AN: Unfortunately, I've been having a difficult time finding good sources on the yearly schedule Japanese high schools run on, and when I do find one, I tend to forget to bookmark it. So, I'm going from memory here. Please forgive me if I've been screwing it up.
Aruiteku Together Forever – Chapter Seven
At last, finals were over for first and second year students at Jindai High. The third year students were gone from the school for their own examinations, and the school seemed a little lonely with an entire year of students gone. It was the middle of February now, and the next month could be spent almost lazily. There were no festivals to prepare for, no class trips scheduled, tests were done, and the new school year would not begin until April.
Saturday half-days were done for the year, so the students could enjoy full weekends free. Of course, most of the second year students were not enjoying their new free time. Most spent their time studying, preparing for their final year and college entrance exams early. And most of those same students went to cram school, for that extra edge.
Kaname had no need of such things. For the first time in her Japanese education, she felt she could actually enjoy this free time. Perhaps there was a plus to being a Whispered. Her science and math skills were exceptional because of it, she had lived in America so she was fluent enough with English to have no worries, and she had always been good with Classic and Modern Literature.
The only subjects she might have to worry about would be history and geography, but those just happened to be Sousuke's two best subjects, so she decided not to dwell on it. In some ways, she wondered if she should be forcing Sousuke to go to cram school and to do extra studying, but did he really need it? If he were a normal student, then he certainly would, since most of his grades were abysmal. But even if he did, there would be no way he would qualify for a university she would want to go to anyways, and Mithril would pay to keep him near her.
That infuriated her, almost all Japanese students worked themselves to near death to get into the best schools possible, and all it took for him was waving some money around. Of course, he more literally worked himself to 'near death.' And she had to admit that not having to study on account of her special abilities meant she was just as guilty of getting into school unfairly. Well, perhaps she would give Sousuke a little grief when that day came, just because it would be too unlike her not to.
At that moment, she was enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon as best as she could. Sousuke was gone though, mandatory training and testing with Mithril, so she was growing bored. All of her friends from school were either at cram school or working part time jobs. So she was laid out on her bed, resting on her stomach and propping herself up with her elbows. She was reading a book she had asked her sister to send her, the complete collection of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She had some of the individual books, but it was definitely better to read them all at once.
Kaname hadn't had much time to read lately, anyways. Most of the time she was doing something with Sousuke, either going out on dates or having rather enjoyable and enthusiastic make-out sessions. She sighed and closed her book after marking her spot. As much as she wanted to read, her thoughts were wandering. She and Sousuke had been practically joined at the hip the past couple of weeks, and she was feeling disoriented without him there.
She even found herself wishing that Tessa was there, but she had returned to Merida with Sousuke the day before. Kaname growled to herself at that thought. Tessa did not have to participate in any testing or training, she probably had gone back just to spend time with Sousuke. Time that Kaname was excluded from. She knew full well that Sousuke was completely loyal and devoted to her, but that did not stop her from feeling jealous. Tessa had lost, dammit, and yet she was still trying to get her hooks into him.
Her phone rang and she glanced at it. It was the middle of the day and all of her friends should be busy, including Sousuke, and it would be the middle of the night in New York. It made her nervous, and she let the answering machine pick it up. If no one spoke, she would go to Sousuke's old apartment, which was still a Mithril safe house. Sousuke had taught her all about how criminals case homes and targets, and some of his paranoia had begun to rub off on her.
She had no reason to worry, though she was confused. It was her sister, and she was babbling happily on the machine, not scared or worried. She grabbed the phone and picked it up, "Ayame?"
"Kana-nee! Guess what, guess what, guess what!" Kaname grinned and shook her head, trying not to laugh at her sister's enthusiasm. She didn't have to respond, either, since the young girl plowed on with barely a pause for air, "We're in Tokyo! And we're coming over, ok!"
At first, she was excited. It had been fully a year since she had seen her father and sister, and while she wasn't on the best of terms with her father, she missed her younger sister's boundless energy. Then, she looked around her apartment and cringed. There were signs of her living with a guy everywhere, from Sousuke's shoes and coats at the door, to a rifle case sitting under the large window in the living room. Not to mention the noise traps he had insisted on made the place look messier than it actually was.
