Summary: Garry and Ib have been going out for about a year and a half, and now they and their friends plan to take a short vacation where Garry grew up. While Garry reconnects with old friends, they also find themselves drawn into a dark secret of the town.
I basically went nuts with these last few chapters, writing whatever I found to be fun at the time, and while the whole story up to this point has typically been grounded in reality, this kind of throws that completely out the window. Please note, that the follow three chapters are NOT Friendship/Romance, if I had to categorize it, I suppose I would put it in as Adventure/Mystery with a dash of romance.
If you're grossed out between intimate love between two characters who are 11~ years apart, then avoid reading this chapter (Ib is 19 years and 10 months old, Garry is 30 years and 6 months old). I'm also raising the rating to T with this chapter due to suggestive themes, and due to the fact that chapter has quite a bit of cussing in it at some parts.
XxXxXxX
Year: 11
Season: Winter
Ib: Age 19
Garry pulled up to his father's house late into the crisp December morning. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground all around the modern household, and there wasn't another house for quite a ways in any direction. All around the house there were trees in almost every direction, with a small opening where the house stood, making it well hidden from prying eyes. The road itself was slightly eroded after decades of usage, and no repairs being done to keep it up. In other words, the place was very isolated.
The van's engines died down shortly afterwards, and the doors to the vehicle slid open.
"Remind me to thank your parents for letting me borrow this," Garry said, getting out of the van and pocketing the keys, "There's no way you'd all fit in my own car.
"It's no problem." Ib said, "When I explained that I was going somewhere with all my friends, they were happy to loan it to me."
"Ah, good." letting out a sigh.
"I mentioned you, of course." Ib said with a smile, "They were a little reluctant after they learned that I would be going out with you too."
"Ah..." He laughed nervously.
"I don't understand what your parents have against Garry!" Aiko said from within the car, "He's way too nice!"
Ib shrugged, "They'll get over it. Anyway, come out, you were 'dying' as I recall you saying earlier."
Aiko got out of the car and dramatically took in a deep breathe, "Ah! The country side!"
Ib rolled her eyes at her antics, "We were only driving for a few hours."
"A few hours? We were stuck in there for like a million years!"
Garry found himself chuckling at his friend's antics, and gave her a pat on the head, "You're fine now."
"Sure am!" She shot up, and gripped Garry's hand, "Garry? You're touching me? What will Ib think of your infidelity?"
Ib gave Aiko a slap on the back of the head, "Cut it out."
Rin and Junichi got out, and the boy let out a whistle as he looked over at the house.
Aiko turned her head and looked at the house in wonder, "I can't believe you lived in a place like this!" Aiko said, wearing a winter jacket, her brown hair tied back, her gleaming brown eyes giving the building and surrounding land another look.
Junichi followed after her, "You shouldn't be so rude." He chided, knocking her lightly on the head, "But it is impressive."
Rin came out next, walking over to Junichi's side, and grabbing his hand, "This is where we'll be staying?" She was wearing a heavy winter coat, her blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she looked around nervously.
"I'm pretty sure." Junichi said.
"Shall we go in?" Yuki asked, walking forward, "Garry did say we were welcome."
"Ah, maybe we should wait for Garry to let us in? We have to carry all our luggage anyway." Rin said, turning towards the violet haired girl.
"That's right, we don't want to impose on his dad," Ib said, stepping out of the vehicle, her red scarf and eyes featured very prominently against her darker clothing, "It would be very rude to just go right in."
"I guess so." Aiko reluctantly agreed, "So should we get our luggage now?"
The trunk popped open, and Garry walked around, wearing his favorite coat, his hair light purple combed back, "Here, come carry your things in, I have the keys to the front door."
"It's so nice of you and your dad to let us come here on vacation!" Aiko gushed, "I can't believe you lived around here, you never mentioned it!"
"Heh, it wasn't something I wanted to remember back then." He admitted, pushing aside Ib's father's golf clubs and pulling out the excitable girls suitcase, "Here."
She accepted, and walked back to allow someone else to grab their own luggage.
"Your dad left these in here." Garry said, looking at the clubs he had moved just a bit ago.
Ib shrugged, "His loss."
"So we'll be here for three days and nights?" Junichi asked, grabbing Rin's suitcase, and handing it over to her, before grabbing his own.
"That's right." Garry said, "That should be enough time for you guys to see everything there is to see around here. This place isn't quite as impressive as my father's house might lead you to believe."
"I'm sure it'll be amazing!" Aiko said, ignoring his wariness, "I can't wait to see what the inside of your house looks like!"
"It's very western in design," Garry warned, "So I hope you'll be ok with that."
"Ib visits your house enough as it is," Aiko waved off, "If we don't understand anything I'm sure she can tell us what to do if you're not around."
"Ah – ok then." Garry replied, noting Ib smiling as she nodded with Aiko's assessment.
Getting the last of the suitcases out of the van, he closed the back, and turned towards the group.
"Is that everything?" Garry asked, handing Yuki and Ib their suitcases, and then he picked his own up, "I know you guys haven't met my dad yet, so uh… Well, he's a little imposing."
"He's not that bad," Ib said, "I'm sure he'll welcome us with open arms."
"You've only met him once," Garry muttered, shaking his head.
They went up the stone path to the front door, and Garry knocked. They waited only a little bit, and then the door opened, and a lone man was standing there.
"I see you've arrived, Garry."
"Hello, father." Garry said, bowing slightly.
"Hm," He glanced at Garry's entourage, "And these are your… friends?"
"Yes, father."
His gaze fell onto Ib specifically, "Hello, Ib."
"Hello sir," She bowed politely, "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"It's my pleasure to see you once more." The man said, "Well, please do help yourself in." He stepped aside, allowing the crowd to enter his house.
Everyone entered the house looking around. Garry was looking around with an unreadable expression on his face, which Ib noticed. She reached out and took his hand into her own and gave it a small squeeze, which he returned, looking over and giving her a smile as well.
"There are several spare rooms down the hall to your right," Garry's father motioned with his hand, "If you want a floor on the upstairs, feel free to do so. Just don't enter my room, and especially don't enter my study."
"Yes sir!" Every said, bowing to the man before leaving to go pick out a room to stay in, only Ib and Garry remained with him now.
