Paper Wishes

Daisuke forced a smile as he slid another wrapped fish to the needy customer. He addressed more reaching hands and tried to keep with the flood of requests, but his own sense of accomplishment was underscored by the daunting manager who scolded him for his sloppy work. He complained that he'd let the juices escape and had mistakenly cut more than he should have for some orders. Part of Daisuke hoped he'd be fired, but who else would hire him? He needed this job, so he fell to his knees to beg for another chance.

"Get up, Izumi." he demanded, "Nothing's going to happen to you, just be more careful next time. It's my job to see that none of our resources get wasted." He then laid a firm hand on the young employee's shoulder, squeezed reassuringly, and then dismissed him for the evening.

"Good job, boy. I know it was busy, today. Do you have any plans tonight?" his manager asked as Daisuke pulled off his hairnet.

"Just gonna go home. Are you going to stay for the rest of the festivities, Sir?"

"Yes, it'll be my son's first Tanabata." Daisuke's lips curled, though the gesture was less tense than before.

"Congratulations, Sir. Well, if you'll excuse me..." the teen then bowed and left with his backpack straddled at his side. He went around to the parking lot where his bike was locked and began to stuff the lock into his bag when he noticed an envelope falling out of the side. He caressed the edge a bit before shoving it back behind the zipper and pedaling off. His destination wasn't entirely unexpected.

He tiptoed to the front door, where he, again, slid the envelope through the mail slot. He hurried back into the shadows before he could be seen. The porch light died out and the residence became a mere silhouette against the night sky. Daisuke inched a closer and pressed his ear against the wood of the door. Maybe they'd gone out for the night. It was Tanabata after all...

"...Kaoru?..." he uttered as he questioningly gazed at the barrier before him. No, no, he was probably worried over nothing, "...See ya around...I guess..."

Ichinose hadn't been at school for a few weeks now and everyone was beginning to worry. Even Daisuke was beginning to wonder if something bad had happened or-

"AH! AH F—" the teen fell off his bike at the sudden sparks and crackles surrounding him, "What the-"

"HA! HA! SUCKER!" an adolescent voice sounded in the near distance. Daisuke growled as he searched for the culprit in the dark, but the beam of a flashlight suddenly exposed the young face of a boy with shaggy black hair. The familiar features issued a growl from the teen as he pushed his fallen bike off of his legs.

"Ugh...you...brat..." Ryou Misaki was this obnoxious middle-schooler from the city. Daisuke had babysat the kid a few times last summer when he'd stayed with his mother, but after his father had won full custody of the brat he didn't think he'd see him anymore. He'd been hoping, anyway.

"Ewww~ Why do you smell like fish, fishy face? Fish face! Fish face! Haha!"

"What the hell?! Why don't you keep your pranks inside or something? I could've really gotten hurt!"

"Soooo?" Ryou mocked in his prepubescent voice, "Hahaha! Fish face! Watch where you're going next time!"

"You brat! Why don't you go choke on a lollipop!" but the middle-schooler just blew a raspberry.

"Fishy face fishy face!"

"UUUGH! SHUT UP!" Daisuke warned as he struggled to a stand, "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?!"

"Visiting, ya moron! What, you think I wanna be back here with you LOSERS? Haha! I don't know why you insist on staying in this boring place. You're so uncool!"

"You damn brat!" but Ryou simply snarled at this.

"Where's your little posse or whatever? You still hang out Natsume?"

A small smile tugged at Daisuke's lips as he remembered the boy's childish crush on the girl. His brown eyes sparkled with the same curiosity they had last summer, but when he dropped the news that she'd fallen for someone else he heatedly denied it.

"Who?! Who is he?! My princess Natsume!" Daisuke bathed in the boy's fire, burning at the expense of his lie, "W-Wait! Daisuke! UGH! FISH FACE!"

The teen scrapped past the pebble thrown at him and sped off. It wasn't long before he was finally home and heaved a long sigh as he made his way to his room, knees aching from the possible skid marks. He noticed his mother talking to someone at the dining table as he unbuckled his helmet as slowed as the figure came into focus. His fingers slowed to a stop, the straps of his helmet limply falling to the sides of his chin.

"Oh Daisuke, this is Mister Ichinose, Kaoru's father. He says you and Kaoru are good friends?"

Daisuke clicked his tongue in disbelief.

"We're schoolmates, so…yeah, I guess so."

"Well...Kaoru hasn't come out of his room for some time now, and hasn't said a word except for your name."

The teen's smug expression faded with his complexion, his cheeks paling as shock washed over him.

"..W-What?"

"...I..." Mister Ichinose voiced solemnly, "...He's been on his computer this whole while. When my wife and I had divorced he was always playing that game...The World. It soothed him and I thought it'd be best to leave him to it again. I'd hoped he'd come out of it, but...I heard him say your name. I asked around town and finally found you. I truly apologize for this, but...surely you-"

"Kaoru told me about you; Why the hell do you care now?" Daisuke suddenly fired, issuing gasps from his audience, "Why'd you come back?"

"Because his mother has attempted suicide." the man began, "She...ever since the divorce she's been...like this. Perhaps everyone was right to say we'd be cursed for getting this divorce, but we simply couldn't stand each other and it was driving Kaoru away. Not that...this is much better..." Mister Ichinose sighed, "I don't know what he told you, but I love my son and I'm not proud about how things have turned out. I just...I just want him to be okay. So...Mister Izumi...will you...-"

"Just call me Daisuke, sir." the teen began, "As for Kaoru, I'll...well I...I guess I'll talk to him, if the situation is so dire. It'd be unnecessary for me to keep avoiding the issue. I suppose, in a way, I haven't been any better than you or my dead beat father."