3. Enter Willis, The Third Person
Natsuko Ishida stopped unpacking when she heard a 'honk-honk'noise outside. Putting the box of cutleries aside, she jogged out of the kitchen, along the hallway, across the living room and through the main entrance to get to the door— and when she did; she waved happily to the person in the car outside the gates of her new home. Quickly, she took the remote control of the gates and with a single press of a button, the gates swung open, allowing the silver car to drive in.
After parking the car, a tall and slender blonde young man got out of the car.
"Yama!" she greeted happily and her eldest son rolled his eyes ("Don't call me that anymore, it's embarrassing!"). She gave him a hug and he returned it. "Come on in, it's so cold outside…come in, come…"
Natsuko led the way to the kitchen, but Yamato lingered around to have a look at the kind of empty living room.
"We haven't finished unpacking, so it's not quite my dream house yet," she joked from the hallway.
"Well, that's why I'm here, isn't it?" her son called back somewhere from the living room.
"You're reallygonna help us unpack?" she asked, taking out two mugs from one of the boxes in the kitchen. Yamato soon entered the kitchen, still looking here and there.
"Of course I'm gonna help you unpack,"Yamato said. "What, you don't think I have time, do you?"
"Exactly — I heard from Teeks that you're making a tour or something of the sort," she replied, gesturing him to sit down at the counter. "I heard it's gonna be big?"
"It's a charity programme,not a tour," Yamato corrected her, rolling his eyes once more. "It's not like we're touring the whole of Japan or 're just gonna sing in small concerts here and there…s'nothing big. He never gets things correct nowadays, does he, that Takeru?"
Natsuko laughed while pouring some tea into the two mugs. "Well, yeah — he's always that day dreamer…"
"…He's that day dreamer only after you move out of Odaiba, remember? He was a sharp person who loved to observe and ignore things back when…" Yamato trailed off before taking a sip out of his tea. Perhaps he had sensed that gloomy atmosphere coming from his mother, Yamato quickly asked, "Where's dad? And where isTakeru, anyway? I don't see him anywhere near the TV."
"Oh? Oh — your dad's got some urgent meeting or something (see, he left me to unpack alone!) and as for Takeru, he's down at the village – your little cousin's done it again."
"Hiroki-kun?" he asked, frowning. "I heard he scared a kindergarten kid — he's doing it again?"
Natsuko nodded. "Mm-hmm. Something about broken crayons, I heard. Just — let Takeru handle this one," she said when Yamato rose up from his chair. "Those two are really close to each other…so just…leave it to him, okay?"
Yamato sat back down. "Yeah…okay…"
Natsuko sighed. "Really, Hiroki-kun needs time to adjust… Ever since that plane crash…ever since his mother got into a coma for years…he's just…" She trailed off, shaking her head in dismay.
"Yeah…it's even harder for him now that aunt Yukiko's gone," Yamato agreed. "Well! I'll cheer him up. Maybe I'll bring him along to those charity concerts and introduce him to my fans! He'll be the cutest mascot ever…"
"Yamato! He has schooland he's not going to be your mascot!"
"Hehe… Only joking, mum."
—X—
Mrs. Kim and the children were obviously unaware of the tension in the office. The elder woman was lecturing him about Hiroki-kun – his cousin – but for some reason, Hikari was sure that he wasn't listening to the kindergarten teacher so much. Hikari tried her best to avoid his eyes, but it was somewhat difficult, for he was sitting across her at the table...
Each heartbeat was like a stab to the heart – would Mrs. Kim just get on with it? What was she still babbling about? Okay...calm down, Hikari, calm down. He's just another random person in the village—
But the village was small...everyone knew everyone else and it's rather impossible not to know someone... So what was he doing here? With an eight-year-old cousin?
...Had he moved in...?
Oh, dear Lord, please have mercy!
"…children who are notfrom this school, therefore I will need to ask you to please, watch over Hiroki-kun."
Mrs. Kim's strict voice managed to snap Hikari out of her thoughts, and then she heard him reply,
"I understand. He is to be blamed."
For a moment there, she could recognise the long-forgotten but familiar coldness in his voice. She stole a quick glance and saw him giving Hiroki-kun a glare. The boy hung his head, only to flinch again when another thunder was heard.
"Very well then, I think everything's settled now," Mrs. Kim said, smiling. "Aoi-chan? Do you wish to go home?"
Her five-year-old sister quickly shook her head. "I want to learn!"
"That's great, Aoi-chan," said Hikari, and her sister grinned. "I'm so proud of you!"
"You can borrow some crayons from your friends and from our art box," said a smiling Mrs. Kim, who was leading the way out of the office.
The girl nodded enthusiastically and was about to head out of the office – and Hikari followed suit, picking up her things and hastily dashing for the door – but Takeru quickly stood up and called out, "Aoi-chan, please hold on a moment."
Hikari was whispering, "Keep walking, come on!" but Aoi-chan stopped in her tracks and turned around. It was probably the hint of kindness in the young man's voice that made her stop. Almost against her will, Hikari turned around as well, but kept her gaze on Hiroki-kun.
