It is now the third week of my stay with Judy – she said I could call her that – and her family, Max and Shinji, who is Max's father.
Judy told me that any time soon, Father would come and take me away. That's why I was standing at the living room window everyday, watching the road for any sign of Father's car.
"Kai?" I turn around. It's Judy, and she's smiling.
"Yes?" I approach her, rather timidly, I'll admit. I look up into her face.
"Would you like to help me make dinner?" she asks, taking my hand in hers. "Max is helping, too."
Max peeks from behind the door to the kitchen. "We're making fried chicken, Kai! It's fun!" He smiles, waving a metal skillet.
"Um…okay." I say, smiling a little.
"Great! Thank you!" Judy says, guiding me into the kitchen. She hands me a child-size apron, dark blue in color. I glance at Max; he's wearing an apron, too, only one that's powder blue and has teddy bears all over it.
"What do I do first?" I ask, following Judy over to the counter, where she starts breaking eggs for the batter they coat the chicken in.
At first she doesn't answer, but I wait quietly, while behind me, Max scoots all around the kitchen, searching for who-knows-what. What seems like five minutes later, Judy sidesteps towards the stove, and I move take a few steps backward to let her pass. Suddenly, the stove roars to life, and Judy grabs my arm.
I whimper and pull away from her, rushing to a far corner of the kitchen. I don't know that she was trying to guide me away from the stove, not towards it. As she explained later, sometimes the stove 'got out of hand', and she almost got burned once.
Sitting in the corner, not paying any attention to Max's and Judy's puzzled looks, I recall that, when I was four-and-a-half years old, Mother got this sick, perverse idea that she 'show me what hell was like', saying that I'd made her life a living hell. That day, she'd dragged me into the kitchen and turned on the stove. Then, without warning, she'd grabbed my arm and held it above the flames. I'd pulled away and tried to blow cool air onto my arm. Mother hadn't stopped then. She'd tried to pick me up, saying that she wanted me to lie down on top of the stove. I'd been so scared that I'd stamped my feet in protest. Soon, however, Father had arrived, so she wasn't able to carry out her threat. I'll never forget the smell of singed hair and burned flesh. It's a good thing that Father was able to take me to the hospital later that evening so it could be treated.
After a few minutes, I calm down enough to help the mother-son team prepare dinner, than race to Max's room for the comfort of his stuffed bird – it looked so much like my old Tori-chan, the stuffed bird that Father gave me a when I was around two or three, saying that it was a small replica of the family heirloom or something like that.
As I sat there, cuddling the toy, Max entered and suggested that we play in the yard. I agree and return the toy to its pile. Then I follow Max outside.
Max's and Takao's eyes grew wide with disbelief.
"Whoa…" Takao said, though the expression was far from awe-filled.
"His mother actually tried to kill him by burning him?" Max's face was a mask of different emotions – disgust, sorrow, disbelief… "No wonder he got scared of the stove fire."
Takao nodded, hearing his friend's voice, but not the words. He was lost in his thoughts.
How much more has Kai suffered that we don't know about?
Kai stormed out of his room and down the hall leading to the staircase. Who went into my room? He thought, angrily. When I find him, whoever it was, he is so dead!
He was around halfway down the staircase when he remembered what had been in the envelope: the folder containing his record at the Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall. He sighed in annoyance with himself. In his swiftness to act out of anger, he'd forgotten to check if it was still where he'd left it.
He sighed again and went back up the staircase.
The only problem is, he thought, irritably, where did I place it?
Takao flipped to the next page. He turned to Max. "Are you sure you want to go on reading? I mean, what if we come across something that actually gives you nightmares?"
Max playfully punched his friend on the arm. "For your information, Takao, I don't get nightmares anymore."
"Fine, but don't come into my room when you do."
"Ha ha. Very funny…" Max rolled his eyes, but smiled. Both boys bent down and began reading.
The first thing they saw was that the page they were about to read was Judy's written observations.
