Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning, initially surprised. Even though I should have known Tomoya left, my dreams were filled with the serene moments I felt in his arms the previous day. Looking out the window, however, I quickly remembered the cold, hard fact reality first dawned upon me yesterday afternoon. My parents were still dead, and they were never going to come back. I felt a tear come to my eye as I remembered this.

I walked downstairs. Entering the kitchen, I noticed the man from yesterday sitting on one of the seats, eating a breakfast dish. Who's that? He's not supposed to… Oh, right. I realized once more.

"He's my guardian now"

There was a plate of bacon and eggs with a small side of boiled rice waiting for me. It was more than the housekeeper, Hasegawa-sama, ever did for breakfast.

Slowly, the old man gazed towards my direction and nodded in a polite formal manner.

"Good morning, Kotomi-san. I hope you like eggs and bacon for breakfast? I'm not used to making meals for others, It's been quite a long time since I've ever had to do it,"
I also recalled the awkwardness I felt around him, and wondered if he felt the same around me. Finding it strange to think that was true, I replied rather hastily.

"Thank you-" I hesitated, not remembering his name.

"I am Yamada Nishimura. Please, if you have any complaints about the breakfast, feel free to let me know." he spoke formally, almost as awkward as I felt. He looked out the window, his eyes staring up towards the sun. "What a lovely day. It's sad to think it's eclipsing such a cruel event…"
He wasn't supposed to let me hear that; I could tell. Still, I made up my mind that he was as wary about the new job he had to take on as I was with him being here. I started to feel a little more at ease as I sampled the breakfast he made me. It was a little dry, nowhere near as good as mom or dad, but better than Hasegawa ever did.

Placing that memory in the forefront of my mind was a severe misstep on my part. Suddenly, I felt the melancholy flow out of my mouth through a subdued whimper. My guardian picked up on it instantly.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, senpai." A small smile seemed to cross his face. He assumed the gesture meant I was warming up to him. I'd say it was just the opposite.

"You don't have to be so formal. I have no qualms with you addressing me casually."

"It may have been…."
"Slightly forced?" He said, standing up to put his plate into the sink. "Don't worry. I'm not offended. After all, like I said, we do barely know each other. As for your parents and I, however, we were quite well-acquainted. Kotaru and Mizue spoke often about you. I never once heard them say a single negative thing about you. Looking at you now, I can see why. You're charming and intelligent, just as they were once. I wouldn't blame you if you found it unfair that you've been placed in my care." He trailed off as he looked outside once more; as if half-expecting my parents to walk down those stairs as they had several times before.

"Although, I do appreciate you using such a polite term," Just as quickly as the sentimental tone crept into his voice, it disappeared. Without much abruptness, he'd shifted the topic of our conversation to a lighter subject.
I noticed how long he seemed to take to vocalize his thoughts. He spoke unusually long sentences in an attempt to articulate himself, doing the best he could to sound natural. I sensed this awkwardness as soon as I saw him. Although well-composed, I silently affirmed there wasn't any other way he determined he could speak to me. I supposed it was better than him being mean, or haughty, but I still knew inside I could never feel comfortable talking to him about my deepest fears.

"It's nothing, really. I've been taught to be polite to my elders."

"A very good thing to learn," he said. "Sadly, so many children these days are so focused on rebellion, they don't realize how much their parents or guardians really care for them. In an attempt to show them how they feel, they often do crazy and unusual things just to illustrate that point. But I'm pleased to see that you're nothing like that."

"Not that I have anyone to rebel against anyway." I shouldn't have let that slip, but the tenseness I felt had to come out in some way or another.

"Like I said, I understand if you don't see me as an older uncle figure, much less be half the father Kotaru was. However, I have promised to take care of you, to watch out for you. It's a matter of honor and debt. Legally by your parents' will, I am to watch over you until you graduate from a university of your choosing," he slowly took out a letter from his pocket, and gave it to me. "This was a letter of explanation your parents wrote in case of an… It tells you who I am, and why there is no reason you shouldn't be able to trust me with watching over you."
My hands fidgeting, I grabbed the letter from him. I noticed several pages, neatly penned in my father's handwriting. I felt the tears build up in my eyes. I could reject him; the government would dig and claw at any reason I gave to dislike him, even the smallest ones, and would most certainly disqualify him as my guardian as soon as I spoke out against him. That thought didn't last long, though. As soon as I mentally relayed the suggestion to myself, I saw images of my body, wrapped around itself in a fetal position, tears pouring down my face. In the other room, I could hear a social worker, having a heated debate with the woman observing the orphanage.

Anything was better than that.

"I understand that senpai," I replied placing the pages in my pocket. When I had a chance, I'd read them myself; I wasn't going to let my guardian know that anything was wrong.

"I see." He put his hat on and pulled on his coat. "Well, I have an errand to run. I'm supposed to be assisting in an investigation that is trying to determine the nature of your parents' death." He waved as he silently escaped my sight, the door's squeaking thump being my only indicator that I wasn't in a bizarre dream.