They were now standing face to face, hands on the shoulders of the young ones in front of them.
"I believe Hiroki has something to say to you," Takeru said, giving the boy a slight push so that he stood closer to Aoi-chan.
"…I… I'm…sorry," Hiroki-kun mumbled. Aoi-chan looked both shy and scared as Hiroki-kun extended an arm and waited for her to shake it. While her little sister made the decision (whether to accept or decline the apology), Hikari sneaked a glance at Takeru: she was lucky, for he seemed to be avoiding her eyes, too. That was when she really had a good look at him.
She was sure that her heart had skipped a beat then, but later, she would deny it and said that she had felt nothing – Takeru Takaishi (Ishida? She wasn't sure...was he under some disguise and changed his name?) had undoubtedly grown into a fine young man: his features were still as she remembered them – blue eyes, fair complexion – but he definitely wasn't that troubled teenage boy she used to know. He was slowly growing into a man...
The very thought was enough to make her flush red.
Hikari only snapped out of her thoughts when Aoi-chan began to step forward. She quickly let go of her sister's shoulders and watched as she hesitantly shook Hiroki-kun's hand.
"It's okay," said Aoi-chan shyly, making the elder Yagami smile. Hiroki-kun looked even more embarrassed and was obviously at a loss of words.
"Now bow, be polite," Hikari said, and then she and Aoi-chan bowed at the other two. When Takeru began to bow back, Hikari took the opportunity to turn around and exit the office. She led Aoi-chan to her class (which was, thankfully, all the way down the hall) while Takeru and Hiroki-kun made their way to the front door of the kindergarten.
She took deep, steadying breaths as she watched Aoi-chan settled down in her class. Had she been holding her breath all the time in that office? She was pretty positive that she had.
"Hikari-chan?" came Miss Shiro's voice. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she said quickly, giving the teacher a smile.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost!"
...Or someone you've been trying to forget for the past five years!
"No, I'm okay," she insisted, smiling still. This time, Miss Shiro smiled back, probably deciding it's best to drop the topic.
"So, who was that boy?" the teacher asked, changing the subject.
"Uh – some boy, Hiroki-kun..."
Miss Shiro frowned. "Hiroki-kun? I've never seen or heard of him... The Matsudas have a son called Hiroki, but I'm sure he's thirteen or fourteen this year!"
"Well – yeah – I dunno who they are..."
As if on cue, Mrs. Kim came towards them (she had seen the other two to the door) and said, "That was Takeru Ishida and his little cousin, Hiroki Takaishi. Apparently they've just moved in last Thursday up at the Spiralling Hill."
"Ah, I see...how old is the boy?"
"I'm not sure – eight or seven, I bet."
"Such a wild boy! But clearly he respects his cousin..."
"...Yes, fell silent almost immediately when Ishida-san scolded him..."
The two teachers kept conversing this way while Hikari let her own thoughts flow. So...they'd moved in? They had really moved in? The idea of having to meet him often in the village afterwards seemed surreal... Was there a way to avoid them? Avoid him? It was most unlikely...
"Hikari-chan? Hikari-chan!"
"Huh – wha—?"
Mrs. Kim placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yea, yea I'm all right," she said, shaking herself mentally. "I was just thinking – well, I hope Hiroki-kun will behave...from...now on..."
The two teachers agreed to this, and continued to talk some more on the matter. Hikari slowly excused herself and made her way to the front door of the kindergarten. From where she stood, she could see Takeru and Hiroki-kun's figures across the street. They were walking slowly in the rain with a blue umbrella above their heads, held up by Takeru's long arm...
Sighing, Hikari began to put her shoes on. It was time to return to the grocery shop.
—X—
Takeru slowly turned to look at his cousin as they walked up the Spiralling Hill. The eight-year-old refused to look at him.
"Hiroki-kun…"
"Don'tsay it, I know already…" he muttered, turning the other way, completely hiding his face from him.
"Good then," he said in a strict voice, "so tonight, there will be no TV for you and your bedtime is an hour early."
"But—!"
"Well, you should've thought twice before doing what you did today," he said. Then, with softer voice that indicated he was worried and disappointed, he said, "You missed your first day at your new school — what were you thinking?"
Hiroki didn't reply, but simply hung his head instead. Takeru knew that his cousin was going through a very hard time...losing your parents isn't something easy to deal with - and what's more, he was barely ten years old...
They walked together in silence for a few moments. Takeru observed Hiroki with sad eyes before ruffling up his hair and pulling him into a quick hug.
"You silly," he said quietly. Hiroki looked confused; he blushed deeply but didn't say anything. "You know," he began airily, "back when you were two, you called me 'Keru-niichan'. I tried so many times to teach you how to say my name properly but…"
Hiroki-kun frowned at him. "Uh...okay. And you're telling me this now because...?"
"…Nah, forget it," he said, waving his hand. Upon seeing Hiroki's unconvinced face (perhaps the eight-year-old was worried about his sanity), he said, "C'mon, let's go home…I think Yamato's here already — you know, to help us unpack."