This was not going to be a nice visit. "Kana-nee? Is everything okay? You didn't answer. Ooh! I know! You have a guy there, don't you," she could hear her father shout 'Better not!' through the receiver and Ayame snicker.
Kaname sighed, and wondered if she should give prior warning of what they would find when they got to her place. Might as well, it would at least keep the initial explosion away from her, those first moments of anger and temper being what always set her and her father at odds anyways. Maybe if he had some time to simmer first, it wouldn't be so bad. "No, Ayame, Sousuke's not home right now."
Ayame gasped and then relayed the message to their father. There were some sounds of outrage and swearing, and then her sister quickly said they would see her soon and hung up. Sometimes, Kaname believed that whole 'be careful what you wish for' thing. Here she was, feeling somewhat lonely with everyone gone, and her family decides to pay a surprise visit.
Maybe she should invite her grandfather. The man was fond of Sousuke, and they had kept in contact since he had brought her mother's diary. They had even told old Shujiro about their new arrangement last week. Of course, Shujiro had not approved of Shunya, so why would her father take his opinion on Sousuke to heart? She sighed and decided to call her grandfather and at least get his advice.
The phone rang a couple of times and one of her aunts picked up. "Hello, who's this?"
"Hi Aunty, it's Kaname. Is Grandpa Shujiro there?" The woman on the line huffed angrily and got the man. She sighed. Even though the head of the Komura family was showing acceptance of her now, her mother's family was still stand-offish.
Shujiro picked up, "Hello, Kaname. How are you?"
Kaname smiled despite everything. Even just the sound of his kind voice made her feel better about the situation. "Hi, Grandpa. I'm doing pretty good, but, ah, actually I have a bit of a problem on my hands."
He laughed gently, "A problem is it, Kaname? What kind of a problem?"
"Well, my dad and sister decided to pay a surprise visit. I just got a call from my sister saying they're in Tokyo and heading over," she paused, trying to think of how she should go from there.
"You're worried about how Shunya will take your new living arrangements?"
"Yeah. Sousuke's not home, either, so they can't even meet him. He went to visit his guardian in Australia this weekend," Kalinin, or 'Preminin' as he was known on the school records, was technically Sousuke's guardian, and Argyros Security Firm in Australia was the West Pacific Fleet's cover business. So, they decided that whenever Sousuke was gone on Mithril business, the excuse was that he was visiting his guardian.
"Well, I don't think you want me there, Kaname. Shunya and I don't much get along."
Kaname tried not to sigh, "I know, Grandpa. Do you have any advice, maybe?"
Shujiro was quiet for several long moments, trying to think of anything that might help. "Well, honestly, there is not much I can think of that will help. It's a father's job to be protective of his girls, and if I were in his shoes, I would be furious too. Remind him of your grades, your sense of responsibility, and let him know that when you and the boy go to bed, it's only for sleeping," the terseness in his voice said that it had better be all they did.
"Yes of course," she and Sousuke had not had sex yet, but they had come close to losing their control completely on several occasions.
"You can tell him that I approve of the boy and the situation. It can't hurt, but I'm not so sure it will help too much either."
There was a knock on the door, delaying Kaname's reply. "All right, Grandpa, thank you. I think they're here, so I'm going to go."
He chuckled, "All right. Good luck."
"Thank you!" She hung up the phone and ran to the door, checking the peephole before opening the door. "Uh, hi Father, Ayame," she moved to the side to let them in. Her father quickly removed his shoes and stomped around the house. Ayame just gave her a sorrowful look.
"Kaname," Shunya's voice was strong and clear and left no room for disobeying. Kaname lived to be contrary, though, so she took her time in walking up to him. He glared at her and she glared back defiantly. "Kaname. Why have you let a boy move in with you? Moreover, why have you let a boy move in when I pay your rent, and when I have not heard anything of him or met him yet? You're only sixteen!"
She scowled up at him, "Seventeen, Father. Thanks for caring," she could go on about the other things, but she decided to work the guilt factor he presented to her first.
He was taken aback, but it only lasted a moment. "Do not change the subject. Answer my question."
"Which one?" Ayame carefully edged around the two and took a seat on the couch to watch them. Kaname's audacity awed her, and she shook her head, not sure if she should admire her sister or fear for her sanity.
