Chapter 3: Revelations

By the end of the week, the apartment looked brand new. My home had been scrubbed twice. Once before all of my stuff was in it, and once afterward. Moving all of my stuff in and out was more taxing on the floors than I had imagined it would be.

But now, the kitchen cabinet had been repaired and painted. The paint for the kitchen and the living room were the same, since it was hard to distinguish where one ended and the other began. The kitchen didn't have a table in it, but in the living room a single piece of furniture made up for it.

A kotatsu table.

The table was a present from my mother, though I'd had no idea it was in the same truck as my other belongings. It was a little old, as she'd gotten it used from one of our old neighbors, but it would make the winter here a lot easier when it rolled around. And as it was still early March, the weather was chilly and the table would probably see use until later in the month.

It was off today. The weather outside was just nice enough to not need it, and the windows in the back of the apartment were open to let the breeze in. The one in the smaller bedroom, however, was left closed. I hadn't realized it during my initial walk-through, but the screen was missing. And I'd situated my desk right next to it so I would have the breeze as I studied for the upcoming semester…but there was no way I was risking losing anything to the wind.

I let out a sigh and gave my head a shake. I guess I'll just have to pick one up later. I should measure the window. I scowled. Do I have a tape measure?

I didn't.

That afternoon I decided to go grocery shopping. I had brought some canned food in the truck, but I was too afraid to bring anything else because I doubted it would survive the trip. And now that I had burned through most of them, I was both in dire need of food and sick and tired of canned vegetables. The downside to living on a farm is developing a dislike for vegetables that weren't fresh.

To my dismay, I found that fruits and vegetables were even more expensive in Shibuya than my last town. I left the market without anything at all.

"There's got to be a smaller place that would have them cheaper…" I mumbled to myself. "If I spend that much on food I'm going to starve before I even get a job…"

It was true that I hadn't found a job yet. I fully intended on getting one, but I knew if I didn't organize my living space at least a little first, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else. Unfortunately, that meant most of my savings had gone into cleaning it and buying convenience food on the go.

"Maybe I should just hunt for jobs today…" I began walking toward the nearest cluster of stores in hopes someone would be hiring.

I went to several stores, and though several seemed interested in me, none hired me on the spot, and I hadn't expected them too. Maybe I'll check the store Ayame works at. I wasn't sure if she would be there, but it wouldn't hurt my chances to have someone I'd met before there when I applied.

The walk back toward Ayame's store was a long one. I had purposefully been applying for jobs close to my new University, but it wouldn't be awful to get a job close to her store, since it was so close to my home.

When I at last arrived at the store, Ayame Chiba was dangling from a shelf against the wall. I spotted a ladder that had been knocked over and rushed to right it so she could lower herself on it. She did so and let out a light laugh that might have been nervous or relief filled. "Oh, thank you! I was climbing to get one of these," she gestured to a small piece of merchandise that she had in her hand, "But I had to go higher than the ladder, and I accidentally knocked it over! I thought I was going to have to jump down."

When I just stared at her, incredulous, she gave me a bright smile and continued. "You look different when you're all dry, Miyazaki-san."

I blushed involuntarily, "And you look different when hanging from a shelf, Chiba-san." I nearly slapped a hand over my mouth, as I hadn't meant to say that aloud, but Ayame didn't seem phased in the slightest, rather she let out a loud laugh.

"Ha ha! I'm sure I do!" She wrinkled her nose at me. "But let's make it Ayame. Chiba-san is what everyone calls my mother."

I nodded half heartedly, my face still burning from saying something so out of place. "Okay, Ayame-san." She still didn't seem to like how that sounded and clicked her tongue, but nodded.

"That'll do for now. What can I do for you? More shopping?" She asked in a hopeful voice.

"Not this time," I began, "I was wondering if you're hiring."

She smiled. "Hiring? Well...Not exactly. But I can talk to my mom about it."

"Your mom? She works here too?"

