A/N: Here you go, minna! The next chapter! I know it took soooo long...gomen! Once again, I can't remember all those who reviewed, but you know who you are and THANK YOU, especially those who added me to their 'fave author' or 'fave stories' list. Arigatou gozaimasu!
Disclaimer: yeah, right...and Takao's smart...
Chapter 6 – Past Acquaintances
Kyouju, rather shaken up, dropped the file. He peered at his friends' faces. Takao's eyes were wide with disbelief (again), Max had a hand clapped over his mouth, and Rei had his head down so that his long, raven bangs covered his eyes; the bespectacled teen was sure, though, that he was as shocked as he and the others were. Once more, after a few more minutes, Takao was the first to break the silence.
"He was stabbed?" he asked, his voice quiet. Looking at Kyouju, he continued, "Chief, are you sure that's what the file says?"
Kyouju nodded. "Even if I didn't have my glasses, I'm one-hundred-percent sure I read the file correctly."
"That's…awful." Rei said suddenly, slightly startling the group. "To have been hurt fatally at such a young age…it's a wonder he didn't die that very night."
"Well, someone must have administered first aid soon after he lost consciousness…" the Chief thought out loud. He took off his glasses, cleaned them, and then replaced them, more to have something to do with his hands than anything else.
"So, shall we get to the next part?" he said, asking no one in particular. Everyone nodded, and so, the brown-haired teen picked up the file again.
I hope something better happens in this part… he wished.
It's a few minutes before our break is scheduled to end, and I am heading back to the classroom. I'm looking forward to sitting in my desk again, but not because I like school a lot; I spent almost the entire break playing on the playground.
"Hey, Kai!" I turn to see Kane running towards me. I stop walking for a moment to wait for him to catch up.
"So, ready for the calligraphy lesson today?" he asks as soon as he has caught up to me. I nod.
"Yeah, I'm ready. In fact, I think it'll be a snap, 'cause my dad taught me how to write at a rather young age." I said.
"Are you bragging?" Kane asks.
"Nope. Just stating a fact."
"Uh-huh…" Kane's voice is skeptical, but he is smiling. "Is there anything else that you know in advance?"
I shake my head. "I know how to count, add and subtract numbers, but that's about it. Oh, and a little bit of reading. Just the simple ones, though."
"That's a lot." Kane says.
I shake my head once more. "Nah. Father says that he's taught me only the basic lessons. He said I'd have to learn a whole lot more when I start primary school."
"That basics? You start reading in primary school, and numbers, too. I'm not so sure, though…anyway, do you know how to read the newspaper?"
"Nope. Before, whenever my father bought the paper, the only pages I did read were the puzzles page and the comics; I just looked at the pictures on the others."
At this point, we are outside the classroom already. Kane pauses to slide open the door, and at that point, the bell chimes. We step into the room and head to our seats to avoid being engulfed by the 'stampede' – meaning students rushing in from the playground. Soon, just like earlier this morning, the room is filled with chattering students, while Kane and I chat quietly in our seats.
After a few minutes, the teacher enters the classroom, and everyone quiets down.
"Everyone, please come to the front as I call you family name. This is so I can check attendance, and so you can claim your calligraphy materials – meaning paper, ink, and a brush. Oh, and each of you will be given a template of today's characters."
"So, Kai, how was your day?" Ichiro asks. It is around half an hour after school lets out for the day, and I am sitting in Ichiro's car. We are on the way back to the house.
"It was fine, Ichiro." I say, looking at my black leather shoes. Even though he's reminded me lots of times to call him 'Dad', I still feel uncomfortable.
"Did you make any friends?"
I nod slowly. "I met someone named Kane, who said he'd just moved from…Australia. He's a new kid, like me. Since we didn't know anyone else, we played together during morning break."
It's Ichiro's turn to nod. "I see. He sounds like a nice boy."
The car grows quiet, and I turn to stare out the window. Dad, where are you? I ask silently. It's been around seven months since I saw him last. Why haven't you called? When are you going to get me?
"Kai-niichan!"
"Oof!" As soon as Ichiro and I step out of the car, something barrels into me, nearly knocking me to the ground. It's Yuuya.
"Good afternoon, Yuuya-chan." I say, ruffling his hair.
"I waited all day for you, Kai-niichan," he says, looking up at me with those bright eyes of his. "You took so long to get back!"
"It may seem like a long time, Yuuya, but it's actually just a few hours." I say, struggling to my feet. I grab my bag from the front passenger seat – the car door was still open – and begin to walk towards the house. Yuuya toddles after me.
"Do you want to play hide-and-seek, Kai-niichan?"
"Okay. Why not?" I turn to smile at him, and he smiles back.
"Yippee! Can we start now?"
"Let me change out of my school uniform first." By this time, we're inside the house. I set my bag on the floor and take off my shoes. "Why don't you wait for me in the playroom?"