Kaname was reminded of where she got her glares and temper from by the look her father had fastened on her. "Do. Not. Play. Games. With. Me."
She realized her defiance was going to work against her if she kept it up, so she relented and gave him his answers. "I let Sousuke move in with me because I feel safer with him here. I've had a very rough year if you didn't know," of course he did, but she could carry on the guilt from his mistake on her age with little stabs like this. "Sousuke only moved in 3 weeks ago, but he said that he would be putting money in my account as rent that I can either give back to you, or use towards university expenses.
"You have heard of Sousuke, you just forgot his name. I talk about him all the time," that one worked against her and she realized her mistake the moment she said it.
"The only person besides Tokiwa that you talk about is that maniac that blows up the school and shoots guns at people!" Shunya would, of course, take that moment exactly to notice the rifle case. "You let him keep guns here?!"
Her grip on her temper was slipping, and she had to grind her teeth and clench her fists to keep from shouting. "Yes, I do. I won't touch them, though he's been after me to learn in case I need to take up a gun to protect myself. And he is responsible with them. He's gotten so much better, he hasn't blown anything up or pointed his gun at anyone since October.
"And he never shot anyone! The only guys he ever fired his gun at were thugs, yakuza, and would-be rapists! And he only used non-lethal rounds! He's never hurt anyone innocent before, just scared them. And it isn't his fault! You don't know what kind of life he lived!"
"Just what have you been getting into, Kaname? Thugs! Yakuza! Rapists?!"
"It isn't like I went looking for trouble! It would take way too long to explain all the situations to you, Father, but I want you to know that it's Sousuke that always gets me out safe. Okay?" she panted, having taken to raising her voice and not pausing for air. She hoped her point was getting across.
Shunya ran his hand through his short hair with a growl, another habit she had gotten from him. The fact of the matter was, they didn't get along because they were far too alike, and both far too stubborn. He walked around the apartment, taking in every little thing, including the noise traps. When he raised his brows at them and turned an inquiring look on her, she just shrugged.
He seemed to be calming down, so she decided to keep her other positive things to say about Sousuke in reserve. She hated playing these games with her father, she could never tell just what he was thinking. "Where does he sleep?"
Here we go, "We sleep together, but we haven't slept together, Father." He gave her a skeptical look.
"You're telling me that for the past three weeks you have been sharing a bed with a teenage boy, but you haven't had sex? Wait, don't answer that just yet. Ayame, why don't you go into the spare room and play on your laptop," it may have been phrased as a question, but it was an order. Ayame scrambled to do as she was told, not wanting him to release any of his anger on her.
Once Ayame was out of earshot, Shunya turned his attention back to Kaname. She sat down on the couch, hard, and thought about how much she should or shouldn't say. "I'm not lying, Dad," she decided to be a little less formal, hoping it would soften him. "I would be lying if I said we hadn't almost had sex, but we haven't actually done it yet," she sighed and glanced down at her feet before quickly returning her gaze to his.
She flushed bright red, but decided that it would be best to be completely honest here. "We haven't been completely naked with each other, but we have gotten down to our underwear. We, uh, we do have condoms, though, just in case. We are trying to wait, but sometimes we just lose control a little," she tilted her head to the side and decided to use a dirty tactic. "I know you know what that's like, Dad. Grandpa Shujiro gave me Mom's diary."
Never would she have expected to see her father blush, and she had to bite her lip to not giggle at the sight. He stammered a little, realizing now that just about anything he might have said to her was now invalidated by the fact that she knew what he had been like at her age. "Sousuke and I are careful, Dad. We both are content to wait, but if it happens, we're ready, too. We love each other," she raised her hand when he began to protest, and it wasn't the gesture but her audacity in using such a gesture that shut him up.
"Not that silly, typical high school romance bullshit," she even surprised herself when she swore. She realized now just how much she detested the swooning puppy love her classmates swore was true love. "I mean it, Dad. It's the real thing. I don't want to go into it right now, but we have been through a lot together. So many things have happened and I know that if it wasn't the real thing, well," Kaname sighed. She thought back to Kowloon, that empty expression on Sousuke's face, her own complete despair when she entered his bare apartment.
If they did not love each other, they never would have seen each other after that. She did not know exactly what Sousuke had felt when he had been made to leave as they never talked about those days because of the pain. She knew her own feelings though, and had a strong suspicion his had been very similar.
