"Hey, whoa, what's that weird thing up top?!"
Ah, you see, I figured it would be interesting to tell parts of the story through more than just plain text.
However, the formatting on this site doesn't always play nice with how I intended it to look. Thus, it might seem a bit odd to look at.
If you'd like to see the content as it originally was - let me know! I'm happy to share the originals.
Act 1: Beating Heart
Segment 1: Come From Away
Chapter 1-4: Memories of Canada
When he got to the store front, a small line had formed. A text came from Izumi wondering where he was. "Ack!" he exclaimed.
• • • • • • •
Sister
Where are you? Tailmon's box isn't changed yet
18:24
Sorry! Got distracted
18:24
Picking up the waffles though
Figured I could grab them on the way home
18:24
😋 Please do!
18:25
Also see if you can get maple syrup
Mom didn't have time
thx!
18:25
ok will do
18:26
• • • • • • •
Maple syrup? Yikes, that bottle could get a bit expensive. It was worth it, but the good stuff from Québec didn't come cheap. At least, not out on the other side of the planet.
The line advanced quickly, and Takaharu bought a box of six waffles, since it seemed those were on a special price. Enough for all four of them, and then hopefully breakfast tomorrow, if nobody else got to it first. The international store should have some maple syrup still. He walked around, wondering if he should take the chance to pick up anything else. Still, it was all kind of pricey. Maybe if he'd been given some cash first he would, but it was kind of a lot since they bought these big jugs of maple syrup at one time, the way they used to back in Toronto, before they moved back to Japan.
Takaharu hefted the plastic bottle of sweet nectar onto the cashier's counter. "Just this," he said.
The cashier smiled. "Your mom would normally be here for this," she commented, scanning the item over the glowing pad.
"Yeah, must have been busy today. I think she had some kind of writers' convention or something," he explained, handing over the payment.
"I see. Anyway, have a nice day!"
"Yeah, you too!" he replied, hurrying home with the warm sweets and the jug of maple syrup. A faint drizzle was starting to fall, and he didn't want to get soaked with the box in hand either.
By the time he made it back, the rain was starting to come down. He scrambled up the stairs of the apartment as best he could with the heavy jug of syrup and yelled to Izumi, "Hey, I'm home – hands are full!"
The door opened shortly after. "Ah, lemme help," Izumi offered, taking the box off his hands. "Mmm, still warm!" She held the box to her face.
"I got six, it was on sale."
"All for me? Wow, thanks!" She skipped away with the box. Her light brown hair was still wet from showering. Even though she and Takaharu had a similarly lanky and long-limbed build, she had decided to join the ball-and-bat club and was currently on the school's junior-high softball team.
"Hey-"
Izumi giggled. "If you don't change Tailmon's litter box, I'm taking yours."
"You- ah, fine." Takaharu sighed. It was his turn, after all, and fair was fair. Tailmon, the splotchy orange, brown, and white tabby, was curled up on the couch between some pillows, snoozing the day away.
Izumi opened the box. "Whoa, these look so perfect!" She plated one, admiring the gentle dusting of icing sugar. "You think these need any syrup?"
"Probably not?" Takaharu yelled out from the bathroom. He dumped the old clumpy sand into a bag, tied it up and threw it out, replaced it, and washed his hands. "They should be sweet enough on their own."
"Ah, yeah, you're right," Izumi mumbled, her mouth full of pastry. "Thanks brother!"
"No problem," he replied. "Just don't go eating mine, yeah?"
"I'll try not to," she laughed.
The light rain came to an end shortly after as their parents returned home from work bearing some pre-made meals. "Sorry, things ran overtime," Aki apologized, while Shunpei said, "but I see you stopped by the waffle place today!"
"Yeah, we did. Also got the maple syrup," Takaharu replied. "How was the convention?"
"Very helpful," Aki responded, hanging up her raincoat. "I met some really big legends and learned a lot! And I mentioned you were both into zoology, and some of them were working with a local zoo, so maybe they can be a good reference."
Izumi cocked her head. "Really? Working with a zoo?"
"I think they were helping write for some documentary on penguins."
"Interesting."
"Also, we got take out from the Korean restaurant. Figured we should make up for both of us being late with your favourites," Shunpei added, "champong and pork belly."
Takaharu grinned. It had been a while, but those pork belly wraps with sauce were great.
Tailmon meowed. "We just fed you!" exclaimed Izumi. The cat seemed more interested in the pork bones that had been left in the container with the cuts of meat. It stared up at the dining table and mrowled again.
"Shunpei, I could probably use that tomorrow."
"For soup? Sure." Shunpei packed the few scraps left into a plastic container and stashed them in the fridge as Aki cleared the rest of the table and began washing dishes. "Can I take one?" he asked Takaharu, pointing at the box of waffles.
"Of course."
"These are heavy," Shunpei remarked as he forked a waffle onto a fresh plate. "Aki, we should split one." He sawed the waffle in half, moved his half to a new plate, and poured out a touch of maple syrup on the side.
"It's probably sweet enough on its own, Dad," remarked Izumi.
Shunpei grinned and replied, "Maybe, but everything tastes better with maple syrup."
Takaharu commented, "This is the guy who puts maple syrup on scrambled eggs."
"Wait, what?" Izumi gave her father a look of despair. "You did what?"
"It was an accidental discovery," he said, defending his culinary choices, "but a delicious one."
"I can't believe you."
"I can't believe it either," he remarked. "You should try it sometime."