Ayame looked at me oddly. "She owns here. I would have thought it was obvious."

"Obvious? How so?"

"Well," Ayame spoke as she gestured to a rather large sign adorning the front of the store's glass, and though it was backwards due to being viewed from the inside, it very clearly read "Chiba's Closet is pretty straightforward, don't you think?"

"Oh…" I realized at that moment that I had never bothered to look for the stores name. "It is. I'm sorry, I guess I never thought about it."

Ayame looked at my dejected expression and shook her head. "Don't worry. I won't tell my mother." She went to the counter and set down the item she could have died getting and turned back to me. "But she's actually not going to be here until tonight. I'll tell her about you, and you can swing by tomorrow morning and see her for an on-the-spot interview, okay?" She gave me a reassuring smile.

I nodded at her. "That sounds great. I'll be here." There was something about her carefree nature that made me relax a little. Maybe I hadn't completely embarrassed myself.

When I left the store I was confident I was going to get a job there, and I made my way back toward the grocery store to stock up.

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The next day, I wasn't so confident. Chiharu Chiba was a tall and very pregnant woman, with a loud fashion sense-of bright yellows and greens-and an even louder voice.

She was also terrifying.

It wasn't so much that she was mean, but rather that I had never seen a pregnant woman with so much energy. She gave me a wide smile as I introduced myself. "So you're Aya's friend! I heard you'd like to work here." I was too startled by her loud proclamation to do anything other than nod. "Then let's get to it!"

"Um...What would you like to know?"

"Can you work?"

I frowned lightly. "Of course. I haven't done this kind of work before, but I'm willing to-"

Chiharu nodded. "In that case, we can get started."

"Get…? What else would you like to know?"

She looked at my oddly in the same exact way her daughter had the day before, and I was beginning to understand where Ayame got her personality. "I don't need to know anything else. I just need to see how you'll do in the store."

"Wha…?"

And the entirety of my day was spent learning how to run the store.

Even when I got a break, I didn't get to leave. I was forced to sit in the back while Chiharu cooked for both Ayame and I. Which….wasn't really that bad, since it was a free meal. And Chiharu insisted on talking to us the entire time. I told her where I was from, and why I was in town. Eventually, Chiharu asked me, "So do you have any family up here?"

I gave a shake of my head. "My mother lives pretty far away, and I don't really have any extended family." I purposely left out mention of Ame, hoping that it wouldn't come up again. I'd already been thinking about him more since speaking with Ren and Kaede.

Ayame tilted her head at me curiously. "What about your dad?"

I stilled. "He's...he's not around anymore." It was hard to find the words. It had been a very long time since I'd lost my father, but considering the circumstances of his death, it was always difficult to decide what to tell people. I fiddled with the cup of tea on the table in front of me, but stopped after I finished speaking.

Ayame quieted at the same time I did. "Oh. I….I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Mine...isn't around either." And then, rather than questioning further, she leaned over and hugged me from the side. I didn't hug her back, not because I didn't want to, persay, but because her arms had trapped mine at my sides. I did, however, turn my head to give her a grateful smile. She returned the smile, but there were some tears in the corner of her eyes, and between that and the fact Chiharu was quiet for the first time since I'd met her, I decided their loss was a lot more recent than mine. I wondered what had happened.

But I didn't ask.

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The Chiba's sent me home with more food than was necessary, but I accepted it after some pressing on their part, and soon I was on the way home. I couldn't help but think about the conversation we'd had during that break. It was easy to forget while I was working, but now that I had some free time...It was hard not to think about. Mostly, I wasn't even thinking about my dad. I was thinking about my mom and Ame. I missed them both.

I knew my mom was missing me too, especially since it would be a lot harder for me to come back during the breaks now that I was living so far away. I needed to call her again. But it's so late...I sighed. I knew she wouldn't mind me calling this late, but I didn't want to wake her up knowing that she always gets up early to work on the farm.

