Chapter 4: Home, Sweet Home

She was unaware how long she was out with her friend, but it must have been a few hours at least, as the sun was already past its highest point in the sky. An hour more maybe, and the sky would turn this lovely orange she liked so much.

The two were spending their time walking through the city, seeing buildings and visiting stores just to browse and buy a snack or two. Kanade was less talkative during that time, most likely to give Tsubasa time to think about their conversation in the park, which she was thankful for, as it was a lot to think about.

Now they were approaching Tsubasa's home. As promised, Kanade would meet her father and see how she lived. She told her not to be too excited, as there is not a lot to see, but the redhead replied: "Don't say that. At least I will meet your father, give him a piece of my mind."

"Please don't", Tsubasa sighed.

When they reached Tusbasa's house and the younger girl stepped onto the premises, Kanade let out a surprised whistle.

"Damn, that's a nice house!"

'House' would honestly the wrong word for what presented itself in front of the astonished girl. The building was more a mansion. A large facade, spanning to the left and right so far Kanade had to turn her head to see the edges, and the roof so high she had to crane her neck to see it. It was surrounded by a high, massive wall, blocking the curious eyes of the undeserving and lesser people in this town.

The grass was spotless, flawless even. Every stalk of grass seemed to have been cut with a ruler and scalpel.

The walkway was clean and made entirely out of marble. Other people would pay a fortune for a little sculpture forged out of the valuable stone, and Tsubasa was just walking over it without even acknowledging its existence.

The inside of the house was similarly pompous. The hallway was wide and high; the doors to each room standing equally as tall and gargantuan, like bouncers guarding the most valuable treasure known to man. The rooms behind them must have been filled to the brim with curiosities and extravagant items.

Tsubasa lead Kanade to a room at the end of the hallway, and when she opened the door to let her friend in, Kanade stopped dead in her tracks.

Her room was a mess. Books, CD cases, sculptures, underwear. Everything was thrown into the room without a second thought. On the floor, the bed; the freaking ceiling fan had a bra stuck to one of its wings. The entire scene looked like something out of a cartoon.

"Sorry. It's a little bit messy. I didn't have time to clean up yet", the blue haired girl said embarrassed.

Kanade let out a sarcastic laugh. "A bit is right. Looks like you didn't have time for a year or so."

"Yeah, yeah", Tsubasa sighed, "just get in."

She did not have to tell her twice. Excited, she stepped into her surprisingly dark room and began looking around. Even with all the stuff lying around - or maybe because - the redhead enjoyed snooping through her room.

It was windowless and cut in a weird shape, and all the stuff on the floor and furniture added to the difficulty of grasping the true dimensions of the room. It seemed small, compared to how the house presented itself, but big enough for one person to live in.

A gentle giggle came from the blue haired girl. "You know, you could turn on the light. Maybe you can rummage through my stuff a bit better then." And with a quick flick of her wrist she flipped the light switch, illuminating the bulb in the middle of the ceiling fan.

"Rummage?", Kanade replied with acted surprise, "please, my lady, I was merely observing."

Her surprisingly goofy act made Tsubasa explode with laughter, and Kanade joined in a second later.

"But seriously", the redhead continued after catching her breath, "you are kind of a music buff, aren't you? I see CDs of Gakt, B'z, and even some foreign bands like Hammerfall."

"I know, it's weird, but I really like this kind of music", Tsubasa replied, scratching her cheek.

Kanade gave her an almost shocked expression. "Weird? Oh, no, not at all! I think it's cool. It's another side of you I did not know yet."

"Really? I listen to it when I want to lock out the world a bit; sort my thoughts."

Kanade opened her mouth to reply, but a knock coming from the door interrupted her.

"Tsubasa? Are you home?"

It was her father. Tsubasa's eyes darted between Kanade and the door, unsure of what to do, but Kanade signed her to go and talk to him.

So, she stepped to the door and opened it.

"H-hello, father", she stuttered.