"So did you two fulfill your promise with one another?" The he asked, walking forward into the house hold and taking a few steps down into a sitting area, where a large TV hung on the wall, and there were several chairs and couches all around. He took a seat on a well-worn chair, while Ib and Garry both sat nearby on the couch.
"Yes." Garry simply said.
"I see." Jack said, "You are aware of your age difference?"
"More than aware," Garry said, "But Ib says that she is willing to be with me, despite that problem."
"It's not a 'problem'." Ib huffed, "Seriously, that's like the only issue anyone ever brings up." She looked towards Garry's father, "Anyone who ever brings it up to us I just tell them to shut up and leave. Except for you of course." She said quickly.
"No, perhaps I should do the same." He smiled, "The shut up bit anyway, I don't know about leaving my own house."
"Ah." Ib blinked in surprise, "Um, thank you for understanding."
"Don't worry about it," The man waved it off, "I've got some coffee being made in the kitchen, if you two would like some."
"I'm not such a big fan of coffee," Garry said standing up, "We really should go find a room to stay in, and make sure the others don't mess around too much."
"Please do," His father said, "Are you two going to share a room then?"
Ib blushed at that, "W – well..." She blushed even harder.
"Ah, but I thought you said you two were together?"
"Father, you know how it is in Japan." Garry sighed.
"Sometimes I forget how embarrassed they could get." His father confessed, "I believe your mother was the same way, we didn't even sleep in the same room until we were dating for a few years, and then she didn't even want to share the same bed until we were married, and people called me a prude back home."
"Yes," Garry nodded, "So you do know."
"Y – you know...," Ib said to Garry, her face fully red, "I- I – If you want…"
"No Ib," Garry said, "If you're not ready for it, I'm not rushing you."
She nodded, feeling red all over.
"We should get a move on now though, we'll be back shortly." Garry said, looking at his father.
"Yes, have fun." He said, walking into the kitchen, presumably to get his coffee.
Having been dismissed, Ib and Garry both went down the hall to meet their friends. Despite how embarrassed she felt at the moment, Ib didn't miss the opportunity to grab Garry's hand as they were walking down the hall, and leaned slightly towards him, letting out a small shaky, but content sigh as she did so.
"Just for the record," Ib said, "I'm not that big of a prude either."
"Eh?"
"I mean there's no way in hell I'm going to wait a few years to sleep in the same bed as you."
Garry tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor.
XxXxXxX
Everyone decided to stay in rooms upstairs, and be close together, so they could meet in someone's room at night and quickly go to bed if need be. Garry was wary to the idea, and was about to decline, along with Junichi, but both Ib and Rin managed to convince them that it would be fun. They all went into their respective rooms, and began to unpack their suitcases into the dressers in their room.
Once everyone had picked a room to settle into, everyone went back to the sitting room to meet up.
"So what's the plan for today?" Aiko asked, leaning forward in her seat.
Garry and Ib had occupied the same couch again, while Rin and Junichi both occupied another one. Aiko was sitting on Garry's fathers favorite and worn chair. Yuki meanwhile was standing and looking at all the books on the shelves to either side of the TV, picking one up, flipping through the pages, and returning it from where she found it.
"Well, we're gonna be here for three days," Garry said, "Father has a hot spring a little ways in the backyard, but it's pretty cold out, so we can't really do that. So I guess we can go visit the town, and I can show you old sights and things I remember."
"Can we see where you went to school?" Aiko asked.
Garry paused, "I guess so."
"If you don't want to show us that, it's ok." Rin said quietly. Trust Rin of all people to pick up on his discomfort. Ib to his side put her hand on his arm, and he gave her a reassuring smile.
"No, it's ok. Sorry, just remembering some things." He turned to Aiko, "Yeah, I can show you where I went to school, and afterwards I know of a place we can go to eat – assuming it's still open anyway."
"Yeah!" Aiko cheered.
"That sounds interesting." Yuki said, as she pulled out another book from the shelf.
"Alright," Garry said, "Just let me tell father what I'm up to, and we'll leave right away." Garry said, getting up to see his dad, who was sitting on a kitchen chair with a cup of coffee.
"Hello, Garry." He said, not even glancing up from several papers scattered around his desk.
"Hello Father," He glanced at the paperwork around his father, "What are you doing?"
"Work is all." He sighed, "I thought it best to leave you alone with your… friends." He said, testing the word in his mouth, "They sure are a bunch of rowdy kids."
"Only Aiko is like that," Garry said with a small smile.
"That's good." He sighed, "I don't think I'd be able to handle more than one of her."
"Me either." Garry agreed, shivering at the mere thought.
"But I believe that you didn't come here to just chat with your old man?" He smiled, "Or am I wrong?"
"No, you're right." Garry said, "I just came to tell you that we are heading out. They want to see the town, and I agreed to be their tour guide."
"Will you be alright?"
"I'll be fine, dad." Garry rolled his eyes.
His father looked at him for a little bit longer, before letting out a sigh, "I ask out of concern, Garry. You know a lot of your old friends are still in the town, and if you wander around, there's a very likely chance that you will run into them. I don't know if they'll be as understanding as I when you explain your situation to them."
"As if you were understanding." Garry muttered out before he could hold it in. He jumped, "I'm sorry, that just came out!"
"No, it's alright." His father said, waving it off, "It's true."
"Still, I shouldn't say things like that."
"If you insist."
"Anyway, I know that I have a chance to meet my old schoolmates, I just hope that they will be able to accept who I have chosen to be with, and my chosen friends."
"It is rather unusual for a thirty year old to be dating a nineteen year old girl," His father reminded him, "It's also odd how half of your friends are just entering their twenties."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me father." Garry bit out, "Anyway, I just came to tell you that so you know where I'll be."
"Have fun." He said, looking back down at his reports.
"Thanks." Garry said, turning around and going out to the group. Thankfully they didn't eavesdrop on his conversation.
"So are we going?" Rin asked, looking up at their new arrival.
"Yeah, you guys all ready to head out?" Garry said, looking around at his friends.
"Yep." Junichi said, getting up and stretching a little bit, "I'm a little eager to see the place."
Ib looked worriedly towards him, but he gave her a quick nod and a smile to try and reassure her. She nodded back to him, and a smile found its way onto her face as well.
