Let the Light Shine In
Rei was known as "that girl with the glasses" on campus. Sunglasses, not reading glasses. The lenses of her stylish Oakleys were coated with thin layers of clear paint containing crystal particles in multiple colors. Rei was rather proud of herself for coming up with this solution to her vision problem since doctors had been unable to diagnose what was wrong with her eyes. As a child she would burst into tears upon the sight of any other human being, including her own parents. To this day she felt guilty that she never gave her mother a moment of peace even when she was dying of leukemia.
Upon entering middle school, Rei stopped seeing optometrists and started researching her illness on her own only to discover she possessed what occultists called an open third eye, supposedly enlightening her with the ability to see auras. When she lifted her gaze off the ground and really started looking at people, this explanation made sense because everyone around her radiated an intense color, hence the sunglasses filter. Rei owned mostly black things to offset the constant chromatic assault, and her secondary identifier was "that goth chick" even though there was nothing gothic about her lifestyle.
She made her way to downtown Seattle for some autumn shopping. Rei's last splurge had been on furnishing her apartment one year ago, but before moving to America her father had said she should feel free to buy anything she needed. Apparently, Hino Takashi's politician salary was so great he had no reservations about giving his daughter a limitless credit card, not that Rei took advantage of it despite their strained relationship. They had been slightly closer before her mother's death; Takashi had no idea how to raise a child and admitted he never planned on having one, which was not what Rei needed to hear after losing her mother. At least he also admitted he truly loved Risa and was unlikely to remarry or produce any more accidental offspring.
Rei breezed through all of the high-end department stores. Although she found Nordstrom to be sparsely populated during lunchtime, she didn't dare remove her glasses since sales associates had a tendency to appear out of thin air. One tried to sneak up on her as she lingered in the perfume section but she ascended an escalator before the woman could attack with a sales pitch. In the denim department she was happy to discover black jeans as an autumn trend, and she wasn't alone. A tall girl exited a dressing room to examine herself in the mirrors, judging a flared pair that elongated her legs even more. "Those look good on you," Rei commented. The girl turned to observe her all-black ensemble.
"I guess you would know," she said, smiling. "I just wish they weren't so expensive. This is one of the only places I can get long-inseam jeans."
"I'm sorry. I bet it's nice being tall, though– no one can look down on you." The girl's eyes widened. She had probably never thought about that before, but Rei's perspective of the world was a lot different than most. She lowered her glasses a little, catching a burst of lush, grassy green. Green people tended to be honest, affectionate, and energetic. "Levi's has long lengths. You could check there to save some money," Rei suggested.
"Thanks, but my friend is letting me use her employee discount since she's working right now. And I kind of felt like treating myself." She then bowed. "I'm Kino Makoto."
"Hino Rei," she replied. "I like your earrings."
Makoto brushed one of the pink roses with a diamond in the center, a birthday gift from her late parents. "Thanks. I like your sunglasses."
She didn't ask why Rei was wearing them indoors which made her happy. She could already tell Makoto was a very straightforward person who didn't like frills. There were a lot of people like that at her school. "You don't go to Bastyr, do you?" she inquired.
"Nope, the Art Institute. But I was just there for the horticulture fair. I got this massive bromeliad and a couple of orchids." Makoto then rolled her eyes. "And I also met this guy who my friend wants me to marry."
"Oh really?" Rei laughed. "What does he look like? Maybe I know him."
"I doubt it, he was visiting from UW. At least that's what he said." She shrugged and entered the changing room, talking loudly through the door. "Bastyr sounds really cool, though. If I'd known about it I might've applied there. They have an organic cooking program, right?"
"Yes, there are bachelor's and master's in nutrition and culinary arts. Do you like to cook?"
"Yeah, but I'm more into baking. I'm going to the Art Institute to become a pastry chef. What do you do?" Makoto reemerged, looking genuinely curious.
"I'm studying acupuncture and Chinese medicine," Rei answered.
She shuddered. "That thing with the needles? I hate needles. But hey, I bet these skinny jeans would look great on you." They spent half an hour shooting the breeze and not once did Rei feel like Makoto was waiting around for something better to do. She did ask if Rei was some kind of brooding poet; maybe if they actually became friends she'd explain why she wore so much black. When they had wasted enough time and only picked out one pair of jeans each, they headed down to the first-floor checkout. Rei followed dutifully until she was halted by an arm being flung across her face. "What the hell is he doing here?" Makoto hissed.
