Come on, did it really make sense for them to just ditch us onto the streets without a second passing glance? I swear these people are such idiots. Leaving a supposedly reformed druggie and a supposedly clean record-ed pusher with, guess what, an actual reformed glass blower, was the STUPIDEST idea an adult had ever had. But who's complaining? I was free; I wasn't stupid enough to jump back to Carlisle and the rest of my old gangs so quickly. As much I wanted to, I had to get out of the fucking place.
Now.
"Japan here I come," I announced throwing on my iPod, keep the music surprisingly low compared to some people my age. Coral nodded in agreement and jumped on her suitcase one last time in attempts to close it. Ah, the burden of being filthy rich.
"Can't wait to get off this rock. This place SUCKS!"
Limited vocabulary after years of prep school, yup, that was Coral for you. Blonde party girl to the core.
"What do you think Ai-chan?" I asked Aimee, trying to get back of the habit of adding honorifics onto the ends of everyone's name. "Ready to find your missing relatives?"
The little girl nodded enthusiastically. Her way of saying 'You bet I am'. Poor girl was so silent; I really forgot she was there sometimes. I don't mean that in a bad sense either- being unnoticed is very good at times. Especially if one was lost or wadding their way through to real world- the drug world.
Shit happens! Just look at what a 'retarded, screwed up, wasteful, insignificant' person your granddaughter turned out to be. (I for one know that's not true. The rest of your world seems to think that.)
I smirked. Gramps would be getting that letter today or he had already gotten it. Shit would hit the fan for sure when I got home. And to me, that's perfectly fine. My world revolves around stress, drama and the need to survive. By definition of 'Survival of the Fittest' and 'Darwinism', so should everyone else's worlds. I don't really see it though. Ah, well. Sucks to be them.
"Nice face, dear." Coral always noticed little things like that. When I go off commenting my life and narrating it as if someone was listening. Wouldn't that be a laugh?
"Ready to part the Red Seas and cause all hell to brake loose?"
"You have no idea..." I replied dryly.
Don't get me wrong- I was looking forward to moving back to the sweltering hot country at this time of year formally known as Japan. It's just I have such a past here in the States. In the States is where she was born. Lexie. My sister, my blood, myself. She was the darker side of me, if you will. The mask that I wore during business hours to protect my superhero identity so that I wouldn't get shot down while flying overhead to keep tabs on my people. (And trust me- that happened enough already.) She was literally my street name. One would usually find me at the corner of Lexington for whatever perfect excuse I had for the day. Waiting for a friend, keeping away from home et cetera. And having it be a cutie-pie name didn't hurt either, that way when one of my classmates at school called me that, teachers would just think it was a nickname or a pet name I started going by because my parents had no originality and name me after a BIRD!
(Speaking of bad names, I'm not the only one suffering. Poor Yoh- got stuck with 'leaf'. And Coral's a piece of endangered rock. ... Yup. Real winning names there.)
But either way, what could I do with Lexie? Bury her with my hatchet, so to speak, I guess. Six unforgiving, cold feet under. But since when do I listen? Screw those advisors from Juvie; they don't care about me or my friends unless it's bringing more money to them. But I respect that fact; I never cared about half of my clients unless there was personal profit for me. My point- I knew the drill. They didn't have to sugar coat everything like they would for a six year old.
Lexie would come back from the grave I would temporarily bury her in. Just long enough to get through airport security. I knew she'd be back.
Maybe I should throw her a welcome home party...
xXx
"A twenty hour flight?" Yoh echoed back over the roar of the vacuum cleaner. He's eyes sparkled. "So she'll be here today- er, tonight?"
Anna glared at him. "Didn't I just say that?" She asked him in a dangerous tone. One that suggested hours more of labor and hard work should he annoy her enough. He was getting close to that point on her temper scale. Things would no be pretty at all.
"Sorry..." Yoh replied weakly and went back to the cleaning his holy terror of a fiancé' had instructed him to do. 'Maybe she'll be able to get Anna to be nicer...'
It was nice thought, but it wasn't happening anytime soon. In his cleaning of the living room in added a few characteristic twirls. What? He was excited about having another person in his family- maybe they weren't a boring fart!
Anna rolled her eyes at her fiancé's immaturity. But, still it was his cousin coming home after being away for more than ten years. Maybe, just maybe if he did all his chores without complaining, she'd give him off tomorrow to... ug... hang out with her. Besides, this girl was an Asakura, right? She'd be able to take over training for awhile and give Anna the break she so rightfully deserved.
xXx
"RAVEN ASAKURA! I'M GOING TO HUNT DOWN YOUR ASS AND KILL YOU!"
