*
So this is what it feels like…
The worst pain imaginable…
I never knew…
*
"It's—bzz—showing no signs—bzz—stopping—bzz…"
The three of us crowded around the radio. Riku manipulated the knobs, trying to get the weather report to come in more clearly.
"Listeners—bzz bzz—advised to stay indoors—bzz—emergency, don't leave—bzzzz—only wait—bzz—continue to stay tuned—bzz…"
"Man, this reception is total crap," Riku moaned, turning the rightmost knob until the announcer's voice finally bzzed out of existence. He leaned back in the chair he had dragged up to the wall, where the old yellow radio sat on a low counter.
Sora pulled the towel down from his mane of brown so it sat on his shoulders. "Eh, it's probably bad 'cause of the typhoon."
I sighed. "We didn't even learn anything new. We were already going to wait it out."
Riku stood up and started pacing. "Are we really the only ones left? Did everyone else make it out while we were doing cleanup?"
"There's gotta be a few others," Sora said, now standing as well. He left the soggy white towel to drip from one of the stacked chairs. "Let's go have a look around. At least we'll have something to do."
I wasn't bored in the least. I was overjoyed. Sora was with me. I didn't care about any stupid typhoon. I didn't care that I might not get home until tonight—or even tomorrow. I had Sora with me.
Still…he wasn't acting like he recognized me. He had smiled at me more than once, but that could have just been to thank me for bringing him three large towels, which had been enough to stop him from creating rivers wherever he went.
Damn. I couldn't say anything as long as Riku was around. I'd probably just weird him out again…
I would have to get Sora alone and make him remember me. It wouldn't be like it had been with Riku, no; Sora and I were connected.
But, for the time being at least, I couldn't let on about the past.
The three of us strolled down the hallway. No one was on the freshman floor, the second floor. We checked the basement, where the furnace was, and then the first floor, where all the offices were. No luck. We went back up to the third story. No luck there either. There was only one more place to check; the top floor, the fourth floor. Was it really possible that the three of us were the only ones in the building?
"Hel-looo!" Sora called from the top of the staircase. I supposed he didn't feel like walking up and down another hall. "Anybody there?"
"Hey!" Somebody popped out of the door farthest from us "We've got company!" she hollered back into the room.
"It's Yuffie," I realized.
"Oh, you know her? Cool," Sora said. He was already on his way down the hall. Riku and I walked beside him, with me, the shortest—they had both grown a fair amount—situated in the middle. For just a moment there, with the three of us walking together, it really felt like old times. I found myself wanting to reach out and take their hands and swing my arms and maybe sing and I don't know what else. It was another silly notion, one of many I had been having.
I suppose the ecstasy of the reunions had made me lose my poise, but I really didn't care. I was laughing with my friends again—I was laughing, really laughing, and I was with my friends. Those two things…it had been a year since either had occurred. Of course I might have had a silly thought or two. Such a thing was understandable.
"Ah, it's you I see," observed a deep voice from right next to me as I entered the classroom.
"Squ—I mean, Leonheart-sensei." I barely saved myself from committing a very disrespectful act. I bowed my head to him, hiding the gulp that traveled down my throat.
"And what was your name again?"
"Suzuki, sir. Suzuki Kairi." I couldn't meet his stony gaze. Not when he didn't even recognize me.
"Our two class representatives!" remarked a warmer and lighter voice as I heard two hands clap together. "And the best English student in my homeroom with them—but are you all right, Takahashi? You look dreadfully wet."
"Yeah, I'm okay," Sora replied casually, swinging a chair from a nearby desk and plopping his soggy rear end onto it. "And you, Gainsborough-sensei?"
Aerith—Aerith was there too! I was stunned as I slowly sunk down into a seat next to my friends. Squall, Yuffie, Aerith, Riku, Sora…and me. We were all together in this new world, Japan.
I studied Aerith. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. She had some of her light chocolate hair braided and wound on the top of her head. The rest descended almost like a cape behind her. She was wearing a collared dress of a very pale green color, and standing next to a black box that I quickly recognized as another radio. She turned the volume back up. It buzzed and sputtered, just as the one downstairs had done.
"Give up. The storm's too bad," muttered Squall, leaning hard against the wall.
Aerith shook her head and then adjusted the volume once more. She did not turn it off, but instead lowered it to the point where the weatherman's mutilated voice only hummed in the background.
