The Dog In Her (3)
Saki supposed that most other people complained about getting the sun in their eyes when they woke up. She wasn't like most other people.
She'd sit up and stretch her arms and greet the sun streaming through her window with a smile. The sun was there to remind her of a new day, of another chance at living.
She imagined death to be like sleeping forever, a perpetual darkness she couldn't wake up from. When she was a kid, learning the fact that people could die in their sleep had terrified her. For years she'd sleep with a night light, or keep the lamp on her nightstand on, so there was at least the reddish glow behind her eyelids to reassure her that she wouldn't somehow die in her sleep too.
Saki liked to think she had outgrown that fear. For the most part, anyway. She didn't need a night light anymore, and she turned off her lamp before going to bed. In their place was the sun, which she could count on to always greet her at the crack of dawn.
The sun wasn't the only thing she met with this morning. Floramon was curled up beside her, with plenty of room in Saki's queen size bed to fit them both. As Saki sat up in her bed, Labramon came to view from her sleeping spot on the floor. Saki had arranged spare pillows and blankets into a makeshift bed for Aoi's partner the night before. She had offered Labramon a place on her bed as well, but perhaps it was the dog in her that made Labramon insist that she'd be fine on the floor.
Saki planned to get Labramon a proper dog bed from the nearby pet store, though Aoi had insisted on covering that with her allowance.
Floramon stirred and pushed back the blankets to unfurl the tendrils from the palms of her hands. "Good morning, Saki," she said faintly.
"Morning, Floramon," Saki whispered back.
Labramon uncurled from her improvised bed, sticking her rump in the air for a moment to stretch. "Good morning, you two."
"Good morning, Labramon. I'm so glad it's the weekend." Knowing and saying that made Saki flop spread-eagled right back into bed. "Feels good to sleep in and not rush to school."
"What's a weekend?" Floramon asked.
Saki sat back up to point to the calendar hanging above her desk. "There are seven days in a week, and two of those days at the end there is called a weekend. I go to school five days a week, then I have time off on Saturday and Sunday."
"It's good that you get some time off to relax," Labramon said.
"The weekend still doesn't feel long enough," Saki whined. Nevertheless, she counted her blessings. It felt strangely comforting to complain like most other schoolgirls. Better that the weekend wasn't long enough than worrying day to day, hour by hour, even, about having enough food to eat and having shelter to stay safe.
There was a knock on the door and Saki's mother poked her head in. "Rise and shine. Come down and help me make breakfast for your new friends."
Saki perked up and threw back the covers. "Okay, be right there!" She had enough pep in her step to go down two stairs at a time. Live commentary of the latest baseball game drifted to her ears from the TV.
Jiro Kimishima lounged on the living room couch with a cup of coffee and all eyes on the game.
Saki wrapped her arms over his neck from behind. "Morning, Papa."
"Hey, Sunshine." He looped his free arm over her for a moment. "You slept okay?"
"Like a baby."
Floramon and Labramon had followed closely behind in the short trip downstairs. From the kitchen, Reika Kimishima greeted them warmly. "What do you two have a taste for? Any allergies I need to know about?"
"I know what allergic means," Labramon replied with a proud wag of her tail. "I just learned about that yesterday from Aoi." She paused, then went on, "No, I don't think I'm allergic to anything. I'm fine with having whatever everyone likes to eat here. I'm sure it'll be delicious."
Floramon looked a bit sheepish. "What Labramon said. She said it way better than I could."
"Omelette and toast it is, then."
Saki joined her mother in the kitchen to crack the eggs and whisk them. Reika was cutting up the tomatoes grown from their backyard as she said, "School's starting again soon. You're ready?"
"No," Saki replied with a pout. "Give me like, another month. Maybe then I'll be ready."
Her mom laughed. "You're so silly. Haven't you spent enough time in whatever strange world you got spirited away to?" She glanced at the pair of Kemonogami, who watched the TV with intense curiosity. "I know that having all these new friends is very exciting, but it's time to think about getting back in gear for life as usual." She wiped her hands clean of tomato bits before resting one on her daughter's shoulder. "There's also your surgery coming up," she said gently. "We promised the doctors that we'd get that taken care of when camp's over."