I was confused who he was leaving me with, until I heard an obnoxious noise which sounded suspiciously like a pig's growl. Hasegawa-sama was dozing off again, still recovering from a nagging illness that hit her last week. Even in her sickness, I'd noticed her sitting very still on the couch, closely watching my guardian's every move. I guessed it was her job to show awareness while my guardian was around.

Something I never had to think about when my parents were alive. Now that they were dead, it would be something that frequently came up in my mind.

I laid myself down on the floor, staring at the door to my house. I started to wish Tomoya would come over.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Hoping it was Tomoya, I rushed to the door, and quickly opened it. Sure enough, there he stood. Although more inquisitive than usual, his happier demeanor from before my parents' death had returned.

"Um, hey Kotomi. You doing okay?"
I almost began to tell him I was okay. But I knew he'd be able to tell I was lying. As I felt tears come to my eyes, I turned away from him, hushing words just loud enough that he could hear. "I don't want to talk about it."

" Kotomi, please, I'm sorry I brought it up.."

"No, it's alright…. Really, I'm glad you came." I sniffed, and moved my face back towards him. He impulsively decided to investigate the area around me.
"Are you alone?"
"No, my caretaker's sleeping on the couch in the other room. My guardian's off running an errand."
"You mean the weird guy with the hat and the trench coat?"
"Yes,"

"Don't you think he's a little bit creepy?"
"Slightly, but he's not a bad person." I sighed. "He's trying his hardest to help me adjust, but he knows he's not doing a very good job. I almost feel bad he's going through all this. I mean, I wouldn't know how to deal with someone so stricken with grief." I tried to switch subjects. "But, enough about me. How are your parents doing lately?"
I knew I'd thrown a bombshell when Tomoya started staring at the ground, his fists tightened fiercely against his pants. "I…"

"I don't have any parents, not really," Tomoya spoke out starting to tear up. "My mother died when I was little, and… well… my dad's been gambling… and drinking a lot ever since. It's almost like he's a different person." He looked my way, forcing a smile. "I guess, we're kinda alike, huh?"

I ignored his false smile, and responded downcast. I didn't want him to relate to me; not like this. The only thing I felt he could do by connecting his life to mine was give us both an excuse to feel hopeless. "No, stop, we're nothing alike. I'm already a burden on you, if you connect our lives together, it will only get…"

"Kotomi, you're not a burden on anyone, alright?!" Similar to how he became heated up the previous day, Tomoya's fierce tone scared me. His whole body vibrated to the pace of his breathing. For a moment, I didn't know what he was going to do. Finally, he breathed out some of his anger, and escaped my eyes. "I didn't mean to….I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… But, I guess, you're guardian isn't that bad of a guy, huh?" In the middle of one sentence, he changed the subject, a pause being the only thing that gave away his gesture. I was glad, because I knew he'd be angry if I tried to convince him that I was ultimately the one who'd caused his outburst.
"He's probably not. He gave me some sort of 'letter of explanation' for him written by my parents in case of emergencies, but I haven't read it yet."
"In that case, you have nothing to worry about." He nodded. "So, what do you want to do?"
"We could just sit down and talk, I suppose."
Tomoya smiled. "I'd like that." We both sat down next to the wall near the front door. Tomoya casually leaned his legs across the rug while I sat in a slightly strange sitting position, partly appearing casual while also having the appearance of a fetal position. "You sure you're okay, Kotomi? I'm sorry, about…."
"I'm fine." I interrupted him, and started shivering. Hopefully, my ruse would work. "It's kinda cold, though." Tomoya stood up on one knee, and put his hand out in the air.

"You're right, it is kinda cold." He smiled. "But as something I read once said, 'There's always light at the end of the tunnel.'… Whatever that means."

"It means there's a train coming, and you better get off the tracks." I said deadpanned.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's not what it means."

I giggled slightly. "It was a bad joke anyways; your metaphor's sweet, though. It means when things are looking sad in life, there will always be something good that happens when you come out of bad times in life."
"That makes more sense then what you said earlier," he grinned. Then, his face became one of seriousness. "That's something I think it would be good for both of us to hang on to." He offered me his hand. "Let's make a pinky promise."
"Hm?"
"You know a pinky promise." He held my hand in his, causing me to blush slightly. "We'll promise that no matter what happens we'll always be friends, and that we'll cheer each other up, even in sad times." I glanced up to him, his smiling face persuading my face to mirror his. We completed the pinky swear. "Now remember, we're serious about this, right?"
"Of course we are," As the interchange began, my spirits slowly began to lift.
"We'll cheer each other up when we're down?"
"I'll do my very best," For his sake, I tried my best to sound positive.
"And we'll always be friends?"

I began to blush at a thought that came up in my mind, but then embraced Tomoya firmly; tears popping up in my eyes beginning to soak his shirt again. He placed his hands around my neck, and grasped me just as confidently.