Coral's voice got just about everyone in the airport to turn around. I took no threat or concern to her remark, but kept walking forward as if I didn't know her. The plane ride had taken twenty freaking hours and she wouldn't shut up. For once, I had wished I didn't know her. Luckily, I managed to fall asleep with an hour left to go on the plane. Don't get me wrong, I did my fair share of talking; I just got annoyed with Coral going on for six hours about the same boy. The Starbucks Coffee boy. The one with the 'magic touch' from where they fingers grazed when SHE grabbed MY Carmel Frap because she wanted to get a good look at the boy. "He knows what to do with whipped cream," she joked as we had left. She winked back at the guy she would never see again.
Speaking of winks, I got a few from random guys on my way to the baggage claim. Sadly it was mostly from dads with their kids (ew! I cannot express just how wrong that really is!) or really fugly fat guys with grease stains all over their shirts. Why is it that hott guys never seem to notice me?
"So I'll see you tonight?"
"Definitely."
I turned around to see some guy with brown hair and red streaks walking away from exasperated Aimee and a Coral looking very pleased with herself. How is it that five seconds after landing in Japan she could get some guy's number when I couldn't even have gotten a date for the 8th grade dance cruise? Wait, I forgot, guys drool over Coral without a passing glance to me. I'm so not jealous though!
"Already?"
"Mmm-hmm. Why, haven't gotten any requests?"
Only by perverts. "Not my type," I answer with a sigh to it. "Didn't you say you had a ride worked out for us?" Watching a sweatdrop form on her head did my nerves no good. Please say yes, oh god please say yes.
"About that..."
Oh god, she didn't?
"Raven, don't give me that look. Of course I got us rides; my uncle wouldn't want anything else to happen to me. The only thing is the condition that came with it..." Her voice trailed off and I sighed once more. Conditions? Weren't you supposed to mention things like this beforehand? Aimee must have agreed with me because she now looked even more miserable then before.
"What conditions?" She asked softly while tugging at the hem of her white hoodie. Ah, bless the girl, she was inhumanely cute.
Coral laughed. "Don't be worried!" She cried out, taking each of us by the arm and linking our arms with hers. "You just have to meet my uncle when he gets back to Japan in a few months. I told you he flies back and fourth, right? Ah, see the sign? Look, Watson already got all our stuff. Let's go to the parking lot now."
I nodded. Where else would we be going? Besides, it could have been much worse than that. After all, we were meeting Aimee's family or whatever was left of them once we got settled in. And I called home to Izumo already- they said we were going to stay with Yoh and Anna at the Inn they lived in. Guess gramps didn't want to see my tattooed face just yet. In retrospect was kinda disturbing to me, Yoh living with his fiancé. Anna is 13 and Yoh's... Yoh's... ohmygod... how old is Yoh? I'm such an idiot. And since WHEN was Yoh the dating type? He always seemed really lazy-from the few years I knew him... when he was supposed to be going to preschool.
... ... ...
Point taken. I have no clue what Yoh would even look like. Well brown hair... okay maybe some idea. Too bad he didn't still have those stupid headphones I bought him right before I left for the states...
xXx
"You got the address?" The driver asked. Aimee pulled out the piece of paper Andrew had given her right before we left Juvie and read off the address, leaving out 'Kyōyama' that was written at the top. With a nod, the driver started the car and began the drive.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you three lovely ladies head to the Flame Inn? Don't you know that place is haunted?"
"Haunted?" I heard Aimee echo with some fear and dread in her voice. "C-come on, there's no such thing as ghosts, right Coral? Raven?"
Silly girl, what did she expect me to lie and say no? I wouldn't agree or lie about ghosts and spirits not existing. I am a shaman, it would be insulting. Instead I just smirked and looked at Coral who had a grin on her smug, perfectly flawless face.
"S'matter Ai-chan?" She asked teasing Aimee. "You afraid of ghosts? Think the girl from the Ring is going to come up and kill you?"
Aimee rolled her eyes and said stiffly, "I'm not afraid. I just can... never mind. It's stupid."
Now this was getting interesting... What was my little Aimee hiding from me? Now I could probe her dreams later tonight, but that would be no fun. Being a gossip, I was interested NOW. So I tried to pry it out of her with Coral.
"Come on, Aimee! You have to tell us."
"Promise not to laugh."
"Or call you stupid."
"Or laugh and call you stupid."
"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaassssssssseeeeeeeee?"
She was about to cave but the stupid driver announced we were there. So we got out of the car and into the chilly night. A hush fell over us as we gazed at Funbari Hill's Flame Inn. A sign with 'closed printed in kanji on the lamp post. The wooden gate was closed and had a similar sign, 'no vacancy.' For some reason my heart began pounding in my chest.
Would Yoh remember me? Could I really remember him as much as I thought I did?
Would I be able to find another convent all the way here in Japan?
Would the money be just as good?
And what about Yoh... I never really cared about what people thought of me before but for some reason, I felt an overwhelming need to impress him. Not that being a Drug Dealer wasn't impressive enough. So did that mean I was having remorse?
No. I regretted nothing. I, "Lexie" Raven Asakura, was a good person, a great person.
The rest of the world had just yet to see that.
So that brings me to one last question; was Yoh more of a Glass or LSD type of guy?