Saki nodded, though she wish she hadn't remembered.
"I know it won't be easy, but you should use the weekend to readjust and mentally prepare yourself for the big day."
Mom was right. She almost always was. Thinking of the surgery gave Saki butterflies in her stomach, and she started to get a headache just thinking about how to deal with school. It wasn't like she was really struggling; she did well enough when she put her mind to it. Even made honor roll here and there. But she always had to play catch up, that was what made school hard. She was used to missing school a lot due to frequent appointments and taking many sick days, so she was always a step behind the rest of her class. She worked twice as hard to be on their level. Then more appointments, more sick days, and it was back to square one. Rinse and repeat. School really wore her out. On top of that, there was the surgery to deal with. Saki almost lost her appetite and she put in only half the effort to whisk the eggs.
Soon breakfast was ready, and Jiro left the TV on as he joined his family at the table. Floramon and Labramon sat at each side of Saki with several pillows to boost their seats.
Everyone dug into their omelette and toast with gusto except for Saki, who poked at her breakfast with a fork. She would much rather not think about surgery and school right now. The clock was ticking, she only had two days left to enjoy. She wanted to make the most of it.
After forcing herself to get through at least half of her plate, she spoke up. "Mama, Papa, I got a big favor to ask you." Just saying that took a lot out of her as she shrank in her chair the next second. "I know I've already asked so much of you by letting Floramon and Labramon stay here. I...I'm thinking about hosting a picnic in the backyard for my friends."
"The ones from camp?" Jiro asked.
"Yeah. I, um, want to invite their partners, too. They all behave very well, I promise. They're way better than cats and dogs. They're more like little people." Saki fidgeted in her seat as her parents mulled over the idea.
"If that's the case, I don't see why not," Reika finally said. "We have plenty of room outside."
"And it'll be better than a public park if you and your creature feature buddies want some privacy," Jiro said.
Encouraged by their approval, Saki nodded firmly. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
She helped her parents clean up after breakfast, then her thumbs flitted furiously over the phone as she hit up the Survivor group chat. "Picnic and potluck at my place tomorrow," she texted. "Sorry for the short notice. Partners welcome, of course. Anyone down?"
Soon she got affirmative responses from everyone, even from Ryo. Then she scrutinized her phone screen. No, not everyone...Shuuji didn't reply. What was up with him? Come to think of it, Saki hadn't heard a word out of him since she waved goodbye after being picked up from camp.
Saki woke up the next day beaming like the sun and raring to go. The first thing she did after getting out of bed was whip up some salad for the picnic. All the greens courtesy of home-grown plants, naturally. Her mom had very strong opinions about salad. Why waste money getting someone else's greens when you could just as easily grow your own that's guaranteed fresh?
Minoru showed up first at her door. He brought mochi ice cream that would melt if he came later. Aoi and Takuma arrived next with teriyaki on rice and his mom's curry, respectively. Ryo brought shrimp and vegetable tempura. Kaito, Miu, the professor, and Miyuki, being the farthest from Saki's house, showed up last.
Saki couldn't help feeling a rush of pride at her friends' universal awed reaction to the front yard.
"So many damn flowers," Ryo had muttered, but she could tell that even he was impressed.
Saki's parents welcomed the tide of company, Kemonogami and all. If anything, they were the most taken aback by the sight of the professor.
"A friend of yours too, Saki?" her mom asked.
"Uh-huh! Don't let his age fool you...he's our friend as much as everyone else in the group. He even saved my life at one point. That definitely counts as a friend in my book."
The professor seemed to glow at her comment. "Thank you so much for inviting us," he said warmly, topping off the gratitude with a deep bow to her parents. He then introduced Miyuki as his granddaughter.
No one in earshot said anything to refute him in front of Saki's parents. She figured that everyone was on the same page about the situation. Not easy to say that the man in his seventies and the preteen girl with him were in fact brother and sister. Better to tell a convenient lie than to tell the truth sometimes.