"Who?" Rei asked. She ducked beneath the arm and saw a cute blonde cashier talking to a rather plain-looking boy, and she wondered how Makoto knew who it was.
"That guy is always hanging out at the restaurant where I work. Last week Usagi came by so we could go home together but she ended up talking to him until my shift ended, and apparently he wants to take her out for gelato. He'd never said a word to anyone besides the waitresses before." Rei frowned and looked at the boy without her glasses. His aura was gold, an unusual color indicative of personal growth or achieving enlightenment. And she saw something else that gave her an involuntary shiver. "He's weird, right? I definitely do not want him hanging around my best friend."
"Wait, it's not that!" But Makoto was already marching toward him.
Usagi couldn't believe it when Mamoru walked up to her checkout stand. The fact that he came all the way from UW to see her filled her stomach with butterflies. For a full minute after saying "hi" they just stood there smiling at one another. Truthfully, Mamoru wasn't sure what to do next. He didn't even know when Usagi had a break or what time she got off work. He was also quite enamored with the one-sleeved top she wore, wondering why the milky curve of her shoulder was so alluring. Eventually, he found some words. "So… when do you have a break? The bistro is only a few blocks from here."
Usagi glanced at her watch. "I'll actually be off in twenty minutes. You have really good timing."
"I try," Mamoru chuckled, thanking his lucky stars at the coincidence. "And don't worry about having to pay, I'll cover it." He praised himself for being assertive.
"Okay. Well, why don't you look around in the meantime? If you find something you want to buy, I can give you my discount."
If adding designer names to his wardrobe would bring them closer, so be it. Mamoru turned toward the escalator only to almost run into Makoto and another girl he didn't recognize. "Are you stalking Usagi?" the brunette demanded, hands on her hips in a power stance.
Mamoru reflexively stepped back. "No, of course not!"
"Then why are you always at Amabie? Do you just sit around waiting for her to show up?"
His mouth opened and closed a few times. Mamoru wasn't about to admit that he kept going back to see Makoto, not Usagi. He hadn't even been aware of the blonde's existence until last week! "I really like the tea and the atmosphere," he meekly explained. "It helps me focus."
Makoto deflated a little and the girl in black tried pulling her out of his path. She yielded but still glared. Makoto had no idea what was up this guy's sleeve if he was interested in Usagi. Not that her best friend wasn't awesome, but she was kind of an airhead who didn't take anything seriously. If Mamoru really was as intellectual as Usagi said, being a medical researcher and all, then she suspected he was only after one thing. The boy slunk away and she lifted her chin, smirking; he was right to be wary of her. "What was that all about?" Rei asked.
"I just have a feeling he's up to no good," Makoto answered. She then let out a huffy breath. "Come on, let's pay before Usa-chan goes skipping off with him."
Usagi's manager suggested she wear heels in order to make herself taller and less susceptible to customer bullying, but heels weren't the best shoes for walking around downtown. "It's not that far," Mamoru assured her for the third time, "just another block." They headed west toward the waterfront, stopping at a red light. Her feet were killing her; usually she went straight home after work to take a shower and nap.
"Are we really getting close or are you just leading me into unfamiliar territory?" she joked. Mamoru cringed, however, at the second mention of him being a creep within the same hour. "And what's the name of this place? I'll look it up on my phone."
"No need, I know exactly where it is. It's Italian and I can't really pronounce it." He flashed a smile and crossed the street when the light turned green, Usagi's shoes clacking as she tried to keep pace. With every step her Marc Jacobs pinched and rubbed; why did she suffer in the name of fashion? If her ankles gave out maybe Mamoru would carry her. "See, there it is!" He pointed at a storefront with green trim and tall windows. An Italian flag was painted on the glass and the name was indeed something long and unwieldy. A bell on the door jingled when they walked in, and all of Usagi's complaints vanished as the scents of bread, rich tomato sauce, fresh herbs, and melted cheeses wafted up her nose. She leaned on the cold case to admire the cartons of glistening gelato. After she requested strawberry cheesecake and Mamoru ordered plain vanilla, they went to a corner table that treated them to a panoramic view of Puget Sound.
Upon the first bite, Usagi closed her eyes and moaned in delight. Having sampled every flavor in the bistro, Mamoru knew her decadent selection was made from pureed strawberries and chunks of actual cheesecake. "How's yours?" she asked.