"We'll always be friends, Tomoya-kun. No matter what." As we hugged, Tomoya looked up at the clock, and snapped his fingers in annoyance. I met his face, curiosity appearing through my eyes. "Tomoya-kun is something…?"
"Oh, nothing big. I just remembered I have a bunch of homework to do for tomorrow, so I have to go home and study." He reached the door, and began to walk out. "See ya later, Kotomi-chan."
"You to, Tomoya-kun," I said, grinning as he trounced down the driveway, and back towards his home. As I left his gaze, I thought about what had just happened. My parents' death struck me even harder as I thought about it, but I felt I may have taken the first step on the long road to recovery.

Skipping down the sidewalk, I gave myself a second to look back at Kotomi's house. I didn't want to leave, but remembering how shaky my grades were in the first place, flunking my next few tests wouldn't be the brightest thing to do.

Not that I honestly cared much at all about my grades. For a while now, I'd been an average student, studying for my parents' sake, particularly my mom.

But, that didn't mean much anymore. My mom was dead, and my father was drifting farther and farther away from me.

He started out not much different than he normally was when he heard the news of my mom's death. Well, he was sad, just like I was, but he coped with his sadness in a different way. He lost himself in grief, drinking and gambling in a vain attempt to vent out his sorrows. Once he started, it seemed to take more and more of him over time. I wondered if there would be anything left of what my father once was. Was there a light at the end of the tunnel for him, or was he the train that entered that tunnel, careening further and further into oblivion?

I rarely saw him at home anymore, and when I did, I felt a sickening feeling inside. I could barely call the man he'd become my father. He didn't spend much time with me anymore, and would often sleep for long periods of times, forgetting my name in the middle of one of his hangovers.

Regardless, even with no parent left to care about my education, I felt it would be disgraceful to just take advantage of my mom's death to bug out of school. Although I could probably never be a good student, for my mom's sake, I figured I'd do my best to stay an average one.

Besides that, there was Kotomi. Unlike somewhat slacker-akin me, Kotomi was a total brainiac, obviously enjoying everything she studied in school. I doubt there was a single fact about science, math, or history I could think of she wouldn't be able to answer in an instant. I know. I'd tried. Also, I'd have to do better in school; soon enough, middle school would start up, and if I wanted to stay together with her for as long as I could, then I needed to get my grades up. Knowing her, she'd be going into one of those fancy schools where all the kids would be fawned upon by teachers and parents alike. I often considered how I was going to accomplish this. My grades were average, after all. If I had time to join after school clubs, however, I knew this wouldn't be much of a problem. I understood the stuff that took my time wasn't exactly a 'necessity' as pretty much everyone else would say, but it was to me.

My mind moved to yet another track. Recalling the birthday party, I had thought her only possible weakness was her lack of athleticism. Having been passionate about sports, I was fairly athletic, making sure to keep my small body in reasonable shape at least. Kotomi, however, seemed delicate, and slightly frail. However, I had quickly realized she was a force to be reckoned with, and began putting my all into the game.

Sure, she may have been outsmarting me, more than out matching me physically, but she could run almost as fast as me, and had a pretty strong kick. I was honestly surprised by the turn out.

Suddenly, I found myself at my house. Stomping my right foot on the ground for a moment, I opened the door.

I was astonished to find my father at the table, his body thoroughly alert. That odd feeling that came up whenever I saw him began to return to me again.

"Good day, Tomoya," he said. I could tell he was tired; it probably took him a while to get to sleep the previous night. "How was your visit with Kotomi-san today?"

"How did you know I went to see her?" I asked, slightly terse.

"Her guardian called me, and told me what happened to her." He coughed briefly, and continued to speak, his raspy voice subtly clouding his words. "I feel so bad for her. I'm glad you went over to her house to encourage her."
"If he hadn't called, you could probably care less 'bout what I did!"
"Tomoya, wait, I…."
"Forget it," One more word from him, and I would have wasted all my breath yelling at him, something that had happened too many times over the last few years. Instead, I held my tongue, making sure a sound didn't leave my mouth until I was sure I wasn't going to lose my temper again. "It's fine. Just don't talk about Kotomi, alright?" My father nodded, his cheeks drooping downwards as he did so. I ran up to my room, not bothering to think about the tear that slipped down his cheek.

Taking out my various books from my backpack, I desperately tried to study them, hoping to get my mind off of my father. As usual, it didn't work.

Feeling tears bitterly sting my eyes, I opened the window, and allowed the wind to blow against my face, instantly messing up my hair even more then usual. I watched my tears dissolve as the wind carried them away into the cloudy atmosphere in the sky. I shouldn't have yelled at him. He hadn't even been drinking that day. However, after cheering up Kotomi, I felt meeting my father was a cold, hard shove that brought me back to reality.

Before I gave into the temptation to cry, I remembered my pinky promise to Kotomi. I came up with the promise, and all of a sudden, I was feeling sorry for myself when there was no good reason to.

Narrowing my eyes, I returned to my room, and began to study again. The thoughts still lingered in my mind, but were gradually shoved out by the school subjects I was forced to study. As I read, I vowed that I would never leave Kotomi alone, and that I would study for every single math and history test the teachers would throw at me.

I couldn't help gulping at that prospect.

Boring math and history tests I commented. But things could definitely be worse.