Yuffie, from behind me, leaned forward and whispered, "I'm soooo glad you guys showed up! I thought I would be stuck with the teachers for the rest of my stinkin' life!"
Squall cleared his throat. "Would you rather have been alone, Kisaragi?"
Yuffie's groan was loud in my ear. "I swear that guy's a psychic!"
I stole a quick glance at the man. He was looking straight at us, one eyebrow raised just enough for me to notice. I quickly swiveled around in the chair and faced Yuffie. She giggled. I suppose my expression was hilarious.
I wasn't as amused. I could still feel Squall's eyes burning into the back of my head. I hoped he was only trying to send a message through me to Yuffie…
"The wind's so strong," Aerith said from the window. I could not see outside; the sheets of rain pouring down the panes of glass were too thick. I could also hear the glass windowpanes rattling. The woman hurried and closed the blinds.
Squall flicked on the rest of the light switches and soon we were bathed in the sharp white-blueness of the long florescent bulbs.
Something strange happened then, something I cannot explain. As I was emerged in the sterile brightness, I felt a chilling sensation of familiarity run over me. I felt cold on the inside…alone…scared.
I shivered.
The two boys were sitting on either side of me. Riku touched my elbow and watched me with concern. I shook my head gently and put on the most sincere smile possible. After a second I felt better… But in that one second I had felt more fear and pain than I had during all the other millions and millions of seconds in my fifteen-year life added together.
No one else in the room seemed to have noticed my plight. Squall stalked toward the window, peaked out between the blinds, and told us, "This wind is bad. We should go to the basement if it gets much worse."
"Yes. And we must not leave the building until the weather improves. It's very dangerous out there now... Don't worry," Aerith added, looking right at me, "if it gets to be dinnertime, Leonheart-san and I have the keys to the cafeteria. We will all be just fine."
"Oy, but what the heck are we gonna do for all that time?" Yuffie demanded.
"You could start your homework," Squall offered, smiling slightly.
Her moan then was the loudest yet.
*
The wind did get worse. It was about five-thirty when the six of us gathered up our belongings and headed for the basement. Next to the boiler room, there was a small lounge, which contained a couch, several mismatched chairs, as well as a few school desks.
Riku and I had each completed our assignments upstairs, but Yuffie and Sora were still working. I asked if I could hurry up to the library on the first floor and retrieve a book to spare me from boredom. Riku wanted to come too. Aerith agreed, urging us to hurry back and also requesting we bring her a fashion magazine or two.
"We should find some cards or something," Riku suggested as we passed through the library doors. "When Kisaragi and Takahashi finish their homework, maybe we could all play a game."
"Did you see the look on Yuffie-sempai's face? I don't know how soon she'll be finished." I smiled to show I was only joking. Riku smiled back. My heart felt warm. When he wasn't smirking, Riku actually looked quite pleasant and approachable. The problem was he usually was smirking…
"Well, you never know. We might be here a while."
"Okay. You look for the cards."
We went off in different directions to search. I found myself a novella and Riku—somehow—located a deck of worn playing cards. Our last stop was the magazine rack. Now…a fashion magazine…
"Hey, Kairi."
"Yeah?" I was leaning over the rack, thumbing past a few motorcycle magazines.
"Well…"
"Ah!" I exclaimed when I what I was looking for. I snatched my prize from the rack and turned around. "We can go back now. What were you going to say?"
He averted his eyes. "Nevermind."
Whoops. Had I done something wrong? "Hey, what is it? You can tell me."
"Anyway," Riku started, going back across the room. "Do you miss your home much?"
"I guess so," I replied slowly. I was fully aware that he was talking about Sapporo, and that I was talking about Destiny Islands, but it didn't really matter, did it? I stood facing the wall for a moment. With everything around me being so new and different, I hadn't actually thought about my home too much.
Days spent exchanging gossip with Selphie…trying to avoid a game of blitzball with Wakka…preparing the fish Tidus had caught for dinner… All of this seemed so very far away somehow, and it saddened me.
"I miss my home, but it's all right because I know that I can go back someday," I said, turning around to face him. He was standing closer than I had had predicted. I smiled and moved back slightly. The wind howled outside. "Let's go join the others, 'kay?"
He picked up the cards from the table and silently led the way.
That was the thing about Riku. I always felt like he was holding something back.