"Okay!"
"Y'know, even though it's mentioned so many times in this file, I still can't imagine Kai playing…" Takao commented, as Kyouju paused to turn to the next page.
"Hmm…there's not much here guys," Kyouju said as he scanned the page.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, its just social worker's observations. Judy's, I mean. From what I can gather, these observations were made on several occasions, including during a visit to the Shizuki residence, and during an unobtrusive visit to the school. It says here that Kai was making progress despite his less-than-ideal early childhood, but she says that it doesn't seem to hamper him from behaving more or less like a normal child."
"Okay…"
"If you want, I'll skip the details and go straight to the next part narrated by Kai."
"I guess that's okay…" Max mused, peering over Kyouju's shoulder as the young teen flipped forward several pages. "Hey!" he exclaimed, spotting something familiar on one page. "What was that?"
"What is it, Max?"
"I saw something. Chief, may I hold the file for a moment?"
"Sure." Kyouju smiled as he handed the file to the blonde. Max smiled his thanks, and then flipped back. As soon as he'd found what he was looking for, he gasped.
"What's wrong, Max?" Rei said, hurrying closer to the group.
Max didn't say anything, but dropped the file on the floor so that the others could see. On the page, just like the one a few pages before, were attached several photographs. They'd been slipped into plastic pockets that had been attached to the page, kind of like the ones that could be found in photo albums.
"Oh my gosh…" Max breathed, brushing his fingers against the glossy surface of one of the photos. "I'd forgotten about these…"
Takao, growing more curious by the moment, moved in on the blonde.
"Forgotten about wha- Oh." He stopped short when he saw the pictures, all jumbled together on the page.
One photo depicted Kai in the garden, standing beside Yuuya and his foster parents. Another depicted him tackling Yuuya playfully – they seemed to have been playing tag. One even showed the young Hiwatari with his arm around his newfound friend – Kane. The rest showed Kai, Max, and Yuuya playing with each other. The one Max held in his hand showed him and Kai chasing each other around the garden while Yuuya watched from the porch, giggling in delight.
Rei picked up the one of Kai tackling his foster brother. "He looks so…different. Happy." For a moment, the neko-jin's amber eyes were sad.
"Yeah…" Takao, who had been looking at the photo that showed Kai chasing Max, commented. "As surprising as it seems, this is the same Kai." He put the photo down and picked up another – the one of Kai standing with his foster family. "What could have happened?"
"I don't know…" Kyouju said, putting down the photograph he'd been looking at. "But we might be near to finding out." He picked up the folder again, a few photos fluttering out of their holding places. "Shall I read the next part?" he asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Max said, leaning back against the bed.
"Well, you guys might get confused because it skips ahead again, this time almost two years."
"That's okay, Chief." Takao lay back on the floor, his hands folded under his head. "I don't mind." He turned to his friends. "What about you?"
Both Rei and Max shook their heads. "No, it's fine." The blonde said. "Go right ahead."
"Okay," Kyouju replied, smiling again as he turned the page. "Here goes."
"So, Kai, anything you'd like to share with us?" Keiko says, looking at me over her rice bowl. I look back at her, putting down my rice bowl as I do so.
It was the evening of my first day back in school; I am now in third grade. Kane and I were still in the same class, and we were still best friends. However, I'd met some new people, but not all of them were nice.
"Um, Kane and I are in the same class," I answer, looking at no one in particular, and there's this nice boy who's in the sixth grade. I think his name's Hitoshi."
"So you're friends who isn't in your grade?" Ichiro smiles at me as he puts down his chopsticks. One eyebrow arches in disbelief. "And how did this come about?"
I squirm in my seat and look down at my feet. "Well…he saved me from becoming mincemeat."
"What's 'mincemeat'?" Yuuya asks, cocking his head to one side.
"Well, it's…something you wouldn't want to be," I answer. How can you explain being smashed to a pulp to someone who's barely six years old?
"And why did you almost become mincemeat?" Keiko asks. The look of concern on her face is almost enough to make me not want to tell her.
For a few minutes, no one says anything. Then, Ichiro speaks up.
"Kai, were you picked on?"
My head snaps up. How could he have known? I gaze at them in turn; they're all waiting for me to say something. There's nothing more I can do; my reaction has told them part of the truth, so I have to tell them the rest. I take a deep breath and begin.
"Well, there was this kid in the fourth grade. He's kind of big for his age group; I'm not sure if it's fat or not. Anyway, he was pickin' on one of my classmates. He said something about money." My hands clench into fists as I remember what happened. "I told him to pick on someone his own size; I wanted him to stop."
"Wow…" Yuuya's eyes are wide. "You're brave, Kai-niichan!"
"Not really…"
"So what happened after you told this kid to stop bullying your classmate?" Keiko asks gently.
