Satoshi Hiwatari glanced up from his reading of Shakespeare's Hamlet. His townhouse seemed quiet, too quiet. Sure, it was quiet pretty much all the time, but the silence had an odd essence to it. The phone suddenly rang as Satoshi was returning to his reading. "Who can it be this time?" he muttered to himself as he walked over to the phone. "Hello, Hiwatari residence," he answered the phone. "Yes, this is Satoshi…what? When? No! You can't possibly…fine…" Satoshi hung up the phone. His eyes narrowed. "I can't believe this is happening. But, I have no control over it." Satoshi placed his book down on the cluttered kitchen table. He studied the kitchen and living room before giving a large sigh. "I should start cleaning."
"Hey, Hiwatari-kun, you seem out of it today," a red haired boy spoke.
Satoshi glanced up from his book to see a redheaded boy standing next to his desk. "Sorry, Niwa-kun. I have a lot on my mind lately."
"Oh…is it him?" Daisuke Niwa asked.
"No…something much more troublesome than that," the blue haired boy replied.
"Is there any way I could help?" Daisuke asked as he looked at Satoshi with concern.
"In all honesty…no. There isn't much you can do." Satoshi then turned his attention to the front of the classroom to listen to their homeroom teacher make the final announcements of the day. After the teacher had finished, the bell rang to signal the end of school. "Niwa-kun, do you mind taking over my cleaning duties today? I have a meeting to go to."
"Sure, I don't mind. If it helps get things off your mind, I am glad to help a friend," Daisuke replied with a large smile across his face. With that said, Satoshi left Daisuke standing in the empty classroom.
Satoshi walked down the hallways, stopping only briefly at the shoe lockers to switch his shoes before stepping outside. He then made his way towards the gate. "Walk," he stated in an even monotone voice as he walked past two girls. The girls followed closely behind Satoshi, leaving only enough space in order not to draw attention. However, it couldn't be helped. One girl had blond hair that drew everyone's attention. The other girl was about five and a half feet tall, making her stand out as well. People walking down the streets couldn't help but to stop and stare. Several came up to the pair of girls to ask if they could take a picture of the seemingly odd pair. It wasn't until the trio had entered Satoshi's townhouse that there was a sense of relief that there were no more eyes staring.
"I'm sorry, otouto. We should have thought about how you might feel about everyone staring at us like that," the blond girl said.
"It's ok, Bri," the tall girl replied back. "Our little brother doesn't mind the attention, do you?"
"I don't care, oneesan. But I am finding it remarkable that Ally likes saying 'little brother' in English while you like using the Japanese word," Satoshi replied.
"Bri wants to be completely immersed in the culture from language, food, clothing, and customs. I wish to be more immersed in the language, clothing, and customs. Besides, it's kinda weird saying…ou…oto…otouto! It makes you sound like Dorothy's little dog from the Wizard of Oz," the tall girl remarked.
"It does not, Ally! It's just different than English," Bri stated.
"Yes, oneesan. It is different. Now, let me show you two to your room," Satoshi commented as he started to make his way up the stairs.
"Say, Satoshi, what does oneesan mean anyway?" Ally asked as she and Bri followed him.
"It means 'older sister'."
"Oh! That makes sense. I was wondering why you weren't just calling Bri by her name."
"You are being a dork, Ally," Bri commented as she rolled her eyes.
"Now you're just being mean!"
"Well, if you truly wanted to immerse yourself in the language, then you would have studied some before we left the United States," Bri replied. Ally glared at Bri, but quickly turned back around. "Say, otouto, when will we get to meet your friends?"
"I don't have any friends," Satoshi answered. Both girls looked at each other with concern in their eyes. "Here we are. This is your room." Satoshi opened the first door on the right. It opened up to a bare room. There were two twin-sized beds with two matching dressers. One wall in the room had a built in bookshelf that went from floor to ceiling. A small handful of textbooks took up some of the space on one shelf, but the rest on the bookshelf were free.
"It's kinda…bare," Ally commented.
"I figured that you two would want to be able to paint it whatever color you like. We can paint it this weekend," Satoshi suggested in his monotone voice.
"Oh my word! I just had an idea! We could buy a bonsai tree and put it on one of the shelves. Then…well…Satoshi, do you have a garden at all in the backyard?" Bri asked.
"What backyard?" Satoshi retorted.
"Okay, we can possibly create our own garden within the room! We could plant flowers and fruits and vegetables!"
"And you are the girl who freaks out about having a dirty room?" Ally questioned.
"Gardens are different, Ally. They are gorgeously green with all sorts of colors!"
"I thought she was the one who took care of grandma's garden back at home. Wouldn't she be sick of it?" Satoshi whispered to Ally while Bri continued her rant on the different plants they could grow.
"One would think, but don't forget that grandma lived in the deserts of California where there is nothing but brown sand," Ally replied.
"True. True."