Chapter 25: Arisa-chan
"Is your daddy a baker? Because you've got some nice buns!"
"Honestly Sakura, I gave you that phone so that you could call me if you need anything; not so that you can download an app that sends you cheesy pick-up lines," Sesshomaru says to me.
We are sitting across from each other in a booth at the old tavern. Exams are all over with, and thanks to the help from Hana, Arisa, and Haru I made it through.
"Oh, are they bothering you that badly? How about a more serious one," I say leaning closer towards him, "Because of you I life a little harder, cry a lot less, and smile a lot more."
There is a small pause as I smile at him with our faces centimeters apart. He slowly leans in closer to me.
"Alright, that one gets a top rating!" I exclaim leaning back into my seat smirking at the unappreciative eye roll from Irritated-sensei, "Hey there's something wrong with my phone…"
"What is it?" he asks seriously.
"It doesn't have your number in it."
"Really," he says annoyed.
"No, seriously! It doesn't."
"Give it to me," he says taking my phone so that he can put his number in.
Our food arrives; brought by the same waitress who served us the first time we were here. "Yes, bitch. We're still together," I spitefully think when she avoids eye contact with me. Sesshomaru hands my phone back.
"Thank you! And… there must be something wrong with my eyes, too," I say rubbing them.
"What is the problem?" he asks after swallowing his first bite.
"I just can't take them off of you!"
"I'm done."
"Hey, Sesshomaru. Do you think your family would like these?" I ask holding up a gift basket containing various mochi flavors and a bottle of Sho Chiku Bai Nigori sake. After dinner we went to a nearby store so that I can pick up a gift for his parents when I meet them next week. He looks at the basket with a tilt to his head.
"Thoughtful, but you're not old enough to buy alcohol yet."
"I'm going to give you my money, and you will bring it up to the register!"
"Sakura! Are you asking me to partake in supplying a minor with alcohol?"
"Fine then…. How about this basket?" I ask holding up a navy blue wicker basket full of dog toys, treats, a blue leash, and a blue harness.
"Amusing, Sakura," he replies deadpan grabbing hold of the first basket and making his way to the register.
"Come on! Wouldn't your parents see the humor in it? Your family name does mean Dog General and I'm giving them doggy supplies!" I giggle after him. Before we get to the register I hand him the money then casually walk out of the store. As soon as I step through the sliding double doors I run into Arisa-chan who is bundled up in a sky-blue down jacket that goes well with her tan knee-high boots and gray leggings. Blue earmuffs hold her chestnut hair back.
"Sakura-senpai! How are you?" she greets me with her tired eyes lighting up. I tell her I am doing great. I grab her hands so that I can lead her to a bench outside of the store, but I pause a moment, taken aback by how cold they are. We sit so that her back and my face are towards the store's entrance.
"Are you having a good winter break?" I do my best to hold her gaze while Sesshomaru steps out of the store and into my peripheral vision. I see him nod in my direction before heading away, swinging the gift basket in his right hand.
"Yes! I am," Arisa-chan replies crossing her legs, "I just found out that an old family friend is coming into town with her family. I haven't seen her since I was little, so I thought I would pick up a gift for her."
"Oh, that's very sweet of you! How do you know her?"
"She and my mother were study buddies in college. My mom told me she lived here in Osaka until she got married and moved to Tokyo. She visited often though, but became very busy when I turned seven, and I haven't seen her since!"
"Oh, well that's great that she found time to come down here!"
"Yes, I'm very excited. Want to help me pick out a gift for her? I could use your expert opinion!" She pleads with puppy dog eyes. I stand and nod. She grabs my hand and leads me into the store. We go down the isles that I combed through only moments before. I try to quiz Arisa-chan on her friend's tastes and likes in order to find the perfect gift. It does not work because it has been too long since she last saw her friend. Instead, we stalk her Facebook for clues.
"She posts a lot of pictures of her family," Arisa-chan says scrolling through the newsfeed. I pick up and examine a statue of an elephant coated with stained glass.
"So she's very family oriented."
"Yup, what they say is true: people take photographs of what is most important to them."
"Really?"
"Yes, like if you go through my phone I have dozens of pictures of my shiba-inu. Hana always takes pictures of her food. Always. And Haru-kun… Well, he won't let me see his phone, but I'm sure he has lots of pictures of something!"
"Hm," I smile at the elephant, "Photos are a nice way of making things last."
"Yes, they are! If you had a phone, Sakura-senpai, what would you take pictures of?"