"Very smooth. Here, have a taste." He proffered the spoon under the assumption that she'd take it from him, but she just ate the speckled glob right off it. Mamoru gave his empty utensil a perplexed look. 'Her lips were on this spoon. It's like indirectly kissing her.' He banished the silly thought in an instant.
"That's really good. Is it made with real vanilla bean? It tastes so much better than the fake stuff." Usagi had a sudden epiphany and began laughing, making Mamoru tilt his head. "Sorry, that must've seemed so random. It's just that Mako-chan is always nagging me about eating healthy. She only cooks with natural ingredients and I'm beginning to understand why."
"You should consider yourself lucky to have her. I basically subsist on ramen, rice, chicken, and dried fruit." He laughed, but Usagi's lower lip slid forward in a sympathetic pout.
"All you do is study, huh?" She stared at her gelato, already knowing the answer. "How do you discover places like this if you don't have time for it?"
Mamoru sucked in a breath. He was a little miffed that she made such a negative assumption about him, but it was true so he couldn't refute it. "It was during the summer," he answered. "I'm at UW year-round so during breaks I utilize public transport and walk around. I don't have much of a family to visit in Japan." He shrugged and took another bite, but it was bitter.
"Oh, I see," Usagi said softly. "I've only been away from my parents for four months. I'm saving up to visit them during Christmas break. They'll have a new house by then."
Although she didn't elaborate, Mamoru knew what she was talking about. Last year a huge explosion had decimated a substantial portion of Tokyo. Millions of people were displaced and a large percentage of them fled the country entirely. The United States opened its arms to the Japanese refugees and many of them settled in Hawaii and along the west coast. After a few more months the Japanese government's investigation traced the explosion to a research company called Tomoe Laboratories, but the CEO and head scientist perished in the blast. Further investigation had yet to reveal the exact cause of the incident. "Where did they relocate to?" Mamoru asked.
"Tokushima. My dad always wanted to live near the beach." Usagi lifted a shoulder to let the negativity of their conversation slide off her. Silence still reigned for a few minutes until Mamoru wondered what she liked to do for fun. Usagi tossed her empty gelato cup in the trash and grinned. "C'mon, I'll show you. This time it's on me."
"Where—" was all Mamoru got out before she grabbed his hand and pulled him from his seat. Usagi didn't let go as they ran down the cobblestone street to Pike Place, pausing beneath the Alaskan Way viaduct to wait for a lull in traffic. Mamoru wondered if she was leading him to the ferry, but then she turned into Pier 57. They passed a seafood restaurant and a few curio shops before arriving at her favorite destination: the arcade.
"So what are you good at?" Usagi beamed and Mamoru couldn't help but smile back. "Candy claw? Gadget grab? Racing? Shooting? How about DDR?"
He laughed. "Absolutely not, I have two left feet." He glanced around, taking in all the lights and noises. They were the only people in the arcade which felt weirdly intimate, but he knew Usagi was trying to get him to have fun for once in his life. Part of him began to protest but he stifled his misgivings. "I don't think I know how to play any of these games."
"No problem, I'll teach you!"
After an hour Mamoru had learned how to kill aliens and race through a city. He managed to hit most of the quarter notes of fast-paced bemani songs but could only watch in awe as Usagi kicked off her heels and sprinted her way through tracks laden with eighth and sixteenth notes. "Makoto is even better than me," she panted. "She actually knows how to dance. I just play rhythm games." She stepped off the stage and regarded her shoes resentfully; the notion of walking up the sidewalk to her apartment in them made her feet ache. With an indolent shrug, Usagi left them on the floor and headed into a small alcove with old game cabinets. "Do you know how to joust?" she questioned, tossing a smirk over her shoulder.
"Only in theory." Mamoru stood beside her as she fed quarters into the machine.
"Well, this version is super easy. I'm the ostrich and you're the stork." Mamoru raised an eyebrow, unable to discern which pixelated bird was which. "You press this button to flap and fly around with the joystick. To kill the green guys you sort of land on their head. Don't let them land on you. If you run right into them you bounce off. Got it?"