Shunya watched as his daughter wrapped her arms around herself, an expression of complete loss and loneliness creep across her face. The expression perfectly mirrored the feeling he had when Shizu had died from her cancer. It hurt to see his daughter in such pain, and he wondered just what it was that she had been through. He sat down beside her and slid his arm across her shoulders to pull her close. "All right, Kaname. I believe you," his voice came out slightly choked.
Kaname looked up in surprise, having forgotten even that he was there. She had gotten lost in her memories and the swamp of emotions she always experienced when thinking of those days. "Thank you, Dad," she whispered, barely able to speak through the lump in her throat.
He cleared his own throat and nodded. "Will I get to meet this young man?"
She smiled and hugged him with a small, happy laugh. "He's in Australia, but he should be back tomorrow night at the latest," just as she said that, the door opened and Sousuke began to call out an 'I'm home,' when he noticed the bags and the extra shoes and coats at the entrance. Before he could charge in with his Glock and ruin the moment she shouted out to him, "It's okay, Sousuke, it's my family."
Kaname could hear his sigh of relief and she shook her head at him. Honestly, he could really overreact sometimes. He walked into the living room a few moments later, dirty and exhausted. "Sousuke!" she shouted and jumped off of the couch, running over to him.
He just smiled and waved off her concern. "I had to skip a shower and rest to get on the flight, Kaname, otherwise I would have had to wait until tomorrow night to return," he looked down at her expectant face and glanced nervously at her father before bending down to kiss her on the cheek. "I'm filthy. I'll give you a hug when I'm clean," he turned back to Shunya.
"It's nice to meet you sir, I hope you'll forgive me if I shower before greeting you properly?" He gave a small bow of apology, and turned to the bathroom when Shunya nodded approval.
Kaname clasped her hands behind her back and bit her bottom lip, rocking back on her heels nervously. "Well, Dad?"
"He seems polite enough. Why is he so dirty though, what was he doing?" His glance at the rifle case showed where his suspicions lay.
"He was probably helping his guardian with something. He always puts Sousuke to work when he goes to visit," it was more or less true. It was true enough that she didn't feel guilty saying it. "Oh, should I tell Ayame that it's okay to come out now?"
Shunya took off his glasses to grip the bridge of his nose. He sighed heavily and put them back on before turning to Kaname. "All right, tell the little imp she can get out here. I'm sure she'll be excited to meet Sousuke," his voice was dry and bitter at the end. Kaname grinned, guessing Ayame must be a handful, and was probably at the stage where she swooned over every cute actor and musician.
Kaname never had that phase, since when she was Ayame's age, their mother had died. Shunya had forgotten that young girls went through that in their pre- and early teen years. Normally the mother would be the one to lead the girl through it, but he was not yet ready to replace Shizu.
Ayame was happy that things seemed to be settled, and happier still to learn that Sousuke had returned. She sat on the ground in front of the couch, her back to the television set, and babbled on about random things to Kaname. Quick phone conversations when one of them was about to go to school and the other to bed had not been enough for the energetic girl. There were several times when Shunya coughed to interrupt the rambling, namely, the times Ayame described some cute boy at school, or asked Kaname about the cute boys at Jindai.
When Sousuke came out of the shower, dressed in one of the outfits Kaname had bought for him, he looked completely horrified by the young girl's incessant chatter. Kaname had never seen him afraid of anything, the fact that her twelve year old sister was the one to bring such fear to the soldier was so amusing that she laughed so hard she cried. Shunya sighed removed his glasses again, shaking his head. He gave Sousuke a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry. She's that age."
Ayame looked mollified, Sousuke went from horror to utter confusion, and Kaname began to laugh even harder, doubling over and gripping her sides. The younger girl turned a glare on her, though it was tame compared to the ones Kaname and Shunya could give. "I see. I never knew. The only experience with girls her age that I have is from my days in Afghanistan. As you might expect, Muslim law would not have allowed them to act in such a manner."
Shunya raised a brow, his interest piqued. "Afghanistan?"