I wonder what happens here?
Time – 4:30 PM
Today marks one month that Kai has stayed with us. The center has not been in contact with me when his father will come by to pick him up, since he has been granted custody of the child. Since it is a 'special day', in my opinion, Shinji and I have decided to celebrate Kai's month of 'freedom' by taking them out to eat dinner. I have read about this branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Yoyogi, Tokyo, that has something called a 'Kid's Corner', which provides toys and other amusements for children to play with while waiting for their meals or for their companions to finish. Perhaps Max and Kai would like it there…
Time – 7 o'clock PM
We are here in KFC. I volunteered to mind the kids while Shinji gets our orders. We are seated near the Kid's Corner, which is rather full, and Max and Kai seem reluctant to play while others are there.
"Mommy," Max says, tugging at my skirt. "Is it really okay to play there?"
I smile down at him and give him a hug. "Of course it is, sweetie. That's why there are toys there – for kids like you and Kai to play with, so you won't get bored."
Max smiles back, and his face lights up. "Okay, if you say so, Mommy." Sometimes that's all it takes for Max to work up the courage to do something – a word of encouragement or approval.
"C'mon, Kai, let's go!" he calls to his quiet, slate-haired playmate.
Kai looks at, puzzled. He hops down off his chair. "Go where?"
"To the Kid's Corner, of course!" Max answers, grabbing the slim wrist. "Mommy says its okay."
I can see that Kai is still reluctant. He glances at me. "Judy, are you sure? 'Cause my mother said that you shouldn't play with others' toys without askin' 'em 'cause that's bein' rude. And I don't wanna be a bad boy."
I squat down and stroke his cheek. "Oh, Kai, of course it's okay. I already told Max that the toys belong to the store, and that that's the reason why the toys are put out – they're for you guys to play with, okay?"
"But what if my mother sees me? She'll think I probably stole the toys from someone, and then she's going to punish me." Suddenly, his eyes grow wide. "She said she'd kill me if she caught me doin' something bad."
I give him a hug to reassure him, motioning to Max that he can go ahead. He understands and goes off to play. "Kai, you're mother isn't anywhere near here. Besides, even if she caught you doing something wrong, she can't punish you, because technically, you're no longer her responsibility."
"Um, okay…if you say so…" he trails off, turns around, and goes to join Max at the Kid's Corner. He steps onto the padded mat, and then, suddenly, there is a worker at his side. He taps Kai's shoulder. Kai turns around and goes white, just like in the kitchen incident. The worker manages only an 'excuse me', when Kai runs back to me. I hold him and note that he is shaking like a leaf. The worker approaches me, looking sheepish.
"Err, I'm sorry if I scared your child, Ma'am," he says, reaching out to pat Kai on the head.
"No, it's okay." I say, smiling at him. "He's…a little scared of strangers." I give Kai another hug to reassure him.
"Well, I just wanted to remind him to take off his shoes before stepping onto the mat." He ruffles Kai's hair. I laugh as Kai wriggles out of my grasp and attempts to fix his hair, making it look slightly messier than it was before. The worker smiles at him before walking away, whistling a jaunty tune.
"Did I do something wrong?" Kai asks, a worried look on his face.
"No, the worker just wanted to you to take off your shoes before playing."
"Oh, okay."
Kai makes his way back to the Kid's Corner, and then squats down to remove his black sneakers. For reasons unknown, he won't wear any other pair, even though the center provided two pairs of shoes. And then, to my surprise, while the other children have left their shoes scattered about, Kai sets his next to the wall. I've never seen a five-year-old child take such care to arrange his things
Kai stands perfectly still at one end of the padded mat, studying the 'chaos' generated in the play area. And then, tentatively, he walks over to a stray red ball and picks it up. He looks around to see if anyone is watching, then plops down onto the mat and begins a game of 'bounce-and-catch', wherein he throws the ball against the ball, making sure that it bounces once on the ground when it returns before he catches it.