Mamoru wanted more details but Usagi suddenly shouted at him to get off the ground and start lancing green birds. He jabbed the button, already feeling his hand cramp up after the first level, but he soon figured out that it was easiest to sit on the topmost pixelated ledges and let the green birds come to him. His strategy worked well until the fifth level. "Egg wave! Egg wave!" Usagi yelled. "Get them before they hatch!" In his haste, Mamoru descended to the first platform and ran to a green pixel on the edge, but a hand came out of the fire and killed him.
"Dammit!" he spat, immediately flushing at the curse. Usagi found it funny because it meant he was getting into the game. She grabbed all the eggs before he regenerated, then they went on as normal until a message appeared on wave eight. "Beware the unbeatable pterodactyl?" Mamoru repeated.
"Oh crap, I forgot about that. Just stay away from it." The alcove echoed with their combined button-mashing. Mamoru had to fly around because the enemies were getting smarter; some of them bounced off ledges and killed him, but Usagi's ostrich was always there to avenge him. The pterodactyl finally appeared, flapping incessantly toward Mamoru and releasing a terrifying eight-bit screech. "Go on the middle platform, the one with the crack," the girl commanded. He landed his stork and the pterodactyl, though he noted it was actually a pterosaur, descended from the top of the screen. Usagi landed behind him as the pterodactyl lunged across the platform right into the lance. The game released five notes of victory. "Owned!" she exclaimed.
"I think my hand is going numb," Mamoru said, and much to his surprise Usagi walked away from the game. She retrieved her shoes but didn't put them on until they exited the pier, where Mamoru checked his watch. They had spent a substantial amount of time in the arcade and ferry traffic now dominated the streets. He could either hop on a bus or grab a taxi to take him back to campus, but either way he'd be trapped in a vehicle for much longer than he wanted. He chastised himself for getting stranded downtown, but then he decided that spending time with Usagi was worth it. However, he did have some lab work to prepare for tomorrow. "Usagi-san, could I please use your phone to call a taxi?"
"You're so polite," she smiled, batting at him playfully. "But sorry, it's dead." She giggled as his expression fell to despair. "Hey, don't look so glum! My apartment is, like, right there. You can use our house phone." She began walking north, Mamoru following after a moment's hesitation. He had never been invited to someone's home before.
Mamoru assumed the girl in black was the third roommate Usagi mentioned, but when he entered their apartment he was introduced to someone he recognized. "I'm a huge fan of yours," he gushed after bowing to Michiru. He then gave Usagi a look that asked if this was really happening right now.
The virtuoso smiled and returned the greeting. "It's always a pleasure to meet my fans. I wasn't expecting there to be so many of them around here. I get recognized almost every time I go out."
"It isn't because you're totally gorgeous or anything," Usagi said from the fridge. There were usually leftovers of Michiru's gourmet lunches. "People are always hitting on you when we go somewhere together."
Mamoru understood why that would happen. Michiru carried herself with the elegance of a mature, self-assured woman, and she was very intellectual as anyone who followed her musical career knew. Usagi was pretty too because she had such a unique look, and she was much more approachable than Michiru and Makoto. "How did the three of you become friends?" he inquired.
Michiru rolled her eyes a little as Usagi turned to grin at him. "Funny story. I met Makoto in junior high. She transferred into my class and was all cranky because people started spreading rumors about her. One day we were playing dodgeball in P.E. and some jerk threw one right at my head, but Mako-chan jumped in the way and caught it. She threw it back at him and knocked him out!" Mamoru could picture it easily. "She sort of became my bodyguard and we bonded over our love of food. She likes to cook, I like to eat! Then we met Michiru in high school. She performed at our school's cultural festival and afterward came up to mine and Mako-chan's booth—"
"And I exclaimed it was the best yakiniku I'd ever had," Michiru finished. "But that's just the story Usagi likes to tell. The truth is that I met them because they both had abysmal exam scores and started coming to the same night school where I studied."
Mamoru smiled but it was far from genuine. He wished he had friends like that. Ever since his parents' death he'd only been able to rely on himself, his own best friend. Maybe that was why he seemed magnetically attracted to Usagi; she was so inviting, so non-discriminating. She knew he had terrible fashion sense. She knew he was socially awkward. She knew he was a newbie at video games. But the fact that she had spent the afternoon with him before inviting him to her home meant she didn't care about any of those things… or she was just being way too nice. Yet he had a feeling that having Makoto for a friend would dissuade any doormat-like tendencies.