The crowd walked back outside to the van, and piled in as they had done earlier that day, and Garry started up the engine, ready to take them around his home town.
XxXxXxX
"Wow, it's only been ten years, but that building used to be a little candy shop." Garry said, pointing over to his right as he and his friend walked down the sidewalk, "My friends and I would go there all the time when we were kids, and the old man who worked there would always give us free candy. I wonder why it went out of business; I remember the old man who ran the store told me it would never go out, no matter what."
"That's kind of sad." Rin said, looking at the building.
"Things change." Garry shrugged, "But I can't believe it's a ramen shop now."
"Do you want to go in?" Ib asked, looking up to him.
"Do you?" He shot back.
"Is that where you wanted to take us to eat?" She asked.
"Nah, that's somewhere else, It's a little further in." He said.
"Where is the school anyway?" Junichi asked.
"It's about a ten minute walk from here." Garry said, "If we go… that way, I think, we should be there pretty soon."
"Then let's go!" Aiko cheered, "I wanna see it!"
Garry laughed, "Alright, fine. I'll take you there; I'll try not to get too distracted."
"This is a very nice town you have here," Yuki said, looking up and down the street, "It's nothing like the city. It's not as crowded, and there are so many interesting shops lining up the streets."
"Yeah," Garry said, "But a lot of them are closed now. When I was a kid, all of these places were open, and there were so many interesting things to see. When I started High School, a lot of the places started shutting down."
"That's unfortunate." Yuki said, "There aren't a whole lot of towns like this anymore."
Garry nodded, "That's true." He looked around, a slight frown forming on his face, "It sure has changed a lot though..."
"Garry?" Ib asked.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." He shook his head, "Are you ready to go?"
Ib nodded, and still took hold of his arm and lean into him, causing Aiko to swoon. Rin looked away faintly blushing, and glanced shyly at Junichi, who shrugged at her and offered his arm. Rin grinned at the offer, and took hold. Meanwhile, Yuki was just looking impassively around the town, not really caring what her companions did.
The walk to the school was mostly silent, only with Garry occasionally pointing out things to his friends. When they finally reached the place, he stopped in front of the opened gates, looking in with trepidation. Ib, however, was there for him, and gently squeezed his arm to bring him back.
"Ah, alright, we're here." Garry said, turning to his friends, "This is where I went to school."
"It's really small." Aiko said, "Our school was massive compared to this!"
"I was born in a small town," Garry said, "they didn't need a big school."
"Are we allowed inside?" Junichi asked, noting the opened gate.
"I don't know. I don't remember if it was an open campus during breaks or not." He admitted, "We can go in, and if we get caught, we can say you guys are students or something to get us off the hook."
Yuki nodded, "Sounds plausible."
"Most of us are too old to be high school students though," Aiko said.
"Don't worry," Junichi said, "Rin's still in high school, and we could still pass off for high school students. It's Garry we should really be worried about."
Garry shrugged, "Oh well, it's a risk I'm willing to take."
And with that, the band of friends entered the campus, wandering around aimlessly as Garry showed them everything he remembered from back when he was attending it so many years ago. As they were wandering down the hall, a door to a classroom opened, and a woman walked out, and glanced at the group.
"Who are you?" She called out.
Garry turned to look at her, as well as the rest of the group, "Ah, sorry. We were just exploring."
The woman blinked a few times in surprise, "Garry?"
The man in question tilted his head, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you."
"You don't remember me?" She said, sounding hurt, "I'm Miyako! I was Jin's girlfriend from way back when we were in high school!"
"Jin?" He said in surprise, "Oh – right, I remember he had a girlfriend."
"That was me." She sighed.
"Oh, sorry, my memory is a little fuzzy."
"You should get that checked then," She said sharply, before looking at the rest of his entourage, "Who are the kids?"
"These are my friends." He said, "I'd like you to meet Aiko, Rin, Yuki, Junichi, and Ib." He introduced each of them one by one.
"Nice to meet you." They all said and bowed, almost in complete unison.
"Friends?" She asked, sounding confused.
"Yes," Garry sighed, "You remember I ran away, right?"
"How could I forget? Jin was furious with you for a long time," She said, remembering the past, "That isn't even mentioning how heartbroken your girlfriend was that you just left her, Rei thought you had left her behind because she wasn't good enough."
"Um…" Garry muttered, looking away and scratching his nose nervously.
Miyako looked at the rest of the group and had the decency to blush, "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk about such personal matters in front of your friends."
"Don't worry," Garry said, "They all know."
Her eyebrows shot up, "You told them?"
"Yes." He said, "Would you like to talk elsewhere?"
"I would." She confirmed, "Here, I can write a pass for the kids and they can run off and do their own thing."
"We're not kids you know." Aiko said, feeling miffed at being shoved off, "I'm currently attending college, and so are Yuki and Junichi! Not to mention, if we were kids, Ib and Garry wouldn't be dating each other, would they?"
The woman looked at her in surprise, and glanced back and forth between Garry and Ib, "What? You're dating a high school girl?!" She nearly shouted.
"I'm not in high school." Ib said, and she turned to glare at Aiko.
Aiko quickly looked away, "Ah – anyway! How about those passes? We can explore? Eh hehe."
"Ah – yes, I would really like to speak to you then." The woman said, still blinking in surprise, "Uh, come to my office, over here."
She led the group to her office and quickly wrote a pass for everyone, including Garry. She shoved the rest of the kids off, most of who were eager to leave, all except Ib, who told the rest that she was going to stay with Garry. With everyone gone, Miyako poured herself a cup of water and took a quick drink.
"Garry." She said, "You've better have a good reason for this."
"I- I do." He said quickly.
Ib suddenly cut in, "A good reason for what exactly?"
"For why he would date a high school girl, that's what." Her glare still remaining on Garry.
"She's not in high school," Garry said quickly, "She graduated last year."
"That doesn't matter! She is far too young! Did you dump Rei just so you can get someone younger? You weren't there Garry, she was crying her eyes out for weeks, and it took years before she was finally able to move on! She was madly in love with you, and truly thought that the two of you were going to be together forever and get married."
"Things rarely work out like that," Garry said quietly, looking down.
"Clearly!" She said sharply.
"I had a lot of issues at the time, and I truly regret leaving her."