I look at her at a lost for words to answer her question. She has such a warm smile, and her eyes, although they are droopy and have bags underneath them, they are still soft. They are not hardened or empty like mine use to be. She giggles under my gaze, which pulls me out of the twin hazel pools.
"Senpai, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Ahem, so back to our mission!"
She turns her attention back to her phone with a small smile as she scrolls deeper into the newsfeed. I see her pause a couple times to closely examine something before swiping her thumb upwards. She also stops to pull her jacket tighter around her body.
"People," I whisper loud enough for her to hear. She looks up at me signaling for me to elaborate.
"I would have many pictures of my friends, teachers, and anyone else who have impacted me," I say as the faces of Yumi, Takako, Yuzuki-sama, Haru-kun, Hana-chan, Arisa-chan, and Sesshomaru flash through my mind, "And if I could meet any of my favorite celebrities, say Tom Hiddleston, Orlando Bloom, or Paul Walker (if I could go back in time), then I would have pictures with them."
"What about Japanese celebrities?" Arisa-chan questions with mock horror on her face.
I laugh at her goofy face, and she laughs, too. Then she begins to cough and lose balance. I put the elephant back and wrap my arms around her to support her. She drops her phone. It does not shatter, but she continues to cough and lean on me. I do not know what to do, and I cannot ask her. She would not be able to tell me until she stops coughing. Finally, she calms down and takes in deep breaths of air. By now the owner of the store is with us, concern and worry clear on his wrinkled face. He helps me to lead Arisa-chan to a chair behind the counter.
"I am going to bring her a cup of hot water," he says running into the back. I kneel before her.
"Are you okay now?"
She nods with her eyes a little watery making them shine more than before.
"Oh, my phone!"
"I'll go get it," I reluctantly get up and fetch her phone. By the time I get back the owner is with her, and she is sipping on a mug of hot water.
"Got it," I say holding her phone up then I stupidly ask, "Do you have a cold or a fever?"
She half-heartedly smiles and giggles while moving her head from side-to-side, "I'm just really cold."
The owner, who is an elderly man with peppered hair and tanned skin, looks at me questioningly. We are indoors and it is 25° Celsius. The store itself is located in an indoor mall.
"Would you like me to take you home, Arisa-chan?" I ready myself to use her phone to call a cab.
"I'm alright, Senpai. I need to find my friend's present because she will be here soon, and now is my only free time."
"Okay, umm… How about I pick out things based off of what we know and bring them here to show you? That way you can rest."
"That's a lot of work, Senpai, I can help you!"
"No. Sit. Stay here. I will be back," I command putting on my best captain face. Combing through the isles, I pick up the best whos-its and whats-its that come close to being family oriented. I also place generic gifts in the cart that I swooped up before bringing them to Arisa-chan.
I showcase the items one by one placing them in either maybe, yes, or no piles. I am relieved when I see some color return to her complexion. The owner helps me, acting out his best Vanna White, waving his arms as gracefully as possible with an adorable grin on his face. Arisa-chan and I laugh with him and when she stops to set down the mug and stand, the owner and I ready ourselves to catch her.
"Sakura-senpai, what is that big thing that is left in the cart?"
"Oh this?" I pick up the item that is several picture frames attached to each other to form a mural around the characters for the world "family". It is made from painted red bamboo. I hold it with both hands so Arisa-chan can get a good look at it. Her eyes light up like they did before when she first saw me, and her lips pull back in a full grin.
"This one. This is perfect."
Hi guys! Long time no talk... heh heh... Well, I feel like shit for being gone for so long, but it's summer break now! I won't have to waste creativity on filling up essays and shit. Oh, and I submitted the first chapter of this story to my writing fiction class (after I changed names of characters of course). No one really understood what was going on. Were any of you guys confused in the beginning or are still confused?
Anyways, thank you WorldPeaceMan for reviewing a while back! I'm sorry that you and everyone had to wait so long for an update. I wanted to write a couple more chapters and post all of them together, but who knows how long that will take. ;/ So I'm posting this now! Oh, and that updated soundtrack is coming soon! So far I've added Fight Song by Rachel Platten and a couple others, but I want to add more.
See you soon!
P.S. So, I've been stuck with this story because there are two+ other stories poking at the back of my head begging to be written. I might post those as well, but I really want to finish this first. However, ideas for the other ones are coming faster than this one. Sorry! I know where to take this story, but I'm having trouble bridging the events.