AN: Sorry about the long wait I've had a lot going on. Groundings (of which, I might, I didn't deserve. It was NOT my fault that my dad lost his keys…), exams (horrible. I got Cs on three of them), and so many Color Guard practices and competitions (of which we received second place *wide grin*).
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You Promised
By: dragonfire onna
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Chapter 2: Speak English, Please
***** Japan, five years later. [Usagi: 16; Sammy: 13]
Usagi stepped out onto the platform and took a deep breath of fresh air. A slight smell of the sea and fish filled her nostrils. Yep, she was finally back where she belonged. With not a single glance back at the leaving train, Usagi smiled warmly at a couple passing by embracing each other.
"Usa, where are we going to go?" Sammy, who had grown into a somewhat mischievous and mouthy teenager, gently tapped his sister on the shoulder. His hair had a sandy blonde hue and his eyes changed from a light blue to a greenish-blue color depending on his mood. That was how she could always tell what her brother was feeling.
Usagi rolled her eyes.
"Where do you think? Nani's, of course." Usagi yawned and fully extended her arms into the bright sun in a stretch. Her hair had grown out beautifully into a thick, golden blonde bushel of healthy hair. It shined and glistened like the sun and the moon. Sammy knew how lucky she was to have hair like that, but Usagi seemed oblivious to it.
"I don't think she'll remember us. She probably has Alzheimer's Disease. Did you even tell her that we're coming?" Sammy had a bummed and detached attitude towards this trip to Japan. After all, he was only a little boy when he was last here and didn't remember anything, including his grandma and the language. He left everything he knew in America.
"Don't worry. This is what mom would have wanted us to do…" a sad tone in his sister's voice compelled Sammy to close his mouth and completely stop complaining. "I'm sure of it."
"Mom would have wanted what was best for us… and she wouldn't want us to dwell on her death, Usagi. And I'm sure she'd understand why we left America for awhile. Things just weren't working out between us and that man. We needed time away." Sammy surely held distaste for his mother's second husband; at least he was before she died. Now he was free to marry and started dating again not even a couple months after she died.
Their mother lost her life in a car accident during a snowstorm one evening, almost a year ago. Usagi and Sammy had been entirely distraught, but were pushed into carrying on with their daily routines because of their step-father's belief that life shouldn't halt after someone dies. That meant constant teasing from their step siblings and even their usual treatment from the dad. It was a hard loss for the two, but the other half of the family showed little remorse. Usagi and Sammy had come to Japan with their Nani's saved up Christmas and birthday money. Their father was glad to see them leave for the summer. "Useless ingrates" he called them.
"Everything will turn out fine. Now let's go." Usagi understood how Sammy was feeling. She, too, had left her friends in Japan and went to a country that she didn't fully understand the language of anymore. Sammy, having spent much more of his life in America, was rusty on his Japanese and could barely speak more than a 'hello' to a passerby.
He followed closely behind Usagi, half afraid that he'd get lost and half interested in a girl giggling at him when he tripped as she waved at him. They arrived at a bus stop, or what he thought was a bus stop. After all, it looked like one. When Usagi asked some people directions to their grandmother's apartment in Japanese, he could only look on with utter confusion.
"This sucks," he muttered, kicking his foot into the ground. "Why can't we find some place in the United States? I don't know any Japanese!" Usagi turned to face her little brother and gave him a stern look.
"Sammy, you'll pick up on it fast, and you've got to stop with the attitude here. People respect their elders and do what they're told, and that's that. If someone asks you to do something, then you do it without a word," she explained to him before climbing onto the bus.
"Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna understand them," he mumbled under his breath and snorted in disgust as another older boy pushed him out of the way to get on the bus first. The bus was crowded with many elderly folks. Sammy, seeing everyone staring at him with curiosity, turned his attention outside to the tall, oddly shaped buildings.
The bus driver came to a sudden halt in front of a complex with lots of stores. Across the street was a ton of apartment buildings that were sky-high, it seemed. When the driver spoke, Usagi grabbed Sammy's hand and dragged him off the bus. Around him, people were walking passed and all the signs were written neatly in Japanese. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this.
"Please tell me we're almost there," he whined as he ripped his hand away from his sister's, pouting slightly.
"Yes, just over there," she said with certainty. Sammy nodded as he continued to gaze around, taking in all he saw.
"Why are all the cars white?" Usagi laughed in amusement.
"Just come on. You'll get use to it. And you just need to refresh your memory of Japanese. You know it like I do. Besides, I, too, am a little rusty with the language." They ran across the street and into the building on the left. What they saw shocked both of them.
"It's so nice in here, like it was built for royalty! Just look at this floor. I can see myself in it! It must cost tons of money to stay in a place like this!" Sammy was easily impressed. Around every corner were waiters carrying food trays into elevators and Bellboys helping out with people moving in and out. Maids walked around with traditional feather dusters in one hand, wearing the usual black dress with a white apron. The apartment building could rival a four star hotel.