"Yes, I lived there from the time I was eight until I was twelve, serving as a guerrilla fighter against the Russian forces," he glanced over to Kaname quickly, hoping nothing she had said would contradict with this. She just gave him a small smile and shrugged. She had already let it slip that Sousuke had not had a normal life. As long as he did not mention anything about her being a Whispered, she didn't mind, since everything else was his to tell.
"A gorilla fighter?" Ayame asked, looking confused.
Sousuke shook his head, "A guerrilla fighter," he spelled the word for her so she would know the difference. "Guerrilla war tactics were developed as a way for smaller forces to win against a far larger force. Many tactics include traps, ambushes, stealth, surprise, using the advantages of the terrain against the enemy.
"It is to attack in such a way that the advantage of numbers in completely invalidated, or to slowly pick off the enemy, small bit by bit. It can also be used as a deterrence method, if your comrades are falling one by one, you cannot help but think that you will be next. It could make you fear enough to retreat. It is a very effective method," it was Ayame's turn to be horrified, completely taken aback by the way he talked so casually about killing people in such manner.
"I take it, then, that you have killed before?" Shunya looked sternly at Sousuke, as though daring him to say he had not.
"Yes, of course. If I had refused, I would have been killed myself. I would have been a waste of precious resources," he spoke of the possibility of his death as though it were no big deal. Kaname shifted on the couch and patted the seat next to her, hoping Sousuke would relax. He had been standing at parade rest since he had first regained his composure. He nodded and walked forward, pausing in front of Shunya to offer his hand.
Shunya took it, not bothering to test him, not after hearing that story. Sousuke nodded to him then took his seat beside Kaname. Ayame picked at the carpet fibers, trying to sort through her impression of Sousuke so far. Shunya, for his part, had been surprised, but decided to let it pass. It was not his place to judge how one was raised in a different country, and Kaname had said he did not use lethal rounds. Just because he had killed in the past did not mean he was a killer now. He hoped.
With a dramatic sigh, Kaname threw herself against the back of the couch, making a great show of relaxing. She flipped on the television and clicked through the stations to reach one with a game show. "I bet you miss these, right Ayame? The ones in America just aren't as good!"
Ayame glanced up at her sister, watching as she grabbed Sousuke's arm and laid it across her shoulders so she could snuggle against him. He smiled tenderly at her and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. It was certainly not the way she would expect a killer to act, and she wondered just what it meant. She decided not to worry about it, she trusted Kaname to know what she was getting into, and their father seemed unconcerned. Instead, she hopped up and squeezed in between Shunya and Kaname to watch the show.
Kaname and Sousuke whispered things to each other, and she wished the television was just a little quieter so she could hear them. Although, she could make out their tone over the noise, and realized they certainly were not whispering 'sweet nothings' to each other. That fact was confirmed when Sousuke quickly pulled back with a nervous expression, sweating bullets, and Kaname elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a fierce glare.
"Idiot! Why do I even bother?! Honestly, you have no common sense, none, you're an idiot! Moron! Blockhead! What is your problem?!" Now, Ayame was amused. This could prove to be quite entertaining. Shunya sighed and shook his head, looking almost pained.
"Uh, but Kaname, I thought-"
"No you didn't! That's the problem, you don't think! Dummy," she crossed her arms and looked away.
Sousuke rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her with concern. He glanced away, and then looked back at her with a determined expression. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear that caused her to relax and drop her arms. She looked down at her feet, her face pink now, and then she looked at him apologetically. Finally, she sniffed loudly, raising her chin defiantly. "Well, fine, then. I guess I can forgive you. This once."
He smiled at her, "Yes, Kaname. This once. Thank you."
She glared at him and elbowed him gently before reassuming her earlier position. "Just don't let it get to your head, mister."
"Roger."
"Dummy."
Ayame was definitely amused.
AN: I'm sorry for the Japanese I've been using, with the suffixes and all, and you'll have to bear with one more. For those who don't know, the Japanese will typically call their older sibling by one of the words for older brother or older sister, the older sibling calling the younger one by name.
In this case, I'm having Ayame call Kaname "Kana-nee," because it sounds cute, 'me' and 'ne' are close in sound, and nee (or onee, the o adds some more reverence to the word) means older sister.
I haven't read Owaru Day by Day in the original Japanese, though I have read Sigma and I did note that Ayame just calls her onee-chan. Kana-nee is cuter though. So I'm using it.