"And yet you come back, but this time you come back with a group of kids who are much younger than you. You call them your friends, and one of them you're supposedly dating, and you thought it would be a good idea to come back?"
"It's not like that." Garry said, "I came back here to make amends."
"Why are the kids here?"
"They wanted to go somewhere on vacation, so I thought they might like to come along too. It's been a while since the whole group got together, and this was the perfect way to do it."
"That is hardly a good enough reason for-"
"That's enough." Ib said, glaring at the woman now.
The woman looked at her, her glare waning when she turned to Ib, "Dear, I'm sorry if I seem a bit harsh to your – uh – boyfriend, but you do realize that -"
"I am more than aware!" Ib said, her voice said, her fury barely contained, "I know he is older than me, and I know that he knows. I also know that it's none of your damn business who I am with, so would you kindly shut up?"
The woman was clearly taken aback, "But-"
"But NOTHING." Ib shouted, "Who do you think you are, talking to him like that? He didn't even remember you, so you must not be someone important to him. I have known for a couple of years now that he dated a girl named Rei once, and that he broke her heart, and I know Garry well enough to know that he regrets it with all his heart." She gritted her teeth and looked away from the girl, counting down in her thoughts, allowing her muscles to get less tense, "But he has moved on. Clearly, you haven't."
"I- I haven't moved on?!" The woman said, feeling baffled.
"Obviously not," Ib said, "Why would you yell at him like that, and tell him to go away otherwise?"
"Because he's a jerk! He ruined her life!"
"Get over it." Ib snapped, "He said he was here to make amends, so he's going to do that. He's not going to listen to you spew out your hatred all over him, I don't care what reason you have, nothing can justify that."
"You…" Miyako looked away, "You're right." She bowed her head down, suddenly feeling incredibly ashamed, "I lost myself in my dislike for you." She sighed, "While I think you deserve it, it wasn't right of me to do that to you."
"It's alright." Garry said, "I deserved it, might as well get it out of the way now."
"Garry, you didn't deserve that." Ib insisted, "You made a mistake."
"A really big one." Garry sighed.
"It doesn't matter. I know you're a good man, otherwise I wouldn't want to be with you." She said, putting her hand on top of his own, "You are willing to do so much for people for nothing in return, that's not someone who deserves hatred."
Garry looked her in the eyes, and gave a quick nod, and gripped her hand.
"Garry, I'm sorry…" Miyako gave a quick bow, "that was out of line."
"Like I said, it's no problem." Garry waved it off.
"Garry might forgive you, but I don't." Ib said, crossing her arms, and glaring at the woman in front of her.
"Right, well, I can tell you about your – your old friends if you'd like." Miyako finally said.
"Thank you." Garry sighed, "So does Jin still live here?"
"He does." She said, "We broke up when I was in college, but I believe he runs a family restaurant in town."
"So his family still owns that place, huh?" Garry mused.
"Is that where you planned to go eat?" Ib asked.
"Yeah," Garry nodded, "I wanted to see my best friend from way back when."
Miyako coughed into her hand, "We can probably do a prompt class reunion of sorts, within the next few days if you want."
"No," Garry said, shaking his head, "I just want to meet specific people."
"Very well." She said, "I assume you want to know what happened to Rei?"
"I would." Garry confirmed.
"When she… got better, she eventually got together with one of our classmates; you know the boy named Hiro?" She asked.
"Hiro?" Garry blinked, "Really?"
She nodded, "Yes, they got married several years ago."
"That was quick." He mumbled.
"They were surprisingly cute together," she said, reminiscing, "they moved into a house away from town, it's an isolated little place, but I haven't really heard from them since the wedding, so I don't know what they are up to nowadays."
"Thank you." Garry said sincerely, "You've helped me a great deal already."
"Don't bother to thank me." The woman said, "You deserved it after what I said earlier."
He nodded, "I guess I'll go back and try to find my friends."
"There is one thing." Miyako said, "I… I don't know if it would be a good idea for you to meet with Rei…"
"Why?"
"She has moved on, Garry, like you have. If she saw you again, it would stir up unwanted and unneeded emotions that are probably better left alone." She sighed, "I think it would be best to just leave her alone."
"I need to apologize to her." He said, "I don't care what she does to me afterwards, but I need to get this off my conscious for good."
"I see." She sighed, "Then best of luck to you."
"Thank you." Garry said, smiling slightly.
"And you have a good day too." Miyako nodded towards Ib.
"Yeah, you too." Ib said, giving the woman a very curt bow.
As the two left the room, Ib looked towards Garry, who was looking ahead uncertainly.
"Garry?" She asked, "Are you ok?"
"I don't want to lie to you," He sighed, "I'm feeling worse than when I got here, and I wonder if this is a good idea, to even try to apologize. I didn't even really know her and she lashed out at me like that... I'm afraid of what my other old 'friends' will try to do to me."
"You'll be fine." She insisted, "You've got us with you."
He smiled, "Thanks Ib."
She grinned, and leaned up slightly so she could give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "You're welcome, and… I love you."
He leaned down and gave her a kiss as well, "I love you too."
She grabbed his hand, and with his spirits rejuvenated, the two walked out to try and find where the rest of the group had run off to.
XxXxXxX
"Oh I wish I were there!" Aiko gushed, "To see Ib come to the defense of poor ol Garry!"
"Eh... It wasn't quite that bad."
"Knowing you, you probably let her walk all over you until Ib stopped her." Junichi said, shaking his head, "You need to man up."
"Am I really that much of a push over?" Garry wondered, falling to the ground is despair.
"Oh it's not that bad." Ib insisted, "You're strong when it counts, and that's all that matters." She reached down and pulled Garry back up to his feet.
The group had met outside of the gates of the school, and Garry told them all what had transpired, with a little commentary here and there from Ib.
"So you wish to make amends with old friends." Yuki said, nodding her head, "Noble."
"Yeah, but if every encounter ends up like that one, I don't know how much longer I can take it." Garry admitted.
"You'll be fine." Rin said quietly from her position at Junichi's side.
"Thanks." Garry said, giving her a quick smile, "So, I guess we're all hungry now?"
"I'm starving!" Aiko cried, "My stomach thirsts for food!"
Everyone ignored Aiko's outburst and nodded.
