Summer Blues
Chapter Five: A Memorable Visit
In my dream, it was all white. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, were a pure, ghostly white, that creeped out the real me, but fascinated the dream me. I was sitting on a white chair in front of white table, sketching on a blank page beneath my hands. The only sound to be heard was the scratching of crayons on paper.
Suddenly, there was a slight noise—in the complete silence of the room, it was even possible to hear a pin drop—and I looked behind me to find a hooded figure cloaked in all black, a stark contrast to the pristine walls. Real me was screaming that this figure might pose a danger to me, but dream me just looked on, completely relaxed. Trusting.
The hooded figure did not pull off his hood, instead walked slowly over to me to examine my work. He smiled at me after careful observation, and I could see the hint of brilliant blue eyes beneath the dark clothing.
"Naminé," he said, and real me was startled to hear a girl's voice. It sounded high and feminine… In fact, it sounded like… Kairi…
"Naminé!"
I was jolted awake by the pressure of someone jumping up and down on my bed. I groaned and covered my head with a pillow. "Five more minutes…" I begged.
"Can't, Nam," Kairi told me, dragging me by the arm to a sitting position. "You promised to spend time with me today," she continued happily, still bouncing slightly. "Come on, it's already nine in the morning." I guess Kairi was a morning person. Well, too bad. I was more of a late-afternoon-to-early-evening kind of girl.
I blinked, and rubbed my eyes sleepily. "It's not that late, Kai…" I grumbled, pouting.
"Please?" She did that annoying puppy-dog eye look that worked on me no matter who did it. How could she have known that? Man. I puffed my cheek and pushed her off the bed.
"Fine, I'm getting up," I said, mussing up my hair and standing. She jumped up from where she fell on the floor, apparently unfazed. Ah, the perks of morning people.
"Great!" she exclaimed, scrambling out the door. "Get showered and whatever, and I'll meet you at the dining table. We're visiting Grandma today, if it's okay."
"Yeah, yeah," I replied, heading to the bathroom. Inside, I splashed my face with cold water to wake myself further. I wondered about the dream. Who was that hooded figure? I came up with several possibilities, but only one seemed to actually jump out at me. I mean, there were only so many people with eyes that precise shade of blue. Right? I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and splashing more water on my face.
Whatever. I stripped off and stepped into the shower, concentrating on the steady rush of warm water. I turned off the tap when I was done, grabbed a powder blue towel that was on the rack (mine—I'd brought it and used it last night) and padded back to my room. I chose a long-sleeved white shirt with Missing You in black Gothic letters in front, high-waisted black shorts (which wasn't very obvious since I didn't tuck my shirt in) and my faithful black Converse.
I went down to the dining room, where Kairi was already starting to eat, wearing denim cutoffs and a loose red shirt over a white tank. She gestured to the seat beside her for me to sit. "I was hungry," she explained after swallowing her bite. She grinned. "Help yourself."
There was array of food in front of me, and I chose the ones I was most familiar with—bacon and eggs with toast. As I piled them into a sandwhich, I asked Kairi about her grandmother.
"She's a really strong woman—lives on the other side of the district. She copes pretty well on her own. I like visiting her whenever I get the chance, and I thought maybe she would want to meet you," she said in response. I smiled, appreciative of the way Kairi obviously cared for her grandmother. I had no grandparents myself—the last one died years ago. At least Kairi had a grandparent and she obviously takes care of her pretty well.
We headed out right after breakfast, chatting along the way. We met no one else we knew, unfortunately; I guess most of them were late sleepers too. Kairi led me to a traditional house—more of a cottage, really, it was quite small—which even had a picket fence and rose bushes under the windowsills. There was a woman there with graying hair, which still had a sort of reddish tinge to it, who was tending to the flowerbed.
"Grandma!"
The old woman straightened and turned to us, a bright smile illuminating her features. "Kairi!" she exclaimed, standing up as fluidly as a woman her age could. It actually surprised me—her agility, I mean. I guess I knew now where Kairi got her energy. "Come here and let me have a look at you."
Kairi did so while I hung back as they embraced and exchanged pleasantries. Kairi turned to me in the midst of laughing at something her grandmother had said, and gestured me forward. "Gran, this is Naminé—she's the penpal I told you so much about?"
The old woman peered at me curiously, eyes squinting slightly. Then she drew back and chuckled. "My, you're quite the pretty girl, aren't you? But dreadfully thin… Hm. Come inside, girls, I'll whip something up for you." She grinned at me, quite like the way Kairi did, and hobbled inside her home. I was blushing from her comment when Kairi tugged on my arm and started to lead me inside.
"C'mon, Nam," she told me, laughing. "Gran does that to all my friends."
LINE BREAK
A plate of blueberry muffins later, I was talking easily to Kairi's grandmother, and she seemed to like me back. The woman was very grounded; she gave me sound advice and comforts I didn't know I missed from my own grandmother. However, when I told her my grandmother's name, she went still and gaped at me.
"Is everything alright, Mrs. Shimizu?" I asked, concerned. This was Kairi's mother's maiden name, and was therefore her mother's surname.