Her friends filtered into the backyard to be suspended in disbelief once again.
"So pretty," Agumon exclaimed as he threw up his claws. "So much green!"
"You must feel quite at home here, Floramon," Falcomon remarked.
"This backyard is something else," Minoru said after a low whistle. "Perfect place for a picnic!"
Kaito and Miu had brought blankets to spread out over the grass, because the table on the patio wasn't big enough to fit them all. They used the table to lay out the food and plates instead, and everyone settled on the blankets to form a ring once they loaded up on food. Saki filled a big pitcher full with lemonade, then was halfway through the patio door with a cooler crammed with ice and soda when Minoru swooped in to help, flexing nonexistent muscles as he did so.
Saki clapped her hands together, the hostess commanding everyone's attention. "All right, everyone, spill the tea. I want to hear everything that happened since we got back to our world."
They went around the circle taking turns to report their homecoming experience. Apparently Takuma's mom loved Agumon for his huge appetite. Minoru's mom got spooked at first by the "biggest damn bird she had ever seen," then she calmed down when Falcomon consistently proved his civility and sophisticated manner. His dad was told later over video chat; Minoru's parents were divorced and he'd been living with his mom since he was six. Everyone thought that Kaito and Miu's parents would flip at seeing Dracmon and Syakomon, who by group consensus were considered the scariest, oddest looking Kemonogami.
"They're pretty cool with it, actually," Kaito said. "They think that's just more proof that we live in a simulation."
Takuma quirked an eyebrow. "That we live in a what?"
"You haven't heard of simulation theory?" Miu leaned forward, looking more than delighted to explain. "Some people believe that our entire existence is a simulated reality, like a computer game, and we're the NPCs. Or player character. Because everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story, right?"
Aoi made the kind of smile one couldn't help making at the most ridiculous, far-fetched idea, but was far too nice and polite to say as much. Instead she said, "Well, I think we know now where Miu gets her interesting personality."
Ryo admitted that he was "too much of a wuss" to introduce Kunemon to his dad who had picked him up from camp. He had stowed his partner away in his duffel bag, and only when they got home, he let the worm out of the bag, so to speak. And for good reason. His dad had actually fainted at the very sight of Kunemon. There were either bitten bottom lips or pinched faces to keep from laughing.
Minoru couldn't hold it back in the end as he doubled over clutching his belly. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," he said with a nudge at Ryo's ribs, which prompted the latter to push the former's arm away and say "shut up" under his breath.
"He's kind of cool with it now," Ryo went on. "As long as Kunemon doesn't creep up on him from behind."
Aoi went after him on an even more sobering note, explaining the dilemma regarding her mother and the improvised living arrangements with Saki. Everyone regarded Aoi with sympathy.
"That's tough, having a mom like that," Kaito said.
Minoru shook his head. "I'd go nuts if I was in your shoes, to be honest."
"I'm so sorry to hear that Labramon can't come home with you, Aoi," Miu said.
"You think we did the right thing, the way things are now?" Saki asked Takuma.
There was a certain gravity in how everyone's eyes fell on him as they waited for his input.
"I don't think I would've done it differently," he replied. "I think you two did the right thing. Our parents hearing about the landslides near us worried them enough as it is. Your mom seems especially anxious, Aoi, so you're taking the right approach of trying to get her over one crazy event at a time. Saki, I'm totally not surprised that you offered to help and give Labramon a place to stay. Since you two are practically neighbors, Aoi won't have to travel far to visit Labramon and worry her mom."
That reassured Saki and made her feel better than she already had.
"How have you two been holding up?" Takuma then asked the professor and Miyuki. "I can imagine it must be an awkward situation all around."
"Indeed," the professor said with a sigh. "Who would buy a story about siblings living in separate worlds, with one growing old and the other never aging? And anyone who remembers Miyuki from fifty years ago is either dead or think she's good as dead."
