Part 3: Overboard Box Escape
"Shinobu! Telephone!" A voice called from downstairs. Shinobu paused, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. It took his brain a moment to process what that meant. Friends called him on his mobile. Family used his host family's landline.
Hurriedly spitting a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink, Shinobu choked out a "Coming!" and dashed downstairs.
Andrew's mother stood in the kitchen holding out the cordless receiver to him. He flashed her a quick smile before taking the phone. Shinobu paused for a few seconds, hand over the mouthpiece.
He walked into the living room. It sounded harsh, but there was only one person he really wanted to talk to in Japan, and it was the one person who was the least likely of all tocall.
Almost reluctantly, he brought the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"
"Shinobu," a female voice addressed him.
"Yes?" It was certainly a familiar voice, but his brain didn't immediately supply him with an identity.
"It's Risako," the voice told him, the annoyance easily palpable.
Shinobu blinked. "Oh." He raised both eyebrows. "Why are you calling?"
"A fine way to talk to your sister," she responded. "Can't I just call to ask how you're doing?"
There hadn't been any precedent for that kind of concern, but somehow Shinobu managed to hold that comment in. "I guess," he mumbled.
There was a terribly awkward pause in which Shinobu chewed on a hangnail. After an agonising fourteen seconds of silence, he heard Risako sigh. "So...?"
"So what?"
"How iare/i you doing?"
"Oh. I'm ok." Pause. "About to go out."
"And how is school?" she ignored his pointed hint, sounding almost motherly. Shinobu didn't buy one second of it.
"School's finished for the year. I'm on holidays." He flopped down on the sofa and checked his watch.
"And it's summer there, right? That must be strange."
"I guess..." He began picking at a fraying thread at the hem of his shorts. "You get used to it after a while, though."
"And are you going to be staying for much longer?"
The line of questioning was becoming suspiciously leading. Shinobu responded very carefully. "I'm not sure. I took the end of year exams and got my Higher School Certificate. I can apply to University here if I want to next month, and the entrance exams are in February in Japan. I have time to decide."
"Have you talked to father about that yet?"
Shinobu winced. "Not yet, but I would be back in Japan for New Year. I can talk to him then. I've been invited to spend Christmas with Andrew's family."
"They seem nice. You won't be imposing, will you?" Despite the intended meaning behind the words, Risako's flate tone of voice carried very little emotion.
"No. Christmas is a big family holiday here. They go to the beach and everything."
"That's nice," Risako repeated, and the conversation died once again. Sick of carrying it, Shinobu stayed silent.
In the silence, Shinobu heard Risako sigh wearily. "The reason I'm calling is that I wanted to tell you something before you got back to Japan. I was going to wait, but father said I shouldn't spring it on you. It's about Yoh and I."
Shinobu sat up straighter, fingers gripping nervously at the fabric of his shorts. Five little words sent his heart plummeting into his stomach. He didn't dare to speak, lest Risako stop.
"We've decided to get a divorce."
It was as though all the air got sucked out of the room. Shinobu's hands stopped fidgeting and started shaking.
"Why?" He croaked out.
"It's... complicated."
The news was too surprising for Shinobu to be able to answer that comment appropriately. "I-- I don't understand," he said instead.
Risako sounded strained. "I won't detail it over the phone, but it just wasn't working. Still," she tried to brighten her voice. "It's fairly amicable. And it's not as though you liked him anyway. I remember the glares you used to give him." She forced a laugh. "It always made him nervous to be around you."
Shinobu sat stock-still, staring at the wall in front of him.
Wasn't this what he'd hoped for? He'd tried to be so patient while waiting for the universe to deliver Miyagi to him, but it seemed an impossible request. And as much as it had hurt, he'd tried to stop himself asking for something so soul-destroying and obviously out of his grasp.
Now reaching the impossible was a mere ten hours away by plane.
"Shinobu, Lachlan is here!" Andrew's mother called from the other room.
"Shinobu, are you still there?" Risako asked, almost at the same time.
The idle thoughts he'd had about continuing study in Australia, about moving on, about leaving the spectre of Miyagi in Japan, all died.
"I'm coming home," he said decisively, standing.
"When?"
"As soon as I can."
Risako coughed, surprised. "I thought you were going to wait until after Christmas."
"I've changed my mind." Shinobu had already begun to mentally pack his belongings, book flights, get his things in order.
"Oh. If you need any help--"
"I can manage," he cut her off. "Look, I have to go now; my friend's arrived. I'll call dad when everything's organised, ok? Talk to you soon."
With very little sentimentality, Shinobu hung up. He stayed in the living room for a few more moments just holding the telephone receiver in his slightly shaking hands.
A familiar head popped into the entrance of the room. "Hey," Lachlan greeted amiably. "Ready to go?"
Shinobu levelled a determined gaze at his not-boyfriend.
"Yes, I am."
