sympathize with him later, she was certain, but now wasn't the time for it and she threw her arms around his waste from behind, embracing him in a greeting hug. He jumped, not expecting the sudden contact, but relaxed slightly and squirmed in the embrace until he was facing her. He brushed a few strands of loose hair away from her face and returned her playful smile.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," he greeted her.

She responded before actually thinking about what he had just said; "Good Morning…" But she quickly realized what he had just said and stepped back, looking at him strangely.

"Uh, I heard you on the phone the other night," he explained. "My mother is mostly Japanese and speaks the language near fluently. She taught me some things in it, too, so…"

"Oh! I understand now!" Yui's smile returned to her face, serving as a mask of her real emotions. His mother? But wouldn't he and Kokuei have the same mother? Was Kokuei abandoned, or maybe his memories were just a dream…? No, they were way to realistic for him; I could tell by the look in his eyes, like a ghost haunting his soul.

Her stomach growled loudly and Yui flushed out of embarrassment. She had forgotten to eat breakfast in her hurry, and her stomach wasn't happy about it! She laughed nervously, wrapping an arm around her midsection to try and damper the sounds. Hiashi's eyes widened for a second, but then brightened in laugher.

"Did you not eat, Yui?" he asked between chuckles, resting a hand on his hip.

She looked at him dumbfounded for a second, surprised at the fact that he laughed at her! It wasn't that she wasn't a little surprised herself; usually it was Miaka who had the loud stomach and unrivaled appetite.

"I forgot to eat breakfast," she confessed, her eyes downcast, but out of embarrassment or playfulness, neither one was sure. Hiashi smiled good-naturedly, took a couple of steps to Yui's side, and wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders. She looked at him curiously, unconsciously blushing slightly at the contact of their bodies, as casual as it may have been.

"Well, come on then!" he announced, raising his voice in cheerfulness.

"Where to?" Yui inquired, sweeping a few loose strands of hair behind her ear as they began walking.

Hiashi tightened his arm around Yui for a second, in the general gist of a hug as he casually stated, "Out."

She pouted at his vague response, which he only answered with a teasing wink.

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Kokuei watched the scene below him with a keen interest, while at the same time pretending not to be interested in Yui's "boyfriend." But nonetheless, his face was pressed up to the window, desperately trying to get a better view of the guy who had captured Yui's heart. Maybe if he watched long enough, he could win her affection as well? It was a long shot, especially since the two figures looked like ants below him!

Beneath his hands, though, the glass was cool and smooth, fully efficient in keeping the cold air away from him and acted as a reminder of how grateful he should be to Yui even if he couldn't win her heart. He owed absolutely everything to her, so it would be perfectly natural to want to love her, right? But how was he supposed to do that with competition that could afford to take her on daylong dates? His brow creased, already welcoming a sense of rivalry and hatred between whoever had just taken his Yui away! However, perhaps it wasn't so much of an anger directed at Yui's date, but rather, an anger that is borne out of loneliness and envy. Kokuei cringed inwardly at the thought, leaning away from the window for he was no longer interested in the scenes below; Yui was no longer in them. He sighed heavily, feeling a sensation of despair and insignificance swell within his heart. He didn't welcome the feeling, but he was so accustomed to its presence that he hardly even acknowledged that he was harboring it. After all, it was all that he'd been aware of feeling since before he could even remember, wasn't it?

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"Wow!" she half-exclaimed, half-squealed. "Look at how nice this place is! And all the food, too…" she trailed off, suddenly be reminded of how much like Miaka was she acting.

Hiashi, on the other hand, just smiled with satisfaction at Yui's obvious enthusiasm. When she had mentioned not having breakfast earlier, he had suddenly recalled a restaurant that he and his family had passed on their first trip to the new house. He had probably passed it by about twice before he had remembered its location, but with Yui, it hadn't even bothered him. Just chatting with her about this and that made even the time that he had spent absently driving around pleasurable. He stole a glance at her as she looked over the menu, her eyes pausing on one spot once and a while and then quickly moving on. It looked as though she were concentrating so hard that he couldn't resist a small laugh. This private thought's result, however caught Yui's attention and she looked up at Hiashi with a quizzical gaze.

"What's so funny?" she asked him, wondering if she had missed something.

"Nothing at all!" Hiashi hastily replied, stifling his laughter.

Yui looked at him skeptically, but instead of questioning him again like he had thought she would, she simply shoved her menu towards him with her index finger indicating an item on the menu. "All right! If you're not going to tell me what was so funny to you, then why don't you tell me what this is?"