"Food sounds good." Junichi said.
"Sure." Yuki shrugged, looking at least mildly interested.
"Lead the way Garry." Ib said, grabbing Garry's hand.
It was about five in the afternoon as Garry led them through the town again. The group, and especially Aiko all were enthralled with the classic design – how the streetlamps looked so much older, how the buildings all looked so unique and made out of prominent red bricks, and even the road was interesting to them, with some sections being made entirely of brick. Whoever ran the town really wanted to preserve the old fashion look of the place.
"It's over here." Garry said, leading his group of friends towards a shop at a street corner. The place was a stark contrast to the designs of the town, with a bright sign advertising the special, and the fact that it was open.
"Kazama's Restaurant." Junichi read the sign, "Creative."
Rin gave his arm a small slap, "Be nice."
"What?" He look towards her, "You have to admit, the name is kind of boring."
"Even if it is, you shouldn't say it aloud."
"I agree with Junichi!" Aiko said, "Boring!"
Garry grinned, "Jin thought the same thing when we were in high school. He constantly insisted that if he ever inherited the place, he would change the name. I guess that means his father's still around and kicking!"
"What's his dad like?" Ib asked.
"Um..." Garry thought back to it, "Well, Jin and I would do really stupid things when we were little, and I remember his dad would chase us around town screaming at us to come back so he could punish us."
The entire group turned to look at him, too stunned for words. Even the usually stoic Yuki was looking at him with surprise.
"Really?" Ib asked after a full ten seconds of silence persisted.
"Yep." Garry rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed, "To be fair, we did leave the freezer door open over night, so all the food went bad..."
Aiko's eyes shined as she looked at him, "You HAVE to tell us about this!"
"Maybe later." Garry said.
Aiko looked crushed, but before she could even say anything, Yuki pointed to the door, "Shall we go in?"
"Ah, yeah, that might be a good idea." Garry said, "They are probably wondering why a bunch of people are standing in the doorway not going in."
As the six of them entered, a bell above the door went off, and Garry smiled fondly as he heard the sound. Within seconds, a person from the back came running out.
"Welcome to Kazama's, how may I help you?" The man said, his black hair was combed back, and he wore a uniform with big bold letters stating 'Kazama' going across his chest. He was a bit shorter than Garry, and he gave each of them a look over with his brown eyes, before his gaze locked solely on Garry.
"Hey, Jin, long time no see." Garry waved.
"G – Garry?!" He gasped out.
"The one and only."
"Am I seeing things?"
"I don't think so."
Jin rubbed his eyes and stared in shock at the group, "Holy shit!"
"Yeah, it's definitely been a long time."
"Come here!" Jin said, getting right up to Garry and wrapping his arms around the man. He hugged him very tightly, and lifted him clear off the ground, "I missed you so much man!"
Garry patted his friend on the sides, since he wasn't able to do more due to his arms being locked at his sides due to his friend's hug, "Good to see you too."
Jin finally let him down, and smiled, "I can't say how good it is to see you again! You were my best friend! Where the hell have you been?"
"I went to the city," Garry explained, "To be honest, I'm surprised you're not mad."
"Mad?" Jin laughed, "Man, if you had come back five or six years ago, I think I would have punched you right in the face! Leaving us all like that! Now I'm just so glad to see you, I honestly thought I would never see my best friend again!"
"Ah..." Garry mumbled, "I'm so sorry."
Jin slapped him on the shoulder, "Just try to stay connected now, you hear?"
Garry nodded, "Yeah, of course."
Jin finally remembered the rest of the group, and he eyed them, "What's up with the kids?"
"College students." Garry automatically corrected before one of them could do so, "They're my friends."
"Oh?" Jin looked at them, "Seem a bit young."
"Yeah, a little bit." Garry chuckled, "But they're all good people."
"I'll take your word for it," He turned to the group, "Care to introduce me to them?"
"Of course." Garry said, turning to them, and began to go through the group from right to left, "The insane one right there is Aiko."
"Hey! I'm not insane!" Aiko crossed her arms.
"The blonde one is Rin."
"Hello." Rin waved shyly towards Jin.
"The one Rin is latched onto is Junichi."
"Yo," Junichi waved.
"The girl beside him is Yuki."
Yuki simply nodded, not saying anything.
"And the last one with red eyes is Ib."
"It's a pleasure to meet one of Garry's friends." She bowed politely.
"It's nice to meet you all!" He bowed excitedly to each of them, "I take it Garry met you all in the city?"
"Yep." Aiko said, "Ib invited us all to go painting and he was our model for us!"
"Unwillingly." Garry supplied, "But it was fun, I'll admit."
Right as Jin was about to say more, they heard someone in the back yelling, "Jin! Did you get their orders yet! It's been five minutes, what's the hold up?!"
"Give me a moment dad!" Jin yelled back, and then turned to the group, "Right, I forgot that I'm working. Uh, I guess you guys want to eat here?"
"Yeah, we're starving!" Aiko said.
"Alright, just come right over here." He led the group to a booth next to the window, where they could see that it was snowing a little bit. Jin handed them each a menu, and asked them all what they wanted to drink, before rushing into the back.
Ib watched him go, and turned to Garry, "That went better than expected."
"No kidding." Garry said, "I thought everyone would be like Miyako."
"He was genuinely happy to see you." Yuki supplied, "Any animosity he held towards you has long ago been diminished."
"He said as much." Rin pointed out, "But thanks for clearing that up for the slower ones here." She looked over at Aiko.
"What?" Aiko said, "Why are you staring at me?"
"Nothing." Rin sighed.
Ib leaned into Garry's side, and reached an arm down to hold his hand as they waited for Jin to come back. When the man did, he took notice of Ib and Garry, but didn't say anything. He took the group's order, and ten minutes later, their food had arrived.
After the meal, Garry got up, and went towards the bathroom, and when he got out, Jin was standing there waiting for him.
"Hello," Garry said, "The food was excellent."
"That's all well and good." Jin said, "But that red eyed girl seems to be awfully close to you."
Garry chuckled, "She's my girlfriend."
"What? You're dating a high school girl?"
"College." Garry corrected.
"That's not what's important!"
Garry sighed, knowing where this was going towards.