They spent a couple of hours in Usagi's room where Mamoru forgot about calling a cab. First she showed off her anime and game collectibles, then she got down to the business of teaching him how to play Kirby Air Ride on her Nintendo GameCube. There were so many secrets to unlock that Mamoru got completely sucked into the game, determined to complete the Dragoon. Michiru listened to their banter while working on a composition, glad Usagi had made a handsome and gentle new friend.
Makoto returned around 17:00 with several shopping bags in hand, leaving them in the living room and heading straight to the shower. Since Usagi hadn't shown up at Westlake like she was supposed to after her not-date with the creeper, Rei had taken her place and they shopped until the point of almost dropping. After a quick rinse she donned a towel and headed for her room, halting when she noticed three people sitting at the kitchen table. Makoto rotated to face the young man sipping tea from her favorite mug. "What is he doing here?" she frigidly inquired.
"This is Chiba Mamoru," Michiru answered. "He's a medical scientist at the UW hospital."
"I don't care who he is or what school he goes to. Why is he in my kitchen?" Michiru began to elaborate but Makoto erupted. "It's bad enough that he stalks me and Usagi where we work! Usa-chan, you said you would meet me at Westlake because you wanted to go to Sephora, so I waited there for a whole hour. You never replied to any of my texts and I had no idea what was going on!"
Usagi frowned. "We went to get gelato as planned, then I took Mamoru to the arcade. My phone died while we were there, then we came here."
"Chiba-san needed to call a taxi," Michiru added.
Makoto scoffed. "What, you don't have a cell phone?" Her eyes flicked over him judgmentally. "I guess you can't afford one if the way you dress is any indication."
Mamoru felt an angry prickle in his chest. What the hell was this girl's issue with him? Was she a raging misandrist or something? He always left a tip for his servers at Amabie. He had been nothing but courteous to both Makoto and Usagi. Why was she attacking him like this?
Usagi stood in front of Mamoru, standing as tall as she could make herself. "Leave him alone, Mako-chan. You of all people know you can't judge others based on what they wear." This statement made Makoto glower at the floor. "Mamoru is a nice guy, okay? You don't have to worry about me with him. We're not in high school anymore."
Makoto abruptly transitioned from angry to guilty. "I'm sorry, Usa-chan…" she uttered, then she straightened and looked at Mamoru. "I'm sorry for insulting you." Although curt she sounded sincere enough and he nodded in acceptance. Makoto then spun on her heel and retreated to her room, Usagi following a moment later.
Mamoru sat in the kitchen chair like a statue, unsure what to do. He could go stand out in the cold until the taxi arrived, but he didn't really want to leave even though Makoto considered him some kind of bad guy. Usagi wanted to smooth things over so she went with Mamoru down to the front of the building. They sat on a bench beneath a streetlight, listening to traffic trickle across the viaduct until she sighed. "Makoto was just being protective," she explained. "She saw how bad I was with guys during high school, but I'm not that girl anymore. I thought she knew that."
"I see," Mamoru said. "She seems… ruthless."
Usagi gave a single laugh. "Yeah, that's how she chased away some of my boyfriends. They couldn't handle her constantly attacking their egos."
"Luckily I don't have much of an ego to destroy." This earned a small smile from the girl. "Um, listen… I don't want to come between you and your friends so we probably shouldn't hang out again."
Usagi stared at him before her lips separated into a grin. "Are you kidding? It's not every day I meet a guy who can keep up with me at Joust!"
"It was actually kind of fun," Mamoru admitted.
"Then we have to play again– I have it on this arcade pack for my Super NES! We could have a marathon gaming session, or watch movies and order pizza! And I can teach you how to play Mario Kart!"
Mamoru smiled at the suggestions. "That all sounds great. We can do whatever you want as long as I'm able to catch a bus next time." A light blue taxi pulled up to the curb. He opened the door but didn't get in yet.
"Yeah, next time…" Usagi inched closer to him. "I have classes every day of the week. Today I had a half shift but I usually work nine to three on Saturday and Sunday. If you drop by after I'm off we can get dinner and hang out, or go somewhere. I had fun today and I really wanna see you again." She directed a blush toward the asphalt.
Mamoru stood with one foot in the cab and the other on the sidewalk, smiling like a fool. This was the first meaningful connection he'd ever made in his life. He had a friend now, someone to talk to and spend time with. "All right," he said, and Usagi looked up shyly. "We'll do something next weekend. It won't be a date, I promise."