Hiashi's eyes widened for a moment, surprised as her speed in changing the subject. He nodded awkwardly, allowing his eyes to sink down to the menu held before him. He read it quickly and looked up at Yui, explaining, "It's Belgian waffles with a poached egg, and bacon or sausage links, depending on your choice. It also comes with orange juice and coffee, because of what it says up here." Her pointed to the top of the section where it announced the complimentary entrees that came with every order form that section.

Yui looked on observantly, absorbing everything he said like a sponge. Hiashi wondered why she had asked him, though. But before he had to ask, Yui explained, "I don't know every English word yet… Belgian waffles wasn't a term that I was familiar with, but they're what's in this picture, right?" She pointed to an image printed on the menu, waiting hopefully for Hiashi's reaction.

"Yep, that's right." Yui smiled proudly at her small accomplishment, while it was Hiashi's turn to ask himself questions. I wonder why Yui's in the US, given that she seems to be so much more acquainted with the Japanese life and language. Is she studying abroad? I guess it would make sense, but is that all there is to it…?

The waiter approached their table and stood by it, pen and paper ready as he asked if they were ready to place their order. Yui and Hiashi traded confirmative glances, and Hiashi gestured for Yui to go first.

"I would like the breakfast classic number two with bacon, please."

The waiter nodded and turned towards Hiashi as he finished scribbling down Yui's order.

"I'd like the fifth combination, please," Hiashi said politely, patiently waiting for the waiter to finish writing down the order.

"What type of toast would you like? We have white, wheat, sour dough, French-"

"-Wheat is fine," he said, relieving the tired-looking waiter of his regular speech.

"All right! It'll be out soon," the waiter said with a obviously forced cheerfulness, tucking the small notepad into his apron pouch and turning away to attend other tables.

As he walked away, Yui commented, "I feel bad for him. It must be terrible to have to be a waitress in the morning."

"Why's that?"

She crinkled up her nose, giving Hiashi the immediate urge to hug the adorable girl sitting just across the small table. She smiled sweetly and explained, "Can you just imagine getting up so early, and then having to deal with tired and cranky people? I know I couldn't do it!"

Hiashi laughed at her comment, readily agreeing with her. To be honest, he had never really pondered the situation of morning waiters. He smiled at Yui warmly, his chin propped attentively on his hand as he made a mental note to leave the waiter a more generous tip.

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So that's the internal structure of a horse, and that one's the skeletal structure. And that's a picture of…of… I have absolutely no idea what the hell that is! Kokuei groaned, rolling over onto his stomach and laying the fat book flat on the floor. His naked feet swayed in the air above him as he rest his head on his hand. His eyes glared down at the mysterious picture on the page in what was probably a science book of sorts. Silence loomed over the small apartment with a sort of tenseness that even the bravest soul would be reluctant to shatter. And then…

A low rumbling noise resounded through the tiny room. Kokuei blinked, startled, and then pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Glaring down the neckline of the loose sweater, he scolded, "Be quiet! You were just fed yesterday, so you'll be fine for at least another day! I don't have any food, so…"

Silence once again blanketed the room as Kokuei's eyes wandered over to the tidy kitchen. His gaze fell first on the oven, then the sink, to the coffee machine on the counter, and then… the pantry. It was left slightly open, just daring him to come over and snatch something from its grasp.

"She never said anything about the pantry," he chimed to himself, a sort of dazed expression falling over his features.

Pushing off the carpeted floor, he skulked to the pantry. Reaching the entrance to the kitchen, he dropped on to all fours and proceeded to his goal in silence. No one was there to see him, but if the was, by God, they'd have a hard time spotting him! When he was within a foot of the pantry door, Kokuei sprung up and threw the door open, producing a loud squeak from the faded brass hinges. The squeak fell on deaf ears, however, for Kokuei was long gone. So much food, he pondered. So little time…

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Sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I've been having such a rough go of it that I haven't had any time to write! It's so depressing. Every time I feel like writing, I always have to do something else first and after that, it's way too late at night! Maybe I should just become nocturnal? Oh, that would be really creepy. By morning, I'd be jumping about with a pink bed sheet tied around my shoulders screaming, "I am vengeance… I am the knight… I AM BATMAN!!!" (I actually have done that before, so beware.) Anyway, for my mental health, please review! It's currently 1:16 in the morning, and that's a lot of effort for me to finish a chapter at this hour! I am sorry if this chapter was disappointing, but please understand that I really am trying! Please, please review!

-Kaen @.@ (need sleep, want food, need sleep, want food… The cycle continues.)