Chapter 20: A Vacation of Disinclination
Yasui awoke to a deep growling sound. It was pitch black, and he had no idea where he was. For a split second he thought he was dreaming until he heard it again.
grrrrrrrn*
With mild surprise Yasui discovered that the source of the noise was his stomach. However, it wasn't the sounds of an upset and sick stomach. His stomach was growling in hunger. And even worse, his tongue felt like sandpaper. Yasui sighed and threw the blanket back before getting off the couch. He crept to the kitchen and turned the sink on, desperately gulping down mouthful after mouthful of water. Once he felt a little waterlogged, Yasui opened the refrigerator. He glanced around desperately and noticed a few pieces of fruit. In the span of a few seconds Yasui ate three apples and was looking for more. He then helped himself to some cheese, a few peanuts, some walnuts, grapes, and finally a large glass of water this time, not straight from the tap. Yasui stifled a belch and slumped back to the couch. His head had barely hit the pillow before he was conked out once more.
Yasui awoke dazed and confused. He wasn't exactly sure where or when or why he was, but he sure was somewhere. It took a few moments for him to piece it all together.
He was still lying on the couch in Shinrai's home. His head hurt a bit, and he was very hungry. Although that made sense given he technically went to bed on an empty stomach. But Yasui did vaguely remember devouring a late night snack sometime last night.
He shifted as he heard footsteps from down the hall. Shinrai's mother stumbled into the kitchen and began to make coffee. Apparently he had succeeded in falling back asleep for a while.
As the coffee brewed, Mrs. Hanako glanced over at him and noticed he was starting to stir. Yasui raised his hand and yawned.
"Good morning, Mrs. Hanako."
She nodded tersly.
"Morning, Yasui. How did you sleep?"
"Fine."
"That's good…. So… how do you feel? Is your stomach okay?"
"I'm doing fine. I'm pretty tough for my size."
"That's good to hear."
The conversation lapsed into awkward silence after that, which continued well into the morning until after Shinrai woke up. As the two boys sat on the couch so Shinrai could watch the latest episode of a show he liked, Shinrai looked over at his friend and scrutinized him for a second or two.
"Hey, Yasui?"
"Hm? Yeah?"
"You know… you've changed a lot since we first became friends."
Yasui tilted his head.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, you're less… gloomy now. Like, you seem happier and more confident now. You don't constantly apologize for everything and go all distant and stiff whenever something even a little bad happens."
"Oh… I guess I didn't realize."
Yasui thought for a moment and shrugged.
"Well, it makes sense."
"How so?"
"Before I came here, I didn't like myself at all. I felt… useless back home. I never really thought that I had anything to offer anyone and just felt awkward all the time. But now I have friends, lots of friends. I have you, Jack and his roommates, Legoshi, my club mates, the guys from the study group, Juno, and even a few more from work and such. I never really thought I'd ever have a friend, let alone a group of them."
"Aw, dude. Wait, who's Juno?"
"Hm? Oh, she's this wolf I tend to bump into. We hung out at the festival."
Shinrai made a "T" with his hands and exclaimed,
"Woah, woah, woah. Time out! Juno is a girl?"
Yasui nodded. Shinrai grinned at him and narrowed his eyes.
"Is she, you know, cute?"
"Whaaaaaat?"
Yasui gave him a look of surprise.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well you did go to the festival together. I was just wondering if you think she's cuuuuuuuute."
Shinrai clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes at him. Yasui shook his head in mock disgust and gently pushed the squirrel.
"Gross, dude. It's not like that. We're just friends."
"I know, but friends can become more than friends."
"She's not really my type. I like her, but just… not like that. She reminds me too much of my sister."
"Oh, okay. Wait, what was it you said your type was again? It came up in study group one time."
Yasui felt his face heat up and he deliberately looked at the tv. Shinrai snapped his fingers and gave Yasui a conspiratorial look.
"Oh, that's right! You like… mature women."
Yasui groaned.
"I was hoping you'd all forgotten about that."
"Something like that will never be forgotten my friend."