A few minutes later, Shinji returns with the food, and I turn to call Max and Kai to eat. The two eagerly run over, their shoes in their hands. Max is the first to speak.
"Mommy, guess what? We had a contest to see who could bounce a ball and catch it the most times, and Kai won! He bounced it a gazillion times!"
"Actually, it was only twenty times…" Kai mumbles, looking embarrassed.
"Well, congratulations," Shinji says, motioning for the two to sit down. "C'mon, you two must be hungry after playing so hard."
Max's eyes widen at the sight of the bucket of chicken we'd ordered, while Kai remains emotionless. Also, Max asked if he could have two pieces of chicken. Of course, since there are eight pieces to a bucket, we agreed. When I offer a second piece to Kai, he declines, saying that once piece is enough for him.
I wonder what has this kid gone through to become so withdrawn and guarded. He has yet to tell me the full details of his previous situation, and I cannot jump to conclusions.
"I don't even remember that one!" Max exclaims as he looks up from the file.
"How can someone turn down a second piece of chicken?" Takao asks, eyes wide in disbelief. "I certainly won't!"
"Takao, can't you think of something aside from food?" Max asks.
The blue-eyed teen smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, guess I'm already hungry. What time is it anyway?"
Max looks at the wall clock nearby. "It's six-thirty."
"Good. Thirty minutes 'till dinner. I can wait. Besides, that'll give us time to read a little bit more of this file." He closed his eyes, trying to envision what Kai must have looked at that point in his life. What he saw was a younger version of Kai, with wider eyes and a more innocent look. "That is so adorable."
"Excuse me?"
Takao's eyes snapped open, and he saw Max looking at him strangely. "Oh, sorry Max. It's just that I tried imagining how Kai must have looked back then, and what I saw was, well, totally cute."
"It's too bad I'm no good at drawing, 'cause I knew him back then, remember?"
"Yeah, too bad. If you were good at drawing, I could have used the picture you drew of him – in his younger days – as blackmail."
"Takao!"
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Max and Takao closed the file, and, while Max slid it under the bed, Takao went to answer the door. It was Rei, their raven-haired, neko-jin teammate.
"Takao? How are you feeling?"
"Um, better. So, what's up?"
"Have you seen Max?"
"Um…he's…here, Rei. Why'd you ask?"
"Well, Kai is looking for him. He said he wanted to ask him something."
Takao's eyes widened. Uh, oh… He turned around to look at Max. The blonde must have heard what Rei said, because he raised his eyebrows. "Well, see you later, Max," Takao said, smiling encouragingly as Max walked past him and to the door. He gave Takao a thumb's-up before swinging the door closed with a click.
Could he have found out? Takao glanced towards the bed, under which the file was hidden.
"Kai?" Max peeked into the living room, where he was told Kai was waiting for him. He spotted his slate-haired captain seated in one of the blue armchairs and made his way over. "You wanted to…ask me something?"
Kai opened his crimson eyes, glaring up at the blonde teen. "Yes. Earlier I discovered that someone had been through my belongings. I remember seeing you go upstairs directly after this afternoon's training session. Did you, by any chance, go into my room?"
Max was rather taken aback by the sudden accusation, but he held his ground. "No, I didn't. Why? What was taken?"
Kai sighed and stood up without answering and brushed past him, walking towards the staircase. For a moment, Max stared after the retreating figure. Where is he going? he wondered. And then, realization dawned. Takao!
He turned and hurried after the solemn teen.
It has been two days since the restaurant incident. It is only now that Judy receives a notice from the center, stating that I have to be brought to a 'real' foster home. The letter also said that they have been trying to reach Father, to no avail.
I've already packed my stuff into a small duffel bag, because Judy says that my foster parents will come by to pick me up in around half an hour. Meanwhile, Max and I play a game of 'stuffed animal hide-and-seek'.