"Dude. You are amazing." Jin wrapped his arm around him, "How in the world did you pull that off? You're not exactly the best lookin' guy around, you know? To score a girl ten years younger than you? That takes talent man!"
Garry was so taken aback that he wasn't able to form any coherent response.
"I'm guessing you two only got together recently, since she's so young and all." Jin went on, "So at least I know you didn't leave Rei to do this." He gave Garry a light punch on the shoulder, "I can't believe how damn lucky you are!"
"Uhm..." Garry was still having trouble voicing his thoughts, "huh?"
"You need to tell me your secrets to score the younger chicks man!"
"Nearly die." Garry said.
"What?"
"Uh, nothing." Garry shook his head, "You just kind of caught me off guard. Everyone else I had talked to about Ib so far has yelled at me... Honestly, your response is kind of refreshing."
"Who wouldn't be amazed?!"
"Everyone else?" Garry hazard a guess.
"Nah man, everyone else can go-."
"Garry?" Ib came over, "You were taking a while to come back..."
"She's even concerned about you! Man, I envy you so much! Miyako freakin hated my guts when we broke up! How in the world do you do it?"
Apparently his attitude caught Ib off guard too.
"Um... Yeah. We really ought to be going soon." Garry said, getting his friends arm off his shoulder, "I'll be sure to visit again though."
"No problem, man, I'll definitely see you before you go!" Jin said, walking with the duo as they went over to the table, "I'm just surprised you brought them all this time of year."
"What do you mean?" Junichi asked looking up at the man.
Garry rolled his eyes, "You STILL believe that?"
"Yeah I do!" Jin said, "You're saying you don't?!"
"We were kids at the time, there is probably something we missed. There's probably a very reasonable explanation for it." Garry said.
"No way man." Jin said shaking his head, "I know what I saw – my memory of that is absolutely flawless!"
"Oh really?" Garry said.
"What happened?!" Aiko nearly shouted.
"Garry never told you guys?!" Jin said in surprise, "Man, this is like a real life ghost story, and you didn't tell them?!"
"Believe me," Garry said, "I experienced something far, far, FAR worse than whatever it was we saw that night."
"Hah, I doubt it." Jin scoffed.
"What is it?!" Aiko demanded yet again.
"Long time ago, when Garry and I were kids, we were stayin' the night at my dad's house above this restaurant here." He pointed up, "Late at night, me and Gar here woke up to a loud growling noise, and we went out to investigate it."
"Wow," Aiko looked to Garry, "You actually went to look?!"
"He forgot to mention that he dragged me out against my will."
"Well, when you hear something like that, you gotta go see what it is, right?!"
"Not typically, no."Garry replied, "I think locking the doors and windows is a perfectly natural response to that."
"Whatever," Jin said, "Anyway, there we were wandering outside and down the steps towards the sidewalk, only in our shoes and pajamas, and I kid you not, we both saw this... THING across the street, walking around. It was pure-freaking-white, and it had these really bright red eyes, and so many teeth that it could have easily eaten us whole if it wanted to. When we saw this thing, Garry immediately ran up the stairs, and I followed as fast as possible. The darn thing must have heard us, cause it looked up, and let out this horrible..." He looked to be grasping for some word to use.
"This menacing roar." Garry supplied.
"Yeah! This horrible roar that nearly scared the living right out of us. I heard it climbing up after us, and right when it was about to get us, we slammed the door shut and locked it! It didn't seem to stop it though, cause it was bashing the door, and we heard it clawing at it too."
"Then your dad came out hold a sword of all things, screaming at us about what was going on." Garry said, "his face went completely pale when we told him what we saw."
"We all went into my dad's room, and stayed there the entire night." Jin said with a shudder.
"I wasn't able to sleep well for years after that." Garry admitted, "However, it was probably just a large dog."
Yuki nodded, "Your memory tends to exaggerate as the years go on. It's probably not as big as you recall."
"No, it was gigantic." He insisted, "Garry barely got a look before he ran, but I stared for a good ten seconds or so. That thing is etched into my memory forever."
"Even so," Garry said, "Nothing happened ever again."
"About that," Jin said, "If I wake up at night, I know I hear it prowling the streets, and..." He paused.
"And what?" Aiko asked, fully absorbed in the story.
"You seriously haven't heard?"
"What?" Garry asked.
"Dude, a girl was killed here about six years ago to this day."
"What?" Garry said in shock, "You're joking!"
"No, dead serious, man." He sighed, "It caused a HUGE shit storm! At least around here. They found the body, and the girl apparently had huge gashes all over her, and..."
Rin gripped Junichi's arm tightly, and Garry wasn't looking too good himself. Ib quickly grabbed hold of his hand and tried to reassure him.
Jin, sensing that the graphic details weren't necessary, coughed into his hand, "Anyway, police said that it looked like the girl was mauled by a bear or something, but there's no bears around here, at least, none that we know of."
"Jin." Garry looked at his friend straight in the eyes, "Are you just joking around about this, or are you serious?"
"Why in the world would I joke about that?" Jin said, "Just ask your dad if you have to! He'll confirm everything I just said!"
Garry nodded, "I'll do that..."
"Anyway, it's starting to get late." Jin said looking outside, "I didn't mean to keep you."
"Uh – Um!" Rin spoke up, "When does this monster appear?"
"What?" Jin looked to the girl, and then his eyes widened, "Aw crap! I shouldn't have said anything should I?" He groaned, and avoided the glare that Junichi was giving him, "Shit, sorry man. Don't worry little girl, that thing only comes out 'round midnight and really early in the morning. You don't need to worry about it. Just stay inside when it's really late and you'll be fine."
After that, the group was introduced to Jin's father, who contrary to the image that Garry and Jin presented of the man, was a very nice and likeable guy, joking around with them. However, the mood of the group was very subdued as they left the building, and walked quietly around Garry as they headed to the car.
"I'm sorry guys," Garry said, "I should have stopped him from saying anything."
Aiko glanced around nervously, "I - It's fake, right?"
"Of course." Garry said.
Ib looked to Garry, "But... You know, we did go into that other world, so the possibility that something supernatural is happening might be true."
"Let's just try not to think of that, please?" Garry said, "We came here to have fun, let's try not to let this ruin it for us."
"Besides," Yuki said, pushing up her glasses, "Garry's here to reconcile with his friends, we shouldn't forget the initial purpose of this trip."