Yasui pretended he couldn't hear Shinrai and pulled out his phone. The rest of the day was spent playing various games, and after dinner the same scenario happened that had occurred on Yasui's first night. They all "watched" the tv together in the family room until it was time for bed. All in all it had been a fun weekend, but now it was time for Yasui to head home. Summer break lasted four weeks for Cherryton students, which Yasui thought was a little short; but as Monday arrived, Yasui was both excited about going home, and sad that he didn't get to spend any more time hanging out with his best friend. As they ate breakfast, Mrs. Hanako asked,
"So, do you have the bus schedule saved to your phone and everything?"
Yasui nodded.
"Yes. I saved the whole month's schedule just in case."
"Are you sure you don't need us to take you to the bus stop?"
Yasui shook his head.
"No, I should be fine. Thanks for offering though."
Yasui gathered his things and was preparing to leave when both Shinrai and his mother joined him by the door. Shinrai held his fist out towards Yasui.
"It was fun, dude."
Yasui grinned and carefully bumped his fist into his friend's.
"Yeah. Thanks for teaching me how to play those games."
"No prob. Tell your family I say hi."
"I will."
Yasui then turned to Mrs. Hanako and smiled.
"Thank you so much for having me over."
She returned his smile and clasped her hands in front of her.
"It was no trouble. You're welcome any time."
Yasui flattened his lips and wrung his hands before cautiously holding one out to her. She took it and gave it a quick shake. Yasui laughed.
"I was thinking about hugging you, but I didn't know if that would be weird."
She laughed and patted his cheek, which she had to stretch to do.
"You're very sweet. I'm glad you and my son are friends."
Yasui felt a little lump rise in his throat.
Don't cry, don't you dare cry.
Yasui nodded and waved as he exited their home. He wanted to be sure he wasn't going to be late for his bus. On his way to the bus stop, he bought a bottle of water from a vending machine for the long trip back home. He distinctly remembered being quite thirsty by the time he got to the city when he made this trip the first time. Yasui paid the fare and made his way down the bus until he found an empty seat. He placed his bag next to him and looked out the window. Soon the heart of the city and its tall buildings gave way to the sprawl of the suburbs, and finally the outskirts of town were behind him as he began his trip back home.
Yasui had to admit, having a phone to mess with made the trip a bit more pleasant as he had something to occupy himself with. He texted Shinrai a bit and then distracted himself with a puzzle game Shinrai had helped him download for the trip. It was mid afternoon when the bus finally arrived in the town of Aka-Shukusha, ready to turn around and head back the way it came from. Yasui disembarked and was greeted with the familiar sight of the small town around him. Families were out and about and from his estimation, school would be dismissed soon. That meant that Yasui could ride the bus back up to his village with his siblings.
Yasui slung his bag over his shoulder and set off towards where the small bus was waiting to ferry the children from the village back home. It was strange, all his life he remembered thinking of this town as being large and modern, however it was positively tiny compared to the city he had just left.
Wow, I forgot how small the general store is compared to the grocery store back at school. But everything is a lot cheaper here than it is back in the city.
As Yasui passed by the store he saw a sign in the door advertising fresh filled bread. His stomach grumbled hungrily.
I guess I skipped lunch. I should probably grab a little something to eat.
As Yasui walked into the store, he took a deep breath of the familiar scent of this shop. He had come here many times with his parents to get groceries and other such necessities. He strode to the counter where the same goat who had run this store for as long as he could remember, the same one that gave him his beloved Mabi toy. The goat looked up.
"Welcome! What can I get for you?"
"One of those filled buns, please! Oh, and maybe some tea."
The goat nodded and set about getting Yasui's food ready as Yasui soaked in the familiar atmosphere. Once the shopkeeper had set his now packaged up purchase down on the counter, he asked Yasui,
"So, what brings you here? Visiting over a vacation or something?"
Yasui raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Huh? Do you not recognize me?"
The goat squinted and shook his head.
"No, can't say I do. Why? Been here before? Wait, are you one of those beasts who have some cousins here or something and have visited a few times?"
"You really don't recognize me?!"
The shopper frowned.
"Wait… there is something vaguely familiar about you…."
"It's me, Yasui! Ino and Ibiki's son! From Mishiranu village!"
The old goat's eyes widened and he gasped.