Time flies by while we are playing, because it seems that we had no sooner started the game that a car pulls up outside, and I hear my name being called. I pick up my bag and race to the front door, Max close at my heels.
"Mommy, what's happening?" he asks Judy, who is already standing at the door. She bends down to pick him up, perhaps to comfort him. I pay them no attention and stand by the porch steps, waiting for either of my foster parents to come out.
"Well, Kai's foster parents have come to pick him up."
"What about his daddy?"
"We've tried calling him, sweetie, but we can't reach him."
"Oh. Does he really have to leave? I won't have anyone to play with."
"I'm sorry, Max, but he really does have to go. I was only assigned to be his social worker, not a foster parent. But cheer up; I'll try to get the address of his foster parents so that you can visit, and then the two of you can play together. Is that okay?"
Max nods. "Okay, I'd like that. Thanks, Mommy."
By this time, my foster father is at the bottom of the steps, just a foot and a half away from me. He's tall and has dark brown hair. He's wearing sunglasses, so I can't see the color of his eyes. He glances at me and then smiles before looking at Judy.
"So, this is Kai." He says, sounding pleased or happy, I don't know which. Judy nods.
"Yes. Thank you so much for coming as soon as possible. We were unable to contact his father, and so, though we are certain that he is still living and able to care for Kai, we decided to go ahead with the foster care program."
"No, thank you for calling us. We have a kid of our own, and we'd like for him to interact with other kids as early as possible. He's two years younger than Kai, so I think it will enable Kai to know how to deal with kids younger than him. How old is Kai, anyway?"
"He's five years old, turning six this December, Shizuki-san."
The man's eyes widen. "Oh, in that case, he's nearly three years younger!"
"I see." Judy smiles at me, and I smile back. "Well, Kai, this is it. I hope to see you really soon."
Before my foster father can pick me up, I run back to Judy and give her a hug – the first one in a month. She is startled, but she returns the hug. Then I turn to Max.
"See you soon." I say. He smiles before holding out his hand.
"Friends?"
I look into his bright blue eyes and smile back. I clasp his hand in a handshake. "Friends."
After a few seconds, I turn back to my foster father. Without my knowing, my foster mother has joined him at the porch steps. I notice that she has pretty, dark green eyes and shoulder-length auburn hair.
"Come on, Kai. It's time to go." She says, smiling at me. I take tiny steps towards the couple, and, when I reach them, she enfolds me in an embrace.
Moments later, I am in their car, looking out through the rear window, waving good-bye to Max and Judy until I can no longer see them. Then I sit down, lean back, and close my eyes. I savor the feel of the engine under me, the wind as it flows in through the open window. I can sense that it's the beginning of a new life for me.
Takao was startled out of reading by a sharp knock on the door. He quickly slid the folder out of sight under the bed before going to open the door.
"K-Kai!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Kai pushed past him and into the room. For a minute, all was silent as Kai observed the room. Behind him, Takao stood as still as a statue.
"Where is it?" Kai asked, breaking the silence. Takao jumped.
"Where is what?"
"The folder, numbskull!" Kai snapped, whirling around to face his teammate. "The folder that came in the envelope I received today."
"I…I haven't seen it, Kai." Takao answered, hoping his eyes didn't betray him.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Kai approached him slowly, glaring daggers at the brunette.
Takao nodded quickly, anxious to have Kai out of his room. "Of course I haven't seen it. I haven't been in your room all day!"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? That being the case, you wouldn't mind if I searched your room, would you?"
"Huh? Why? I said I didn't take the folder, so why do you want to search my room?
"Because I hadn't said anything about the folder missing from my room, so you gave yourself away, Kinomiya, by saying that you haven't been in my room all day."
For a nanosecond, Takao's eyes went wide, then reverted back to normal size. He forced himself to sound like his normally cocky self. "So? It was just a lucky guess. See for yourself, Kai. Look around. I've got nothing to hide."
Kai snorted, then began walking towards the bed.