"That too." Garry nodded.
A little while later, the group got to the van, and they all went in as Garry drove back to his father's house for the night.
XxXxXxX
Garry parked the car in the drive way, and everyone go out in a rather quiet manner, their thoughts still plagued with what they learned about from Jin. The forest surrounding the house now seemed much less inviting than they were previously. Instead, they seemed like an ominous haven for some monsters and beasts that might lurk around.
Jack lifted his head up from the book he was reading when he heard the group enter the house, "Ah, I was wondering when you'd get back. It's nearly eight already."
"Is it?" Garry asked, looking to the clocking hanging above the couch, "Oh, wow, I didn't think we'd be gone that long."
"It doesn't matter too much," Jack assured them, "I'm just glad to see you all back."
They all sat down around the sitting room, still being quiet.
"Is there something the matter?"
"Um, father..." Garry spoke up, "We heard something disturbing in town earlier today from my friend."
"Hm?" He put aside the book he was reading, "What is it?"
"Was someone killed here? A few years back?"
His father's silence was all the answer he needed. Finally, Jack started to speak, "Yes. Six years ago, if I'm not mistaken."
Garry nodded, "What happened?"
"Why do you want to know?" He asked suspiciously.
"Jin said that the body was mauled, like a bear attacked her."
He sighed, "Yes. That is true."
"I see."
"I thought you'd be a little more up to date," His father stated.
"No." Garry shook his head, "I barely watch TV, and I didn't really care about this place for a little while. It's just a shock is all."
"Then that is why you're all so quiet?"
"Partly." Garry admitted, "Tell me, father... Have you heard about a giant white bear or dog creature that wanders around the town?"
He nodded, "I know of it."
"It's real?" Garry asked, his eyes widening.
"Of course not!" Jack snapped, "Why in the world would you believe such tripe? You are all like this because you believe that this creature lurks in this town?"
"Jin did say that it comes around every December around this time of year." Junichi spoke up for the first time.
"Preposterous!" He said, "It saddens me that you lot believe that trash! Yes, there are legends about this beast that have been told around here for decades – longer than I have been around for certain. However, there is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that it's real, much less that it claimed the life of that poor girl six years ago!"
Garry let out a sigh. Though his father's words were harsh, they were meant with good intention, "Thank you father," He smiled, "Hearing you object it so firmly actually makes me feel a lot better."
Everyone did seem more relaxed now that he thrashed it about so much.
"Good." He sighed, "Don't let such things ruin your stay. It's not often that I get to see you Garry, and I don't wish for you to leave prematurely because of some superstition."
Garry blinked at that. That would probably be the closet his father will ever get to admitting how much he cared for him.
"Now, go on, I'm busy reading here, and I don't wish to be interrupted."
"Of course, father." Garry nodded, and stood up, along with the rest of his friends.
"I wish to stay behind and read as well," Yuki said, "If it's alright with you, of course."
Garry's father eyed the girl closely, and finally shrugged, "Very well. As long as you stay quiet, I have no qualms with you staying here."
"That won't be an issue." Yuki assured him.
With that, the rest went upstairs to the rooms they were staying at without another word spoken between them all.
XxXxXxX
The moment Garry entered his room, he threw his jacket off onto the floor, and collapsed onto his bed. He let out a sigh as his back was cushioned, and despite his mood, he at least felt all right for the moment. He stared at the light above his bed, the fan attached to it not moving its blades due to the fact that it was winter outside. Whenever spots would appear in his vision, he'd blink and look away.
What truly scared him, was that he did remember the monster he had seen as a child vividly. He recalled the sharp teeth, the eyes, the fur, everything was still clear in his mind. It was just that after the adventure he had with Ib, the thing had completely left his mind. Now that it was at the forefront, he could clearly remember his fear, and the adrenaline that ran through his veins as they desperately escaped to his friends house, and the terror he felt when it started to bang on their door.
"It's just a dog... It's just a dog..." He chanted to himself, "Father's right, it's not real."
At least with his father's outright denial, he felt better. Despite everything that had transpired with his father, he still knew that the man was very smart. He would definitely know if something like that truly existed. Furthermore, even if it did exist, then why has there been no other claims about it? Why has it never been found?
With each thought, he felt more and more reassured.
There was a knock on his door, and he looked over, "Come in!"
To his immense surprise, he saw Aiko walking in. She glanced around, and if Garry didn't know better, he would actually say that she looked scared.
"What's wrong?"
"Um... I can't get what your friend said out of my head..."
"I'm so sorry." Garry sighed, "Just try to forget it. None of it was real."
"But he seemed so convinced."
Garry shook his head, "I was there too, and I think it was just a big dog."
Aiko laughed, and sat beside Garry, "Do you really think so?"
He nodded, "Does it really have you that shaken up?"
"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid." Aiko mumbled, "It just really creeped me out."
"You're not being stupid." He put an arm on her shoulder, "If you need to, I'm sure one of the other girls wouldn't mind sharing a room with you tonight."
"Yeah." Aiko laughed, "But I would be imposing. I don't want to be like a dumb kid."
"You wouldn't be imposing." Garry said, "As long as you ask nicely, they'll do it for you, and if it really comes down to it, I can get a sleeping bag and sleep in your room if it'll make you feel better."
"I don't think you need to do that," She assured him, "But I'll ask Yuki if she'd be willing to sleep with me tonight."
"Now, go take a bath or a shower and get dressed for bed."
"It's only eight though!" She said, beginning to act like her old self.
"Well, I just said dress for bed, I didn't say go to bed."
She smiled, "Ah, I see!"
With that, she went out, presumably to her room, but before that, she stuck her head in, "Thanks, Garry."
"No problem." He said with a short wave, and the girl was gone again.
"That was nice of you." Ib said, walking in next.
"You overheard?"
She nodded her head, "Yeah, I did."
"Ah, I didn't mean that in any bad way – the sleeping in her room bit – ah crap, it sound worse when I say It aloud..."
"I know," She answered.
"Oh, good."
She sat on his bed, "So you don't think that it's real?"
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure." He admitted, "Don't tell anyone else I said that though."
"I promise I won't."