With that, they kept on walking all the way up the Spiralling Hill to their new home. But his day had just brightened up — for he had found her.
Or more like, he had coincidentally run into her.
Someone up theremust have a bone to pick with them or something.
"Niisan...you're grinning alone...you sure you're OK...?"
—X—
"Hey, you're back," Willis greeted in his weird accent as Hikari entered the grocery shop. When she did not reply, the American young man became slightly worried. "Is everything okay? How's Aoi-chan? Is she all right?"
"…Yea, fine…fabulous…"
She made her way towards the back of the counter and sat next to Willis, thinking about everything that had just happened.
"Uh — are you okay?" Willis asked uncertainly after a few seconds. She nodded quickly. "Don't lie to me, Hikari," he said warningly. "You know that I—"
"D'you believe in coincidence?"
This one was a really random question, and Willis just didn't see it coming. "Uhh — what?"
"Coincidence," she repeated once more. "You know — if things happen by accident and stuff."
"I knowwhat 'coincidence' means but — but what the heck? What's this all about?"
"Okay…d'you remember why I avoided you the first time you came here?" Hikari started slowly, looking at her American friend, who looked back.
"You mean…this has something to do with that guy — what's his name again — Takato? Takari? Take-something?" Hikari nodded quickly. Willis frowned deeper. "He's not here, is he?"
"He is!" Hikari said miserably, sighing and turning away. "I've toldyou — it's like, wherever I go, he'll be there sooner or later — he'll find me…!"
Hikari sat there, frowning and looking troubled. Willis didn't like seeing her like this: so down, so depressed… Usually she could remain grinning till the end of the day, even if it was raining heavily. Well, back when he'd first met Hikari, she was not as cheerful as she was today…mainly because she had so many old memories — painfulmemories — about a certain someone who'd given her a hard time…
However, Willis could say proudly to anyone who asked, that hewas the one who cheered Hikari up a great deal and became who she was now. She smiled more often nowadays and didn't mourn for everything like she used to when he had first met her…
He couldn't find other words to describe how they met other than 'strange'. The way they met was kinda strange, and at first, he didn't think he'd be able to befriend this Hikari Yagami, who had given him the cold shoulder during the early days when he'd first moved in. The small town of Kurokuro was full of very friendly people (on his first week there, the nearest neighbours baked him cakes — and within three days, the whole village had learnt his name and his background), and Hikari was friendly too — she was friendly to everyone except him.
He wondered a lot back then: why Hikari was treating him that way? She would try to avoid him whenever she saw him, and would not speak a word to him at all. Did she not like him because he was an American? She didn't look like a racist…not to him, anyway, and he was sure that everyone else would think the same if they were to see Hikari's beautiful smile.
In the end, Willis' curiosity got too high and he finally confronted her about it. He got Hikari cornered one day while they were sorting out things in Mr. Hokama's storeroom. He got straight to the point and asked her why she was treating him like that, and she had replied (with her face pink):
"I am not comfortable talking to someone who I barely know. Please mind your own business."
And then he had cheekily replied, "Oh, I'm not so bad once you get to know me…" Honestly, Willis did not know what it was — his looks, his words, or the fact that she was cornered that day — but whatever it was,it managed to get a confession out of Hikari.
"You look like someone" was the first thing she mumbled after a pause. From there, he slowly — slowly —learnt about a certain someone who she had fallen in love with oh-so-much. And from there, she started to treat him the way she treated everyone — and check this out: he actually was her best friend now. Sure, it would seem weird to see him gossiping with Hikari's other friends (or sometimes he just stood there listening), but it was all worth it.
She was a very charming person.
"Okay, I am sonot freaking out," Hikari concluded as she got to her feet. "I'll sort out the small boxes. Yeah. Life goes on…! Yosh!"
She then headed for the storeroom with the famous Superman Flying Pose.
And yup, she was an optimist. Even the weather can't defeat her.
And as for him, he had always believed that he had an iron will. The weather can't defeat him, too, and neither could this Takeru Takaishi, the person whom he saw as a threat to his brilliant plan of confessing to Hikari.
Willis remembered saying that, if Hikari wanted to reminisce about Takeru whenever she saw or looked at him,it's okay — go ahead. Imagine him as Takeru, or whatever. He was fine with it as long as she was fine with it, too.
Well, now he deeply regretted that action.
"I look like someone, huh…?" he said quietly after a while, before turning his attention to their new customer.
A/N: w00t! I can drive now! :D BOOYAH! XD I used to think that driving is difficult, and I had no confidence whatsoever about learning how to drive – but I can drive now! But I still have to sit for the test... Yosh! :D
(And the first thing I do when I get back from driving lessons is to head into the kitchen, squeeze a generous amount of dishwashing liquid onto my hands and scrub away! Imagine how many students have used that car before me! Sweaty hands have touched that steering wheel before I did! Must clean the hands!)
How was the chapter? Plenty to read, right? XD So it's okay if I don't update soon, right? XDD