"The best we can come up with for anyone who asks is that I'm his long-lost granddaughter," Miyuki said. "My parents raised me abroad and they recently passed away, so I moved back to Japan for my grandfather to take custody of me." The faintest amusement tugged at her lips. "The only grain of truth in all that is Haru agreeing to homeschool me. He's so knowledgable, and he's already a teacher, so he can pull off the role well."
The professor rubbed the back of his white-haired head. "I'm used to teaching college-aged students, so it's an adjustment for me. But Miyuki is a great student, always has been from what I can remember when I was a boy. She keeps up with the material and has been very patient with me."
Saki could sense the mutual pride the Minase siblings had for each other. Moments like that made her wish she had siblings of her own.
Finally, after everyone present spoke their piece, they had to address the elephant in the room. Or rather, the one missing from the picnic.
"Anyone heard from Shuuji since we left camp?" Takuma asked.
Everyone else shook their heads with frowns and looks of worry.
"I tried to call him, but he wouldn't pick up," Aoi said.
"I tried, too," the professor said with a rub of his beard. "I left voicemails, and at first I thought I wasn't doing them right on my new smart phone, but he really hasn't been answering."
Ryo crossed his arms. "Maybe he's tied up with family issues back home."
"Maybe they're not even letting him out of the house to come over," Kaito said in a low voice.
Agumon looked away, raising his claws to his chin. "I'm worried about Lopmon, too…I hope he's doing okay."
An unsettled silence reigned over the backyard for a long moment.
Saki took an awkward stab at trying to change the subject. "There's still some teriyaki and salad at the table if anyone wants more."
They end up clearing all the food, mostly with help from Agumon. They lounged around with full bellies, trying to keep up the small talk without food coma overtaking them.
"I assume everyone's staying home and lying low?" Labramon asked.
"Kew," Kunemon said with a nod of his head.
"It can't be helped," Falcomon replied. "I keep a close eye on the news…while there's still reports of unusual weather and natural phenomena, there have been no sightings of our kind. Not yet, anyway. In the mean time, I thought it best to stay in Minoru's house until the public is more ready to accept us."
"It gets boring, sometimes," Dracmon said around a mouth half stuffed with vegetable tempura. "I know it's for the best, but there's not much to do around the house besides napping and watching TV."
"I'm not bored," Gabumon said with confidence. "Haru keeps a lot of books in his house. I'd read them when he's busy teaching Miyuki."
Renamon shrugged. "Books may be nice for some of you, but we can't stay cooped up inside forever."
"Miu told me about this special day called Halloween," Syakomon said. "It's when kids go out in costumes and hunt for candy at other people's houses."
Agumon swallowed down a large bite of teriyaki chicken before he said, "That sounds like fun!"
"Yeah, and spooky. People dress up like monsters and put scary decorations all over their houses. That'd be a good time to go out and about. We wouldn't stick out so much."
"Too bad it's only one day out of the whole year," Dracmon said. "I ain't coming outta the house only once a year. Hey Falcomon, how long do you think there'll be more of us popping up?"
"It's impossible to tell," Minoru's partner replied. "We can only watch and wait."
Meanwhile, their human partners discussed their own misgivings: going back to school.
"I'm so not ready," Saki groaned. "I'm still getting used to just being back home with my mom and dad."
"Same here," Aoi said with a sympathetic smile. "My mom told me I should study for high school entrance exams."
"My mom said I need to use the weekend to get ready for school. Our moms would get along great, I think."
"How am I going to focus on homework when all I want to do is hang out with Falcomon?" Minoru asked.
"At least we have it easy this year," Takuma said. "Aoi's going to high school, Shuuji's going to college…they got entrance exams to worry about."
Aoi made an uneasy chuckle. "No need to remind me."
"Sorry, I was just trying to get Minoru to chill out. I know you'll do great, Aoi. You're our resident honor student."
She blew out a shaky sigh. "That just makes me even more nervous."
Takuma's cheeks flushed. "Sorry again."