"Well I'll be! It is you! I hardly recognize you! You look like a proper city boy with them clothes and fancy glasses and all!"
Yasui laughed and removed his glasses, causing his vision to become as blurry as it used to be.
"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot nobody here has seen me with glasses. Turns out I'm nearsighted! It explains a lot."
"Do your parents know you're here?"
"Not yet, I'm going to surprise them."
"They told me you were going to a boarding school in the city. Is it out for summer vacation?"
"Uhuh. What about here? Summer vacation too?"
"Nah, not for a few more weeks. But you better hurry, or else you're going to miss the bus back up the mountain."
Yasui grabbed his food and jogged towards the door.
"Alright, you're right. I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again!"
As the door closed behind him, the shopkeeper chuckled and shook his head.
"Who'd have thought that was the same awkward, gloomy boy who used to sulk around after his parents. He's barely recognizable."
Yasui quickly ate his snack as he made his way to where the bus would pick up all the kids from Mishiranu and sat down on a bench to wait. He saw a few familiar faces beginning to gather nearby and before long the small and rather weathered bus came to a stop nearby. Yasui knew that the back of the bus had all the mail for the village stowed inside, leaving just enough room for everyone to squeeze into the remaining space. Yasui stood and hurried over to the bus and joined the very end of the queue to board.
Driving the bus was a ragged old crow who simply went by the nickname Old Ink. Nobody was really sure why, but he got touchy if you called him anything else. He gave Yasui a curious look and croaked,
"Hold up there, youngin'. Where do you think you're goin'?"
Yasui grinned and took his glasses off.
"It's me, Old Ink. Yasui! I'm visiting over summer vacation!"
"Yasui! By thunder I didn't recognize ye! Look jus' like a city boy in all them fancy duds!"
Yasui laughed.
"So I've been told."
"Well c'mon! Ain't got all day! Sure your folk'll be happy ta see yus."
Yasui adjusted his bag and found an empty seat near the front. The occupants of the bus were as rowdy as they usually were, especially a collection of four boys in the back. A wolf, two dogs, and a fox. Yone and his friends. Yasui spotted Kime talking to their cousin Terra. And his youngest sisters Mina and Lily were sitting together playing a game. With a lurch, the bus started up the mountain. For the most part, Yasui was ignored. Nobody on the bus seemed to recognize him and he didn't really feel like talking to anyone but his siblings, except they were all busy with their other friends.
Yasui took out his phone and typed out a quick text to Shinrai. However, when he tried to send it, he got an error message claiming there was no signal. Yasui sighed and put his phone away, relegating himself to looking out the window. As he did, he realized how pretty the scenery was now that he could see it clearly. The forty-five minute trip passed as quickly as could be expected when one has nothing to occupy themself with. But finally, the bus stopped with a hiss and Yasui was the first to disembark. He rushed out and looked around at the sleepy mountain village that was his home.
As he had expected, absolutely nothing had changed. The buildings, the gate, the shrine in the center; everything was exactly as it had been when he left what felt like an eternity ago. As everyone else went their separate ways, most casting confused looks at Yasui, a voice came from behind him.
"Hey you! What are you doing here?"
Yasui turned and saw the wolf his brother was friends with standing with his arms crossed a few paces away. The large canid slowly walked closer.
"This ain't a tourist stop, so walk your ass back down the mountain, city boy."
Yasui rolled his eyes and removed his glasses.
"I live here. Recognize me now?"
The wolf grinned and laughed.
"No freakin' way! Hey, Yone! Your freak brother is back!"
Yasui watched as Yone looked at him. Yasui waved.
"Hi, Yone."
Yone just clenched his jaw and gestured to his friends.
"C'mon, let's go. I'm sure that he has someone else to annoy."
The three other boys laughed as they followed Yone away. Yasui frowned.
Not exactly the reception I was hoping for. What's up with him?
Yasui shook his head and began to walk to his home. As he was almost there, he froze at the house directly next door. He felt a pang of sadness as he recalled all the times he had made this same walk and waved to Old Bolboi as he sat on his porch. Seeing motion through one of the windows, Yasui approached the front door and knocked on it. There was a brief pause and then a familiar, but somewhat tremulous, voice came from inside.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. It just takes me a while to get over there."