*
"The phones won't work, not even my cell," Squall was saying when Riku and I returned. He was glaring at the world even more angrily than before.
"You don't have to be so moody," Aerith replied. "At least everyone is safe."
"I know that. It's just…" He sighed. "I was…supposed to have dinner with my girlfriend tonight," sighed the man, putting his hands on his head as he paced across the tile floor. "She is not going to be happy with me."
"Don't be silly. I'm sure she'll understand," his coworker told him.
Yuffie snickered in my direction. I think she was pretty amused that her homeroom teacher even had a girlfriend.
"Here's your magazine," I told Aerith as I held it out, interrupting Squall's complaints. Miffed, he went over and settled himself against another wall, crossing his arms in frustration.
I think he really liked walls.
"Done!" Sora called out, slamming shut his English workbook. He stood and announced his intentions of visiting the restroom.
Things settled down after that. I sat back down in front of Yuffie and dove into my new book. The story, a mystery, was fairly intense and I lost myself in it easily. Had my stomach not growled as I turned the final page, I doubt I would have noticed the passage of time.
I looked up. The clock told me it was a quarter to seven. Yuffie was doodling in the back of her math notebook behind me, Riku was immersed in a round of solitaire to my right, and the two teachers were talking in hushed tones on the far side of the room, Aerith's magazine spread across her lap.
"Where's Sora?" I wondered immediately.
"Takahashi? He's not here?" Aerith lifted her head. She seemed moderately alarmed.
"He's been gone over an hour…"
"I thought he just went to the restroom," the teacher said, a frown taking shape out of her perfect pink lips. "Maybe he went looking for something to eat?"
"I'll go find him," I volunteered, leaping to my feet.
"Want company?" Yuffie asked.
"Eh, I'm all right," I said, regretting my words when I saw disappointment wash over her usually perky face. "Be back in a minute," I promised on my way out.
Later… I really wished I could have kept my word.
***
Author's notes: Well, looks like most everyone is assembled now. How did they all wind up in Japan? Have patience, my faithful readers, for all shall be revealed…
Lesson…#5, is it? Removing Shoes: You have probably noticed in my story thus far that the characters are all removing their shoes. Now, this story sure wouldn't be an accurate portrayal of Japanese life if that didn't happen! For centuries now—since at least the Heian period (794-1192)—Japanese people have been removing their outdoor footwear before going inside. It began as a way to keep homes clean, since the ground outdoors was very muddy and people usually sat and slept on cushions laid directly on the tatami mat floor. While cleanliness is still a motivation for removing shoes today, tradition also plays an important role. Homes are mostly Western-style, with beds, couches, carpet, tables, etcetera, and Japanese people long ago stopped wearing the traditional geta (wooden clogs) or zoori (sandals, which were also the origin of today's popular flip-flops), but everyone still removes his or her shoes. I think that's evidence of pretty strong tradition, don't you?
Shoes and other outdoor wear are removed at the genkan, or entrance. In houses, this is a special area set a step lower than the rest of the house. The genkan is actually not considered to be the inside of the house, and, say, a delivery man can walk in your door and stand there and still be "outside." The floor of the genkan is usually the same stone as the walk leading up to the door. The genkan is a special area because it is, supposedly, the face that a family is showing the world. There will be a geta-boko, or shoe cupboard, for unused shoes, and on top of it some sort of ornament, display, bouquet, etc (in my family's home, my host mother put the flower arrangement I made there). Other shoes will be lined up on the side or, in the case of a guest's shoes, they will be lined neatly up at the door. Indoors, people will either wear slippers or go around in their socks. Only socks or bare feet are allowed on tatami.
At school, students will switch from their outdoor shoes to indoor ones—either soft, slipper-like shoes called uwabaki or special sneakers—in the large genkan, where each student has a small cubbyhole/locker type of thing. I made up the part about there being enough room for an umbrella…I have no idea if that is true or not x.x` Guests to the schools will wear special guest slippers. Shoes aren't worn inside temples or shrines, either (they also supply guest slippers, and nothing but socks are worn in main worship areas). People don't remove shoes at most large public buildings.
Did you know there are also special slippers to only be worn in the room with the toilet?
P.S. I was thinking that I might put together a small website featuring these lessons (and perhaps some others) as well as photos from my trip. Do you guys think this is a good idea?