"Erm…he started to turn on me."
"What did you do?" This time, Ichiro is the one who asks the question.
"I wanted to defend myself, but I wasn't able to…"
Keiko is startled by this revelation, and she jumps up from her seat. "He hit you?" she asks as she walks over to me. "Where?"
"Well, just in the tummy, but it doesn't hurt anymore…"
"Are you sure?" Keiko's face is serious. I nod.
"Uh-huh."
Keiko sighs. "Good. Anyway," she continues as she walks back to her seat, "what happened after that?"
"That's when Hitoshi-san came in. He saw us fighting and walked over to us. He sneaked up on Dunga – that's the kid's name. Boy, was he surprised when he turned to see a sixth grader behind him!" I smile momentarily as I recall the look on Dunga's face. "After that, Hitoshi-san helped me up and took me to the nurse. She was the one who said I'd be okay."
"That's pretty exciting for a third grader." Ichiro commented. "Anything else you'd like to share?"
I shake my head. "No, nothing else, Ichiro-san." I hop down from my seat. "May I be excused? I'd like to take a bath now."
Keiko smiles. "Of course, Kai. Go ahead."
I bow, and then rush off towards my and Yuuya's room. I collect my pajamas and then proceed to the bathroom. I've been looking forward to a hot soak ever since that afternoon. Ever since I felt the bruise on my belly.
"Are you guys keeping track of this?" Takao slumped back against the bed in disbelief. "For crying out loud, he met Max, Kane, Yuuya, Dunga, and even my older brother!"
"Wonder how many more of our friends he's met before?" Kyouju thought aloud.
Rei was thoughtful. "What I'm wondering about is this: if he's met them before, how come when he meets them again, there's no…spark of recognition, or something like that?"
"Y'know, that's something I'd like to find out, too." Max added, stretching the kinks out of his back. "By the way, how much longer are we going to be here?"
Kyouju flipped through the folder. "Well, there are only a couple more pages to go, so I'd say half an hour to forty-five minutes." The bespectacled youngster turned to the group. "Is that okay with you guys?"
Takao nodded. "Sure!"
"No problem." Max added, while Rei merely nodded in response.
"Okay, if you're really sure…"
And here I thought I was so close to finding that folder…Kai thought as he stared up at the starry sky. Of course, I could be wrong about Kinomiya and the others not taking it…
He sighed. The rain had stopped hours ago, leaving the slate-haired blader wishing it hadn't. He loved it when it rained; it reminded him of the day when…
Kai closed his eyes and sat down on his bed, allowing his thoughts and feelings to consume him, if only briefly. Now that he'd read the file, it was hard not to burst out into tears at the remembrance of what he'd lost so early in life.
No! He admonished himself forcefully, his eyes snapping open. You aren't supposed to…
He left the thought unfinished as he stood up and walked to his door. Maybe an hour or two on the balcony – or even the roof – will help me pull myself together…
"'Bye, Ichiro! 'Bye, Yuuya!" I call over my shoulder as I wave to them. I can see Yuuya at the window, his bright, smiling face almost plastered to the glass.
"'See you, Kai-niichan!" his faint voice barely reaches me. Ichiro is smiling, too.
"Take care, Kai," He calls after me. "Don't let that bully get to you."
"I won't!" I call back, smiling. Then, Ichiro revs the engine, and soon, the car is cruising down the street and out of sight. I then turn towards the school building.
It's rather early; there are almost no students around. I walk over to the library, hoping to find the book I started reading yesterday during lunch break.
I don't think I was looking where I was going because the next thing I know, I bump into someone, knocking both of us to the ground.
"Ow! Why don't you look where you're going?"
"I'm really sorry," I say as I stand and offer my hand to whomever it is I've knocked over.
A small hand daintily slips into mine, and I look at my 'victim' for the first time. It's a girl, probably in second grade, and from what I can see, her hair is rather short – only until her shoulders – and it is a dark shade of brown.
The next second, she looks up and her mouth drops open. She knows that she has probably insulted an elder student. I smile at her – unwittingly looking deep into her wide ruby-colored eyes – to show that there's no harm done.
"It's okay; it was my fault," I assure as I help her to her feet. "You're right; I wasn't looking where I was going. You have every right to be angry."
She looks confused; I can almost hear her thinking: Why is a senior talking to me this way? She doesn't know that I've taken an instant liking to her, despite the rather brash personality. She looks rather cute, to say the least.
She smiles, as if to say 'thank you', and then turns and walks away. She's likely to be headed to her classroom.
For a few minutes, I stand, alone, in the corridor, watching her figure slowly disappear from my line of sight. What I feel can't be described with words; I turn and slowly make my way to the classroom, not realizing that I've forgotten about the book. But then, the book is last thing on my mind now.