With a creak the door opened to reveal an old female goat with gray fur and a heavily wrinkled face. She looked at him curiously.
"Can I help you, sonny?"
"Miss Mifune, it's me! Yasui! I'm back home!"
Her eyes widened.
"Yasui! Stars above, I didn't hardly recognize you in those fancy clothes and with them glasses on! And you're taller now too!"
She rushed forward and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek as she did. Yasui laughed and looked at himself as she pulled away.
"Am I? I hadn't really noticed."
"Well… a bit taller. C'mon in! I'll make us some tea."
As Yasui sat at the kitchen table, Mifune busied herself with a kettle and some teacups. She talked as she worked.
"It's been so long since you've stopped by. I haven't seen much of you since…."
She froze for a bit before carrying on.
"Well, I haven't seen much of you."
Yasui felt guilty. He hadn't really spent much time here after Bolboi had died. It just made him too sad. Yasui stood and walked over to her, helping her move the full kettle to the stovetop.
"Miss Mifune, I'm… I'm so sorry. I should have come over more often. You probably needed me to, and I didn't."
She smiled at him and patted his cheek.
"You always were a bit of a crybaby."
Yasui laughed at that as she moved to her cookie jar and got out a few small oatmeal cookies. As she set them on the table, she grinned at him.
"Well you're here now, and that's what matters. So, tell me, how's the big city been treating you? Fitting in comfortably at school?"
Yasui spent a while telling her all about what Cherryton was like, the different friends he had made, the Festival, and about how his classes were going. Mifune beamed at him and patted his hand.
"I'm so glad your doin' well. It always pained me to see how bad the other folk around here treated you."
"Ah, they weren't that bad. It's just that they didn't like me too much, I don't remember ever having any real issues here. It's just nice to have friends now."
"Well that's good to hear."
She checked her clock and clicked her tongue.
"I've taken enough of your time. Your mom's probably waiting for you. Drop by again before you leave, okay?"
Yasui nodded.
"I will. It was so nice to talk to you again, Miss Mifune."
"You too, sweetie. Take care!"
As Yasui left, he looked over at his family's house. It was the same weathered single story home he had known his whole life, and seeing it again filled him with memories from all the fun times he had had as a child. Those memories in turn reminded him of his brother, who had seemed less than happy to see him. Yasui frowned.
That was really weird. Maybe he had a bad day at school or something.
Yasui opened the door to his home and strode inside. His mother, Ino, called out,
"Kime, is that you? I thought you were going over to your Aunt's house for a bit?"
She turned around and saw Yasui. She froze, looking confused before her face grew shocked.
"No… it can't be!"
She rushed over and grabbed Yasui by the shoulders, grinning as she did.
"Yasui! You're home!"
She pulled him into a rib-breaking hug and cooed in his ear.
"Ooooh, I've missed you so much! But you're here! Wait, you're here? Why are you here!?"
She pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes.
"You didn't get expelled, did you?!"
"No, Mom. I'm just here for summer vacation. Cherryton gets out for the summer earlier than the school here does."
Just then Yasui's two youngest sisters came running in with cries of, "Yasui! You're back!" and "We missed you!" Yasui laughed and hugged his sisters.
"Mina, Lily! I missed you too!"
Mina, the older of the two pouted.
"You shouldn't have left! Yone isn't as good at playing with us as you are! He just wants us to go over to Aunt Rose's house so he can go be dumb with his friends!"
Lily stuck her tongue out.
"And his sandwiches are bad! He won't even cut them into triangles like you do!"
Mina grabbed Yasui's arm and started to drag him towards the door.
"But you're here now, Yasui! So you can play with us!"
"Yeah!" Lily cheered.
Just then Yasui's mom cleared her throat.
"Girls, your brother just got here. Give him some time to get settled in."
They both groaned in displeasure and Yasui sighed.
"I'll play with you in a second. Just let me get unpacked first."
Lily pouted.
"Well, don't take too long!"
They rushed out the door and Yasui chuckled.
"Things haven't changed at all I see."
His mother circled, sizing him up, and said,
"Around here maybe, but look at you! You're unrecognizable! With those clothes and glasses and other such fancy bits you look totally different. And I think you got taller!"
