I just f-ing finished campaign (sob)
And now I have to deal with essays and project wtf?!
I'll try to make it longer next time :D
She rested her chin lightly on her palm and looked out of the train's window. From her place, she could see the ocean and fields after fields of sunflower. It was late summer and school would be starting in a few days. But she wouldn't be returning school like the rest of her friends will be. She was far from her home Tokyo and heading to the little town of Iwatobi.
She closed her eyes and everything that happened in the past few weeks flashed in front of her eyes all at once.
"Arisu, you know you don't need to do this."
Arisu sighed as her mother began her ramble again for hell knows how many times.
"Mom!" She whined, absolutely annoyed. But that didn't stop her mom.
"Kana has promised to keep an eye on Hayabusa. You don't really need to go to Iwatobi yourself to look after him you know…"
"MOM!" Arisu grumbled louder, pinching the bridge of her nose as she turned to face her mother. "Seriously, of all times, now?" She gestured to the bags and boxes around her. "I'm already ready to leave now!"
"It's just that Arisu…" Her mother stuttered as she tried to find the right word to say to her daughter. She was never really very good when it comes to words. Arisu sighed.
"Mom, I'm sorry." She walked up to her mother and hugged her tightly. "It's just that I've already made up my mind. I'm going to Iwatobi. I know it's hard for you and you're worried about me. But I promise I'll look after myself properly. So please let me go."
Arisu buried her head in her mother's hair and heard a sigh.
"Arisu. Why do you even want to go there?" Her mother muttered. "Iwatobi is very different from when we left. You'll have to make new friends, start a new school and on top of it, you still have to look after Hayabusa. I really think it's too much of a young girl like you." Her mother cradled her head and stroked her cheeks. "Tell me, Arisu. Why do you want to go back?"
Why do I want to go back?
Because I want to know…
I want to know why he left us; why he never call us, never write to us and never see us. Wasn't I her daughter? How could he do this to me? Even though Mom did marry someone else, I'm still her daughter right? Did he know how much it hurt?
And…
The image of a smiling boy with brown hair and emerald eyes flashed in front of her eyes; the boy who had kept her awake for so many nights even after so many years.
Makoto…
It was as if her heart was stabbed and cut into two. She closed her eyes.
It was time. It was time that everything comes to an end. It was time to move on… To be freed from the past.
She opened her eyes and looked into her mother's eyes intently.
"Because he's my father and it's my duty to look after him."
Her mother was taken aback for a few seconds and then she smiled and shook her head.
"Looks like Alan was right." She smiled affectionately. "You really are all grown up now Arisu. It is time I let go. Here, give me a hug."
Arisu hugged her mother with all her might. "I'll miss you." Her voice shaking and laden with emotion.
"Jay," Arisu said as she led her step-brother to the backyard. "Remember to water the roses and it's almost time to add the fertilizers…"
"For god's sake Ari," Jay groaned. "You've told me that a million times already! I'm not 5 like Bree and Benji ok? I'm 15 and I know what I have to do, I even wrote every damned detail down so relax!"
"Oh, okay then I guess I'll go and check my things…" Arisu shrugged and turned, ready to leave.
"Arisu."
"What?" She turned and cocked her head to the side.
"What's bugging you?" The 15 year old looked his sister in the eye; the latter chewed on her lower lip and looked away.
"Nothing's bugging me."
"Oh that's rich coming from you." He scoffed. And then he hesitantly opened his mouth again trying not to anger his sister with his next words. "You finally gonna deal with your issues?"
But apparently Arisu decided to play dumb.
"What issues?"
"You know fairly well what I mean, Sakamoto Arisu." Jay replied sarcastically. "Those issues you've been avoiding more than half of your life. Iwatobi, your bio Dad and… that green-eyed boy from that picture on your dresser? What's his name again? Ta-"
"You needn't say it out loud you know," Alice stood up with her back to his brother, her voice quivering a little showing the emotional uproar within her.
"Yeah, I know." She said shielding her eyes with her hands as she looked up into the sky.
"I know."
"Ari, Ari!"
Two strawberry blonde heads bobbed towards her, two sweet smiles plastered on their faces. Arisu could tell that the twins were holding back their tears, trying hard not to cry. It broke her heart to see her two angels like that; she would do anything for them just to wipe away that look they were having now. And this time SHE was the culprit.
"Hey Bree, Benji." She whispered softly as the two rushed to her and hugged her tightly.
"You'll come back home right, Ari?" Bree asked.
"Of course I will." She assured. "I would never leave my two angels, right?"
"Promise?" Benji held up his pinky finger.
Arisu smiled in spite of all these. She held up both her pinky fingers and linked each one with the twins' one.
"I promise."
"You can bring Nene and Koko if you like, Ari."
Her step-dad held up the two cats, one in each arm and handed them to her.
"Thanks, Dad." Arisu tried her very best to keep up her smile. "I'll look after them."
"Hey, whatever makes my baby girl happy." Her Dad smiled and held her in an embrace. "Call me if you have any problem."
"I will, Dad."
"Tsk."
She muttered to herself and then chuckled sarcastically to herself.
Oh God, what had she gotten herself into?
But it was too late to back out from it now.
Her father was sick and probably dying which was why she had volunteered to go to Iwatobi in the first place. To look after her dying father. The man was suffering from cancer, leukemia she supposed. She didn't really care. He was dying and that was the point.
And anyways, to be precise, this man was only his biological father. Her real father was still in Tokyo looking after her mother and her 3 siblings.
So what the hell was she doing here?
Maybe it wasn't really that late, all she needed to do was to board the next train back to Tokyo and that would be it. She wouldn't have to…
"The next station is Iwatobi, passengers please alight on the right."
The broadcast interrupted her train of thought and brought her back to the present.
She was HERE.
Guess it WAS really too late to leave.
And since when had she became a quitter?
She sighed in defeat and opened her handbag. Two pairs of amber eyes met her hazel ones.
"Hey Nene, Koko." She smiled affectionately at her two cats. "We're almost there. Thanks for coming all the way with me."
Her cats gave her a mewl in reply and she had to quickly close her bag in case someone heard them and decides to prosecute her. She didn't suppose that it's legal to travel on train with pets.
As the train came to a stop, the teen got up quickly slinging her bag to her shoulder and grabbed her suitcase. Then she alighted the train and took in her surroundings. It really was almost the same as she had left it 10 years ago.
Well it might have become a bit modernized, but when you're from Tokyo, you hardly notice these kinds of changes. She thought to herself.
She took a deep breath and was about to move from her spot when she heard someone bellowing her name.
"A-r-i-s-u~~~~~"
It was followed by an ambush with someone wrapping her arms around her neck and literally knocking her off the ground.
In spite of this, she wrapped her arms around her ambusher, a girl the age of her, with the same strawberry blonde hair but violet orbs.
"Midori!" She giggled vigorously. "You came!"
"Of course I would you idiot!" Midori snorted and laughed. "I wouldn't leave my little cousin to fend for herself, would I?"
Arisu giggled again and poked Midori's cheek with her finger. "Well then my dear big cousin, make yourself useful and help me with my suitcase!"
Midori rolled her eyes in between laughter and saluted.
"Yes ma'am. Saito Midori at your service."
The two girls linked arms and walked out of the station.
Suddenly Midori stopped and then turned to Arisu, looking at her with a solemn eye. Arisu returned her stare with a questioning look.
"Welcome home Arisu."
Midori spoke in English.
Arisu's eyes bulged in surprise before turning away.
"Yeah."
Somehow, she didn't feel as happy she ought to be.