Izumi looked at her mother for some backup. She was trying not to laugh. An irritated-sounding meow came from below the table. "Tailmon, please, you literally just ate!" The cat jumped into Izumi's lap and curled up there. "Oh, great, now I can't move," she sighed, scratching Tailmon behind the ears.
"You have a good excuse for not finishing your homework now, though," laughed Takaharu.
Aki replied, "Takaharu, can you take Izumi's books to the table then?"
"Well, I tried." Takaharu took both of their books to the cleaned table. "Ugh, I forgot, there's a new calculus assignment too. Just great." Takaharu regretfully opened his calculus textbook to find the pages assigned.
"I thought you sailed through the last assignment," remarked Izumi.
"Yeah, I did," Takaharu replied. Izumi seemed doubtful. "Okay, so it wasn't actually me figuring it out," he confessed, "and I got some help from some people in class."
"So that's why you were at school so early that time. Hey, maybe you should keep in touch with that person. Who was it?"
Takaharu made a face of annoyance. "Just some dude."
"He seems to have bothered you."
"I think he's the one that's bothered. I don't even know why," Takaharu replied, stretching out after dinner. "Just seems unlikeable."
Izumi took a sip of water. "They do say academically smart people tend to have bad social skills. Maybe this person's the same."
"Then maybe he should learn how to be sociable himself. Not my problem."
"Social skills can't be practiced alone, you know."
"I… I guess, but he's the one that doesn't want to talk," Takaharu muttered, staring with distaste at the mathematical symbols. "Bleh. Just looking at this makes me want to hurl."
"Is it really so bad?"
Takaharu looked up at his sister. "Trust me, when you get to this point, you'll find out why."
Shunpei looked over his son's shoulder. "Calculus, eh? I remember that."
"You don't use it at work?"
Shunpei laughed and replied, "That's what computers are for."
Takaharu groaned and slid down in his chair. "Then why am I studying this?"
"Can't use a program you don't understand, right? That's why we all study things. Heck, sometimes I go back to basics sometimes." Takaharu was unmoved. Shunpei sipped his tea and added, "I know you want to do zoology, but it's still good to know calculus. It might help you with reading charts."
Takaharu grunted. His head was already starting to hurt just staring at the integral signs.
The sound of the nightly drama series floated over from the TV as the two of them worked on their homework. Takaharu fiddled with his mechanical pencil as he tried to figure out how on earth to go about solving this proof. Substitution? By parts? Both? Something else? Several minutes went by with little progress, though his page was full of math symbols. He seemed to be going in circles.
His phone vibrated on the table. "Huh?" Takaharu glanced over at it.
"Someone messaged you?"
"Yeah… Ryuta."
"Oh, that guy that helped you out."
"Yeah, him. What does he want so late at night?"
• • • • • • •
Koyama Ryuta
Sorry about earlier. Family issue.
20:11
• • • • • • •
Takaharu blinked at his phone. "Family issue, huh."
Izumi looked up from her literature assignment, a concerned look on her face. "Is he okay?"
"He didn't elaborate." Takaharu sat back in his chair. "I don't know if I should ask. It seems rather rude. I don't know him that well."
"But he did say it was trouble at home." Izumi folded her hands on the table. "I don't think he'd say that if he didn't trust you." Takaharu didn't react. "You should ask. If he doesn't want to say anything, then he'll tell you, and if he does, then he will."
Takaharu heaved a heavy breath. "You're right, I suppose," he replied, and started tapping away at his phone.
• • • • • • •
Koyama Ryuta
You good? Sounds serious
20:15
Fine now. Sister needed some attention
20:22
I see
And your parents?
20:23
She wanted to see me in particular
20:24
Aww, she must really love you ^^
20:24
I guess
20:26
You guess?
icy cold wwwww
20:26
Message read
• • • • • • •
There was no response after that for a minute. "This guy, I swear," Takaharu said as he put his phone down, "is gonna have some serious problems finding a lady."
"Oh?"
"He wrote, 'I had to give my sister some attention' and I replied, well, she must really love him then, and he wrote back, 'I guess.'" Takaharu shook his head and returned to his assignment.
Izumi sighed. "He seems complicated."
"And that's what bothers me so much!"
"I'm sure he's this way for some reason. Not necessarily a good reason, but…" Takaharu's phone vibrated again. "I think he replied."
"Ugh. He did. What- eh?"
• • • • • • •
Koyama Ryuta
Can you send me some info on that card game
you were playing with Kazuhiko?
20:31
It seems interesting
20:32
sure
Thought you didn't care ww
20:34
I just wanted to learn on my own
20:35
Ah true
You still up for club?
20:36
No
20:40
Let me know if you change your mind
20:40
Message read
• • • • • • •
"Guess he just wanted to figure things out himself," Takaharu commented. "I should've known. He's always like that."
"See? Maybe he just gets uncomfortable interacting face to face." Izumi put her completed assignment away and went to her science textbooks. "You should encourage him to come out of his shell."
"Why meeee?" he complained.
"Because you're good at it." Izumi smiled. "You're good friends with Kazuhiko now, right? You told me what he was like three years ago."
Takaharu groaned. "Couldn't it be someone else for once? Like Asuka? Or Kaoru, or Tsubasa, or like literally anyone else-"
"And Yuuka too. Hey," Izumi pointed at Takaharu with her pen, "she seems a lot like him. You remember?"
Takaharu blinked and looked at a corner of the kitchen. Were they that similar? "Well, Yuuka was just shy. Ryuta, though, is…" he trailed off. "He's an enigma. And not a likeable one." Takaharu thought about it some more. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to get to know this dude and find out how his brain worked.
He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. "I'll ask next week if he wants to try out a game some time."