He stood before her, arms folded, a stern look on his face. Out of reflex, she stepped back a bit, and her father seemed to interpret this as an invitation to come in, as he stomped into her room and told her to sit on her office chair at her desk in the corner.

"I got a call from school today", he begun, in his typical scolding tone he always used towards her. "Where were you?"

"I… we…", she begun, her tongue stumbling over itself and her brain sending white noise.

"Stop stuttering," he yelled, pointing his finger directly into her face, making his daughter flinch, "You skipped school? Really? You're lucky if your grandfather doesn't find out about that, which he will. Do you not know what is expected of you, not to mention how much money this school costs?"

She wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn't. Not to her father.

"You are a Kazanari, for heaven's sake! You should be proud of this family, of the opportunities you have! Instead you do stuff like this! Do you realize what the staff at your school will think of us now?"

No, she didn't.

"No, you don't. Why would you? You don't care apparently." He combed his fingers through his greying hair and sighed. "Tomorrow I will drive you to school."

Tsubasa's eyes widened. "But… why?"

"So I can make sure you don't skip school again", he replied in a condescending tone. He turned around and got ready to leave the room. At the door he stopped and said without appreciating a look towards her: "Your dinner is in the fridge. You will stay in your room for today."

As the door closed and his steps grew distant, Tsubasa began to cry. Her tears felt hot like lava, her voice broke and yelled for relieve, her body trembled as if struck at the core.

Kanade stood beside her. She looked at the door with an angry expression, as if trying to put a curse on the man who just left.

"I hate him."

Tsubasa lifted her face out of her palms and looked at her friend with puffy eyes.

"That's no way to speak to you. Who does he think he is?", Kanade spat out.

"But he is right", the blue haired girl replied. "I should not have done that."

Almost as quick as lightning Kanade came up to her and fell on her knees next to her crying friend. "No, you're wrong. What you did was important. You gained strength."

"How? I feel worse than ever now!" Her voice broke as she began crying again.

"Because he yelled at you for no reason."

"No reason?", Tsubasa asked, "what do you mean 'no reason'? I skipped school!"

"You experienced something new! You tried to change yourself! That's more important then one lousy day at school."

Tsubasa wiped the remaining tears from her cheek. "You… you think so?"

"Hey, you had fun, didn't you?"

The younger girl nodded. Yes, she had fun. The most fun she ever had, in fact.

Kanade spread her arms demonstratively. "You see? Your father clearly does not care about you, I told you that before."

Tsubasa could feel a little bit of rage boiling up inside her. "I told you not to say that. You are wrong! He does care. Why would he scold me otherwise?"

Kanade gave her a sad look, as if her question deserved pity. "He did not do it because he was concerned about you. He said it himself, it was because of your name. You brought - so he says - shame over the family. Nothing more."

A tiny part of her still hung to the fleeting hope that Kanade was wrong. She shook her head. "No, I don't believe you."

"Okay, then let me ask you this: What was the first thing he said to you when he came in?"

Tsubasa stayed silent. She did not want Kanade to be right.

"He said 'where were you'. Not 'are you alright' or 'What happened to you'. You never skipped school before. Any other parent would be sick with worry. But he just waltzed in here and demanded an answer to where you were. He did not care about something maybe happening to you."

Again, Tsubasa said nothing. She did not even look at her friend, too weak to keep looking into those strong eyes.

"And me?", the red head continued, flailing her arms around, "he did not even acknowledge me! I came in with you! He did not ask me if I had something to do with it, a person he never met before. He did not greet me, Hell, he did not even really look at me!"

Kanade lowered her arms and sighed dejected. She again took a knee next to Tsubasa and said: "Guess I'll be going. Think about what I said, okay?"

Tsubasa let out a breath she did not know she held and got up to open the door for her friend. Kanade stepped out of the room and turned around. "I'll find the exit myself. You just stay in your room. Let's not give your father any more reasons to jump your throat."

The younger girl nodded bitter. She gave her friend a final goodbye and closed the door to her room. She had a lot of thinking to do.