A man suddenly spoke from behind them, startling the two siblings. Usagi hesitated a moment before speaking back to him. The man gave her a confused look, his dark eyebrows forming downward like his frown. His hair was jet-black, like most Japanese people and was probably in his mid thirties.
"Oh, you are Americans…" he didn't look too happy about this, as he spoke with a light tone of repugnance with an accent to match. Usagi, not really liking this guy either, gave another try with Japanese.
"Why not stick to English?" Usagi bowed her head in respect to the elder's wish, despite the fact that the man meant it as a dis. Sammy narrowed his eyes at the male.
"And why don't you get a life, you jerk," Sammy growled, diverting his eyes to the ground when the older man looked at him suspiciously.
"Are you looking for someone?"
"Yes sir. We're looking for our grandmother, Tsukino, Nichire."
"Follow me." He led them into a large elevator and up to the 22nd floor. He let them out and into the hallway. "Over there on the right." He left them on their own and Sammy took it upon himself to lead the way. He knocked on the door and waited patiently for an answer.
Sammy reached into his pocket and pulled out something that seemed strangely familiar to her. He held it out to her and she took it into the palm of her hand and wrapped her fingers around each curve.
"My locket…" Usagi opened it.
"I took it out of the basement before we left. Before someone got a hold of it and ruined it. I remember how much it means to you." Usagi fingered it before stuffing it into her pocket when the door opened.
"Usagi! Sammy! How good it is to see you here after all these years! Come in, come in!" said a jolly old lady who much have been in her late 50s. She, too, spoke English but with that same accent. Her hair was a dark grey and was pulled into a tight bun on the back of her head, and she wore a light purple kimono. Usagi and Sammy stood in jeans and a T-shirt. How silly they must have looked to any onlooker.
"Hello, Nani," Usagi smiled as she enveloped her grandmother a hug. Sammy hesitated before doing the same. They followed her inside and into the kitchen. For an apartment, it was rather big and spacious. The view from the balcony, which had a set of chairs and a table that you sat at on your knees, was gorgeous. It overlooked a large lake and a small botanical garden with a maze in it. Inside there were paintings and ink drawings from famous Japanese artists and lots of different types of flowers spread evenly throughout the entire residence. There were three bedrooms, small, but equally as nice. Only one bathroom, though miniature, it would do.
"Wow, cool place Nani," Sammy said, stuffing his hands into his pocket. His grandmother looked at him.
"Cool? Turn on heat?" she struggled to say and understand. Sammy realized his mistake. Usagi had told him earlier that they didn't understand many English slang words.
"Oh, I meant it's very nice," he explained to her and she nodded happily in agreement. This was going to be harder than he thought. At least some people could speak some English, even though it was somewhat limited.
Usagi tried, in Japanese, to ask Nani if she could take Sammy to the mall and search around a little bit. Sammy noticed that Usagi spoke with relative ease and seemed to remember most of the words.
"Sammy. Come on! We're going to go out to the mall and buy some new clothes and some books on Japanese, okay?" He didn't really want to go, but agreed anyways as he headed out after his sister.
She pushed the 'floor 1' button. "I don't want new clothes. We're only gonna be here for a month and a half. I've brought all my other clothes and there's nothing wrong with them." Usagi chuckled at her brother's outlook on this trip.
"After high school, I'm going to go to college. It might be in Japan." She mentioned this casually as if it was no big deal. His eyes widen and his voice turned bitter.
"You're going to leave me then, with our step-dad, is that it? You want out so bad you're willing to leave me there for three whole years?" Usagi glanced sympathetically at him. He was immensely angry, and even though that's not why she was going to leave, the reason wouldn't matter much; she still was leaving him.
"You know that's not true. Besides, I'll come back and visit you during every chance I get, alright?" Usagi tried to explicate, but Sammy's eyes only darkened more. She noticed that lately he was really moody.
"And you know that once you turn eighteen, you can claim custody over me and get me out of there. That's what I want you to do. Please" Sammy's eyes were glued to hers in almost a pleading manner and she turned her head to avoid his stare.
"But I can't concentrate on schoolwork if I have to take care of you…and-"
"I get it. I'm just a burden on you. Well you don't have to worry about me any longer. I can take care of myself!" He shouted with an accusing tone. With that Sammy opened the doors to the elevator at the next floor and stormed off.
"Sammy! You know I didn't mean it like that! Get back here now!" When he didn't comply, Usagi groaned in anger and annoyance. "All you think about is yourself! It's always 'how does this affect me?' and I'm tired of it!" She repeatedly hit the 'close doors' symbol and kicked the side of the metal shaft, slightly denting it.
Usagi slid in misery to the red-carpeted floor of the elevator. She couldn't believe what just happened. She thought he'd be happy for her, excited even. But instead it was just the opposite. The again, maybe he was right. She really should not leave him. After all, he was the only real family besides Nani she had left and if it had been the other way around, she would want him to take her with him. She knew she had to apologize, but she wasn't sure she'd change her mind on going. She'd think about it later. Right now, the mall beckoned.