He looked aside, "I remember it as Jin described it. I just wrote it off all these years as a big dog, but after what we went through, and an unexplainable death as well... I don't know."
Ib grabbed his hand, "Are you ok?"
"Me?" He laughed, "I should be asking you."
"It's frightening to think about," She admitted, "But if I'm with you, I know I'll be alright."
He blinked in surprise at the praise, and couldn't help but blush a little, "Ah... You give me far too much credit. If I saw the thing again, I think I would just run."
"What if I was there?"
"I'd pick you up and then run." He amended, smiling towards her.
She chuckled, "See, that's what I mean."
"Do you think everyone else is taking it ok?"
"Aiko should be fine now," Ib said, "Yuki doesn't seem to be affected by it at all, but that's hardly surprising for her. Rin seemed the most scared, but Junichi will take care of her. I overheard them talking about it, I think Rin might stay the night with him."
Garry blinked, and quick followed it up with a frown, "Is that a good idea?"
"I think she'll be too afraid for them to really do anything. Plus, if he did, I'd have to teach him a lesson, since Rin is a really good friend of mine."
"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Garry mumbled.
"Speaking of which," Rin said, ignoring his little quip, "Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?"
"Um... What brought this on?"
"Despite how I may be acting, the story did freak me out. I would feel better with you tonight." Ib explained.
"Ib, you're handling this far better than me," He assured her, "Though I don't necessarily mind it, if you really want to do so."
"I do." She said with a smile.
"I can't tell whether this was prompted by the ghost story, or whether what my father said a few hours ago got to you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ib said innocently, "I'm going to go take a bath now, see you soon."
She went out of the room, and Garry shook his head, "Where did the innocent little girl go off to?"
XxXxXxX
After everyone's baths everyone was in their pajamas, or night clothes in the case of Garry and Junichi, and the five of them gathered around in Garry's room of all places and played board games and watched television. Yuki made a brief appearance, and played with them for a little bit, before retiring to her own room with a book in her hand. The story they learned about slowly faded from their mind over time as they played together, and as it reached eleven o clock, it was clear that they were beginning to tire.
"Garry, may I talk to you?" Junichi asked the taller man.
"Sure," Garry shrugged.
Ib glanced up at him, and gave Garry a small wave as she saw Junichi leading him out. When the two boys were in the hallway, Junichi led him a little bit away from the door, and glanced both ways down the hallway before whispering, "I don't want you or your dad freaking out on me, so I just want you to know that Rin will be with me tonight, ok?"
"I know." Garry said, "Ib catches everything."
"Wha?!"
"And don't worry, I'm not opposed to it, just as long as you don't take advantage of the situation."
"I won't." Junichi said quickly, "I love her too much to do that!"
"Good." Garry nodded, "That story seemed to scare her the most, so try to comfort her for us all, alright? I don't want this whole trip to be ruined for her because of some stupid ghost story."
"No kidding." Junichi said, "No offense Garry, but your friend is a real jerk for saying that stuff."
"None taken," Garry said, "He can be a little careless, even back when we were kids he always said things he really shouldn't have."
Junichi nodded, "Alright, that's all I wanted you to know. Is your father ok with it?"
"He's fine with it," Garry laughed, "He won't be coming into check on you guys, so you don't need to worry at all about him!"
Junichi let out a breath, "That makes me feel better." He chuckled, "Whenever I go over to Rin's house, her parents hound me like I'm out to do something horrible to their daughter."
"Imagine if you were ten years old than her." Garry muttered, "Ib's parents don't hate me, but it's clear that they don't really like the fact that I'm so much older than her."
Junichi chuckled, "Yeah, I imagine that doesn't go over too well."
"Anyway, I guess I should let you know that Ib and I will be sleeping together tonight as well." He paused, "I Better tell Aiko to partner up with Yuki then, while I have the chance."
"What? You and Ib?"
"For the same reasons." Garry assured him.
Junichi rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, with how aggressive Ib is with you, I bet it was only an excuse for her."
Garry chuckled. He couldn't outright deny it, he suspected as much himself.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell Ib to go slow with you."
"Um..."
"I'm just screwing around." He grinned, "Though you gotta admit it, you two seem to have the gender roles a little reversed."
"Do we?" Garry wondered, "I never really thought about it."
"Don't worry about it," Junichi slapped Garry on the back, "You're likeable this way, and I can trust you with Ib, because I know that she'll be the one to force you to make a move when she's ready."
"I guess that's good?" Garry said.
"It is." Junichi confirmed, "Now let's go back."
Garry and Junichi went back into the room, where Garry took Aiko aside and told her to sleep with Yuki that night. Rin meanwhile, was blushing when she went over to Junichi, and a few minutes later the two of them were saying good-bye and leaving the room. A few minutes afterwards, a tired Aiko bid Ib and Garry farewell, going off to Yuki's room.
"It's just us." Ib said as she sat on the edge of the bed, turning the TV off in the process.
"It is." Garry confirmed as he lied down on the bed.
She tossed the remote to a stand next to the bed, and crawled up to his side until they were looking eye to eye, "Hold me?"
"Of course." He said, wrapping his arms around her.
She leaned down and kissed him fully on the lips, which lasted for a few seconds before they parted, their teeth accidentally clicked against each other as they did so. She grinned down at him, "I told you I wasn't a prude."
"Was all of that an act this morning? You seemed genuinely embarrassed when my dad brought it up."
"My heart is racing right now," She admitted, she then looked hesitant before asking,"Do you want to... Do it?" She blushed bright red as she said so.
"Do it as in...?" He saw he blush and look away, and he caught on, "Wha – Seriously?" He asked, eyes widening.
"We are in a serious relationship, I'll have you know, and we've never actually done it yet, despite going out for almost two years now."
Garry desperately tried to think with the rational part of his brain, "Are you sure? I mean... Everyone is around us..."
"Yuki and Junichi's room's aren't next door to us."
"You've been wanting this for a while... Haven't you..."
"Yes." She admitted, "I think of you every night, and I'm nearly twenty years old, I'm not a little girl anymore."
Ib pressed into him more, "Um..."
"Shh, It's ok, I want this."
"Protection?" Was his last coherent thought.
"Covered." Ib said, pointing to her purse she had brought along.
"Oh... geez..." Garry mumbled before he was enveloped in a pleasurable haze.