"Wait, really?!"
"Or you're just not slouching as much now."
"Oh."
"But it's also just the way you're acting. You seem more grown up than when you left."
Yasui shrugged.
"Well I did have to be more responsible at school. So that's probably it."
Lily stuck her head in the door and groaned.
"Yasui! Hurry uuuuup!"
Yasui rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm coming. I just wanted to talk with Mom for a bit."
His mother patted his hand and smiled.
"Just set your things down and go with them. I'll take care of your bag."
"Are you sure?"
"It'll be nice to cook in peace for a change, so please go entertain them."
Yasui shrugged and set his bag down before freezing.
"Actually…. Please don't open my bag. I have some surprises inside that I don't want spoiled."
His mother tilted her head a bit as she gave him a questioning look before eventually shrugging.
"Okay, it just had better not be anything that's an unpleasant surprise."
"It isn't, just trust me."
Yasui then went out to where his sisters were waiting. Immediately Mina reached up towards him.
"Yasui! Let me see your glasses! I want to try them on!"
Yasui hesitated but carefully took them off and let her hold them.
"Okay, but be careful with them. I need them."
She gasped when she looked through them.
"Wait, they're real glasses? Why do you have glasses?"
"Because I can't see very well apparently."
Lily laughed.
"That must be why you've always been so terrible at catching stuff!"
She moved closer to Mina and attempted to take the glasses. Mina jerked them away.
"No! I'm looking at them!"
"But I want to see!"
"Then wait!"
"Stop keeping them to yourself!"
Yasui interceded and took his glasses back, carefully examining them.
"Hey! Be careful! You're going to break them!"
Both Lily and Mina scowled at the other as they assigned blame to the other party. Yasui shook his head.
"Alright, what did you want to play?"
They both grinned and spoke at the same time.
"Superheroes!"
"Superheroes!"
Yasui grimaced, internally groaning.
Why did it have to be superheroes?!
Superheroes was a game Yasui's sisters had invented a long time ago after Mina borrowed a comic book from one of her school friends. It involved them each having Yasui pick them up and fly them to where the bad guy was before they then fought said bad guy, played by Yasui. It always left Yasui exhausted and a little bruised at the end as they frequently forget to not actually hit him as they "fought." They'd apologize before then hitting him again a few moments later.
By the time their mother called them in for dinner later that day, Yasui was feeling sore and his clothes were dirty. He grunted as his sisters ran towards the house, leaving him to clean up the various homemade weapons they had scattered about. He limped through the door and winced as his rib twinged with pain. He had gotten out of practice while he had been at school.
The rest of his family were already gathering around the table as he entered and began washing his hands. His father, Ibiki, nodded at him.
"Welcome back."
Yasui smiled wearily.
"It's good to be back."
His mother excitedly ushered him to his chair.
"So, what's it like in the city? I want to hear all about what you've been up to!"
Yone rolled his eyes at that and Kime frowned. Yasui excitedly cleared his throat.
"Well, for starters it's totally huge. Like, the buildings there are so tall they're like mountains. And then there's tons and tons of shops and stuff like that. I visited a shopping mall and it was three stories tall and larger than this whole village."
Lily gawked with eyes wide with disbelief.
"No way. And it was all just shops?"
"Yeah! Clothing stores, food shops, arcades, and everything you could possibly think of."
Mina jabbed a finger at Yasui's clothes as their mother began dishing out the food.
"Is that where you got your fancy clothes?"
"Yeah, my friend helped me pick them out. She's really good at fashion and clothes and stuff like that."
Yasui's mother's head turned towards him so fast he was afraid she would give herself whiplash.
"You have a girlfriend!?"
Yasui held his hands up defensively.
"No, Mom. She's just my friend. Not my girlfriend."
Yasui's father whistled.
"But still, I've never seen you talk to a girl before, let alone be friends with one. Er, no offense."
"None taken."
His mother eagerly continued.
"Do you have a lot of friends now?"
"Well, compared to before, yeah. There's my best friend Shinrai; Jack, Legoshi, and their roommates; the guys from study group; Chaussette and Yufine from my club; Miss Diana and Mr. Charles; Mr. Nabuyo my boss from work and then Mimi from work…. That's about it."