"Can you repeat that? And her surname?" she asked me faintly. I repeated my grandmother's name, and she blinked and shook her head. She suddenly seemed several years younger when she smiled at me.
"You are the granddauter of Hitomi Motoko?" She stared out of her window. "I once knew a Hitomi, in my youth. We were inseperable. Back when I lived in the city—I'm sure it was Oblivion, as you said—I had a best friend named Hitomi. We did everything together, until the time I had to move away because I got married to Kairi's grandfather. I've lost contact with her since." She looked back at Kairi and me, blinking. "But her last name was Madoka. She had the biggest blue eyes I'd ever known anyone to have. A lot like yours, Naminé."
I tilted my head to the side, surprised. "My grandmother's maiden name was Madoka, if I remember," I told her. "That means—"
"You are delightful, Naminé!" Kairi's grandmother told me, chuckling. "I've no doubt you're her granddaughter. Everything about you screams Hitomi." She wiped a stray tear, as if the memory both excited and pained her. "I'd heard she's gone now, though," she added quietly. "Would you like me to tell you more about you grandmother?"
I laughed and replied, "Yes!" I was eager to learn more, since I hadn't known her then, and will never get another chance.
Mrs. Shimizu sat back and sipped her tea before launching into an interesting story about her childhood.
LINE BREAK
It was sunset when we finally left Mrs. Shimizu's home, to insistent pressing for us to bring a batch of mufins and a container of lasagna home.
"I can't believe our grandmas knew each other!" Kairi exclaimed, as we headed off the road back to her house.
"I know," I agreed, smiling. "To think they had that much history!"
"I think us becoming penpals wasn't just coincidence," she told me, grinning back. I laughed, silently agreeing, when suddenly, we heard a sneering voice from the sidewalk. It was… irritating, actually.
"Hey, ladies, want a ride home?" The speaker was a young blonde, probably a year older than us, who was leering at us from the driver's seat of a sleek car, through the passenger's window. "I could give you one."
Kairi stepped back and pulled me with her. "Get lost, Seifer," she practically growled. "I'm calling Axel if you don't."
Seifer? This was the guy Xion and Kairi were talking about yesterday; the one who always picked fights with the XIII. He looked pretty street-looking, with a beanie pulled over his blonde hair, and a shirt with the sleeves artfully ripped, showing slightly muscular arms. Definitely gang material.
"Oh, c'mon, Kairi, don't be that way," he continued, leering. "Let's you and me have a chat with your little new friend here."
"Hell no," Kairi replied, rolling her eyes.
"But—" Seifer suddenly cut off as a pair of headlights came round the corner. He swore and called a "Later, then, Kai" and sped off, leaving a cloud of exhaust fume in his wake. I coughed waving my hand in front of my face to clear the air.
The car who had turned the corner stopped in front of us, too, and I recognized it as Axel's, with those telltale flames licking its sides. The passenger window rolled down, and I was surprised to meet eyes with none other than Roxas. I supposed Axel was driving.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, brow scrunching.
From the driver's side, I thought I heard Axel snort. Then he said, "You better be okay, Sis. We're having GTA with Seifer right now and we can't afford to lose." I translated that to He better not have hurt you, Kairi, or I will kick his butt when I finish this.
Kairi seemed to sense the same meaning and giggled. "Oh, go on, Ax," she told him. "We'll be fine."
"Thanks," I added, smiling for their benefit.
Both boys in the car chuckled, and Axel started to roll up the passenger side window. "See you tomorrow, Naminé!" Roxas called, before it completely closed. I wondered what he meant by that... They drove off, leaving another cloud of exhaust fume.
Kairi grinned at me when we'd cleared the air. "I think he likes you," she announced.
"Shut up, Kai," I mumbled, ducking my head to hide my red face. "What's up with tomorrow, anyway?"
"You forgot already? The beach, remember?"
Oh, right, the beach. Hm… Cool, then. Wait. The beach equals swimming. Swimming equals swimming outfits and such. So, then, the boys—no. Naminé, you cannot seriously be thinking of this. I gave myself a mental shake and looked up at Kairi again. "That's right, I completely forgot." I chuckled.
Kairi clucked her tongue. "Sheesh, Nam." She laughed. "Anyway, we should hurry home. It's dinnertime, anyway."
"Sure," I replied, following her back down the road, thoughts filled with tomorrow.
A/N: Okaaay. That chapter was way overdue. I'm so sorry, everyone! We went off to my cousin's house for a few days because it was my aunt's birthday. Of course, that's no excuse, but I hoped you like this chapter anyway!
Oh, and I'm really sorry, but I felt more comfortable using OCs as their family members, so forgive me if that annoyed you. Also, Seifer was pretty much a jerk. Can anyone please tell me how he really acts? 'Cause I can't be too sure.
Finally, I gave several clues on the meanings of their grandmothers' names; I hope you saw that. If you didn't, go google it! Hee. I hope to update this by tomorrow or the day after. Wish me luck!
Reviews are loved and appreciated! I hope you aren't terribly bored with this. D: Next chapter's the beach! Love you all~
-Hikari