As for Ame...I couldn't help but think about what Ren had told me. Why don't I talk to him? I'd given him my answer, but now I was confused. In truth, I could hunt him down if I really wanted to. But if I did, I wouldn't know what to say. There was still too much that I didn't know how to put into words. And maybe...maybe a small part of me was still mad at him. Mad at him for leaving. Mad at him for not telling me goodbye. Mad at him for being happy with his decisions.

I stopped walking. But I'm happy with my decisions too, aren't I?

I didn't get to reflect on that thought, because in the alleyway beside me, I heard a whining sound. It was a small yip that I knew right away wasn't from a person, but from an animal.

Is someone hurt? I stepped into the narrow walkway and looked around for the potentially injured animal, but instead I saw a person covered with a cloak. It wasn't unusual to wear a jacket in march, but it was a nice day, and a cloak, of all things? "E..excuse me. I'm looking for an animal."

The person seemed to stiffen beneath their cloak, and it was at that moment that I noticed they were holding a wrapped bundle in their arms. A very squirmy bundle. I narrowed my eyes. The animal? The person stepped back after seeing the look on my face and I heard another soft yip from their direction. I frowned deeply. "I think you might be hurting that animal." I spoke as I walked toward them.

The person took off running in the other direction, carrying the bundle away, and I noticed as they were running that the person was limping a little. Despite this, they were definitely in more shape than I was and had no trouble outpacing me. That didn't mean I was going to give up though. I ran after them as fast as I could-without four legs, anyway-and we soon ended up in a loud street I had never been to before. The cloaked person kept running, and I urged myself after them. "Wait, stop!"

But they didn't stop, and as they rounded a corner, they seemed to trip over their own feet and fall. I stopped in front of them. "Is the animal okay?" I was really worried this person might have fallen on top of them. "Are you okay?"

Before I could get an answer to either, the animal in the bundle managed to pop out of it and started severely crying. But to my shock, it wasn't an animal, but a toddler. "Oh. Oh no. I am so, so sorry." I leaned down and held a hand out to the person on the ground. The person didn't take it in favor of trying to console the toddler, now firmly planted on the ground. The child soon quieted into just sniffles, and the hooded person turned in my direction at last, standing unsteadily.

"What do you want?" The person asked. I was surprised to find that the boyish voice that came from inside didn't sound like an adult at all. I'd started to think that this person was the parent of the child.

"I...I thought that you had some sort of animal in there that you were trying to get rid of or something. I'm sorry. I must have heard wrong." I paused, and continued after a moment. "But you didn't have to run away. It made you look pretty suspicious."

The person put a hand on their hip. "Well, I'm sorry I didn't get the dog scent over the scent of all that food." This time I was the one that froze. This was the second time someone had mentioned that I smelled like a dog, but before I could wonder why that was important to this person, they brought their hands up and flipped their hood down.

I dropped the bag of food.

The teenage boy in front of me...had ears. Animal ears. Curly auburn hair with a set of matching droopy ears on top. And they were real, as they were moving. I could feel that my mouth was stuck open and very potentially floundering. "A….another wolf?" I had never stuttered so much in my life.

The boy scowled at me. "Of course not. I'm a Malamute. Though that's kind of rude to ask. If we're going to ask rude things, you're old, right? Why don't you have your ears yet?"

He continued speaking, but all of the rest fell on empty ears as I turned back the way I came. There's no way this is actually happening. No way. I'm imagining it. Ame and I are the last ones. Last ones. Last- My thought process came to a screeching halt as I realized the loud street I'd run through was filled with more people than I could count. Or maybe more animals than I could count. I wasn't sure what was happening anymore.

I could feel it as I started to panic, and that as I started to panic my control started slipping. For the first time in years, I could feel my wolf ears emerge, and since I couldn't know for sure whether I was imagining any of this or not, I knew I couldn't risk letting normal people see me like this.

And so I ran.