Saki found it somehow both funny and comforting that Takuma didn't always have the right thing to say, even with his good intentions. For all the courage and fortitude he showed in stepping up to leadership, with virtues that had saved their ragtag band from certain death and bad choices many times over, he was still a bumbling, awkward teenage kid like the rest of them.
"I'm so glad we get to see each other again like this," Saki said. "You know, before we start school and get caught up in it." Before my surgery too, she almost said, where I could go under the knife and maybe never wake up again.
Noises of agreement from everyone else almost drowned out that little voice wheedling in her ears.
Aoi stayed behind while everyone else eventually had to leave. Kaito and Miu took their blankets home with them, so Aoi and Saki moved to sitting across each other at the patio table. Labramon and Floramon remained on the grass to trail after butterflies.
"You look like something's been weighing on your mind," Aoi murmured. "Something more than school."
Of course she was perceptive enough to wait until she said that.
"My surgery's coming up in a few days." Saki hadn't told anyone else about it. Maybe she'll open up someday, but for now only Aoi knew. "I keep putting it off. I promised the doctors that I'd get it done as soon as I finished camp." Saki clenched her hands over her lap. "Not going to lie, I'm pretty scared."
Aoi rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to be scared. I know I would be. Having surgery at our age, this young, is a big deal."
Saki took comfort in her touch. She would hate to admit it, because she loved all her fellow Survivors, but if she had to be honest with herself, she had been the most excited to see Aoi again. Being alone with her sent butterflies from her stomach up to her chest.
"I'm going to be so behind for school," Saki groaned, trying to mask how flustered she really felt. "Playing catch up is nothing new to me, but recovering from this surgery will be my longest absence ever."
Aoi tilted her head to one side, making her long sweeping ponytail hang in the air. "I can't do anything about the surgery, but I could help you with school."
"Really?"
"Sure. We don't go to the same schools, but I used to be in your grade a few years ago. I think I still have notes from back then." Aoi cracked a grin. "It's not like the rules of math and historical events have changed in the last three years. I bet there's at least some overlap between the stuff our schools cover."
"Yeah, there has to be."
"Instead of playing catch up, how about trying to think ahead?"
"What do you mean?"
Aoi dropped her gaze and rested her pointer finger on her chin, a pensive habit of hers that Saki had grown to be fond of. "Well, teachers have their lesson plans laid out for the whole year. You've got a few days of school before the operation, right? You can ask them what to expect over the next few days when you have to be at home recovering. Then you can study in advance and be on the same page with the rest of your class by the time you can come back."
Saki slapped her fist into her palm. "Aoi, you genius. I wish I thought of that before."
The older girl turned red and didn't meet Saki's eyes. "I'm not a genius. It's just common sense."
Saki put her hands on her hips. "You're always selling yourself short," she said, almost scolding Aoi. "That's why I'm here to remind you of how awesome you are."
"Me, too!" Labramon bounded up to the table, apparently done with chasing butterflies around the garden. "That's a great idea, Aoi. I love seeing you two help each other out so much."
"Yeah, that's what good friends do," Floramon chimed in.
Good friends…that was what it looked like to their partners, and most likely to everyone else. Saki thought differently. What did Aoi think? That was a question Saki didn't have the courage to ask. She did have the courage, however, to blurt out, "I want you with me when I have my surgery."
Aoi stiffened and regarded her with wide eyes.
Saki backpedaled with the same swiftness. "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so demanding." Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She was a selfish brat, asking so much of the people she cared most about. "I-I just trust you more than anyone else with this right now. Having you around would make me feel a lot better. But I totally understand if you can't come because you'll be so busy, or even if you don't want to-"
"Of course I'll come." Aoi reached across the table to grip Saki's hand. Wetness made the gray in Aoi's eyes waver. "You're not being demanding at all. I'm not going to turn away a friend in need. You can count on that."
Saki squeezed her hand back. "Thank you so much, Aoi. That means the world to me."
A friend in need. Well, there was the answer to the question Saki couldn't ask. That put a wrench into her heart as much as Aoi's support had lifted it.