Usagi sighed as the elevator came to an abrupt stop on the first floor. She stood up erectly with the help of the wall and smoothed out the wrinkles in her red t-shirt that came up to just above her belly. Her light blue jeans were tight on the upper thighs but loose and lengthy around the ankles. She definitely stood out here. She instantly took her hair out of her usual hairstyle and pulled it back into a low ponytail. She looked older and more mature this way, something the Japanese respected.
And her Japanese wasn't so bad, not with Raye and her speaking it often at her shrine. Besides, that man was just a total snob, Usagi assured herself.
Just as she was about to walk out, a young man, probably upper teens, stepped in front of her and knocked her down. She fell without grace and landed on her bottom.
"Watch where you're going," he said flatly. He held out his hand to her, but she grudgingly didn't accept it and hoisted herself to her feet. She looked at his face, and his soft, gentle features. One thing stood out to her… his eyes.
"It's alright, mister attitude problem," she muttered in English.
"You must be an American girl. I can tell by your accent. Just FYI, you might want to watch what you say. They teach English in school Japan and there's a lot of English-speaking tourist in this part of the country." With that, the doors of the elevator separated them.
Usagi clicked her tongue and unconsciously reached towards her pocket with the locket, only to find it missing. "It must have fallen out when I bumped into that jerk! This is just GREAT!" Usagi's scream was echoed back to her in the lobby. She winced at the look everyone was giving her. "Sorry…"
She pressed the up button, looking at what floor the man got off at.
"Floor 24? That's the top level." There were only two sweet-like apartments up there, and only the rich could afford something like that, and was reserved for important people.
Finally, after many minutes of waiting, it opened its doors only to reveal the locket on the ground in the corner. She jumped at it and opened it to play the music. The tune played as always. Everything seemed to be okay with it. During the middle of her search for it, a teenaged girl came up behind her and let out a sharp gasp.
"Usagi? Usa-chan? Is that you?" boomed a familiar feminine voice. Usagi turned around to see her friend Minako. Her eyes brightened as she ran the rest of the short distance to her friend. Usagi tripped on an invisible rug and was sent flying through the air only to land at Minako's feet. "Yep, that's you alright!" she giggled as she helped her friend to her feet why shyly blushed.
"Minako! How did you recognize me?" Usagi asked, ecstatic. Minako hadn't changed a bit. Still as classy and pretty as ever.
"Like I wouldn't remember that cute face and those sky blue eyes. Of course I wouldn't forget you! What are you doing here? I thought you moved to the U.S." Her voice was as cheerful as her smile. They had been good friends in elementary school, since Darien was always two grades ahead of her, Minako was her best friend in her own grade.
"I'm here with Sammy visiting my grandmother. My mother died almost a year ago and Nani thought it would be good for us to come back for a summer. Not that we're complaining. I like it better here than with my step dad." Usagi felt right at home again. She missed Minako, but the two had lost touch only a couple of months after she left.
"What have you been doing all these years? Did you meet any handsome American guys?" Minako probed into Usagi's life. Just like old times, Usagi laughed.
"No, I've pretty much just focused on school and my other friends. Raye, you'd like her! Lita and Amy too. They're all really great. Amy must be the smartest girl in the world or something. Mega-genius. And Lita kicks butt in karate tournaments. And Raye, she's training to become a priestess. She used to live in Japan too."
"A priestess? In the United States? What's her last name?"
"Hino."
"Hmmm… it sounds familiar. I'm gonna have to look into that." Minako dismissed the thought almost as soon as it had come. "But right now, we've got to go shopping!" Usagi giggled.
"Where were you headed before?"
"Up to my apartment. I've got one on the top floor." Usagi jaw dropped as they walked out onto the sidewalk.
"Seriously? Man, how'd you get so rich?" Usagi immediately clasped her hand over her mouth and bowed in apology. Minako grinned at her.
"You'll never guess… I co-starred in some recent movies! Great, isn't it?" Usagi mouth hung open. She couldn't even swallow.
"How did you manage that?" She was still trying to recover from her shock of the apartment news, but this was too much.
"Well it started with a school play and I was picked to be Juliet. I didn't know it then, but my boyfriend's aunt was an agent and he invited her to come meet me after the play. Now she's my agent and I couldn't be happier! There's a lot more to it than that, but let's talk it over while getting a bite to eat."
"Sure… you buyin'?" Usagi smiled innocently at Minako, who lifted an eyebrow at her, greatly amused.
"That's my girl! That's the Usagi I know!"
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AN: Anyway, I hope this chapter is worth the wait. It'll get better next time, promise. And don't worry, I've already got half of the next chapter finished. I've just got to finish it up and perhaps I'll have it up by Monday. ANY critiques on my fic are VERY welcomed. I can take it, honestly.
If you wanted to be emailed with the next update and you haven't already given me your email (or not sure) then you can leave me your email.
Anyway, back to my Inuyasha fic that I've put off for WAY too long. ^^* for those that are reading it, it's not that I lost interest, it's just that I usually end up hating what I wrote so I keep rewriting it. Sorry ^^*