His mother cooed and gave him a happy smile.
"You have a best friend! That's so sweet!"
"Yeah, he's the one who's phone I borrowed the first time I called back home. He really likes movies and stuff like that, so we went to see a movie once. It was fun."
Yone narrowed his eyes.
"Did your new best friend tell you to get those stupid fake glasses too? Or do you just want people to think you're smart when they look at you."
Ino gave him a warning look.
"Yone, don't be rude."
Yasui laughed, not realizing the animosity in that statement.
"Nah, they're not fake. Turns out I'm nearsighted. That's probably why I was always so terrible at sports and catching things. I just can't see worth a dang!"
His mother gasped.
"You're nearsighted? How long has that been happening?"
Yasui shrugged.
"Probably my whole life."
"But how did we not notice it?"
Yasui waved her remark off as he chewed a bite of food.
"It's not like I'm blind or anything! It's just that far away things are fuzzy to me. Mph! I just remembered! I have a bunch of pictures to show you guys!"
As Yasui took out his phone Kime's expression soured.
"You have a phone?!"
Yasui looked at it and grinned.
"Yeah! Miss Diana, my club sponsor, let me borrow her old one so she can reach me with questions and stuff like that! It has a camera and plays music and texts—"
Kime looked down at her plate and grumbled.
"Lucky bastard."
Her father shot her a look but didn't say anything. Yasui took turns to show his family some pictures of the city and Cherryton, as well as several pictures from the festival. Partway through, Yasui realized he didn't have a single picture of any of his friends other than Miss Diana. He internally vowed to fix that later. Outwardly, Yasui shrugged.
"Whoops, I forgot to take a picture of my friends. I'm still not used to having a camera."
Ino frowned.
"That's too bad. I was hoping to see who your best friend was."
"Well, he's about 'this' tall with red fur and a bushy tail. He has large front teeth which is pretty normal for a squirrel—"
Yone snickered.
"Your best friend is a squirrel?!"
Yasui nodded.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
His mother interceded.
"It's just… a little unexpected. But still very nice. I'm glad you have a best friend."
This was followed by a few other questions about miscellaneous topics ranging from how the food was ("not as good as home") to which class is your favorite ("I'm not really sure, they're all pretty good.") As they cleared the table, Yasui retreated to his room and retrieved the various items he had hidden in his bag. He returned and grinned at everyone.
"I, uh, brought you all a little something."
They all turned to him as he approached his father and handed him the bag of coffee beans. Yasui tapped the bag.
"These are from a country called Columbia in South America. They're very popular at the cafe."
His father held the bag to his nose and sniffed it. He hummed deep in his throat.
"That's some good smelling coffee. Thank you, Yasui."
Yasui nodded and presented the bag holding the necklace to his mother.
"So, at the festival I went to, there were stands selling a bunch of cool things people made. I thought you'd like this."
She pulled the necklace out and gasped.
"Yasui! It's beautiful!"
"Do you like it? I thought I remembered aquamarine being your favorite."
She smiled warmly at him.
"It's amazing. I love it. Thank you so much, Yasui."
Next Yasui took the bundled up jacket and handed it to Yone. Yone did his best to hide his excitement as he unfolded the brown material to reveal the bomber jacket. Yone stared at it with wide eyes before hurriedly putting it on. Yasui had to admit, it looked good on him. Yone nodded and crossed his arms.
"Thanks…. It's really nice."
"You're welcome. And now for Kime's."
Yasui gave her the bag with the charm bracelet in it, and once it was revealed his sister gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Finally she moaned.
"H-how… hhhoooow! Ooooooooh!"
Yasui winced.
"Uh, do you not like it? I thought it sounded—"
"How did you know! Everyone at school is talking about these bracelets! They're to die for! And no store here sells them so we just have to look at them online or in magazines and, and, and!"
She squealed in delight and wrapped Yasui in a hug, the first one she had given him since she turned twelve. She pulled away and looked adoringly at the bracelet in her hands.
"It's really mine! I'm going to be the only girl with one of these in the whole school! My friends will be soooo jealous!"
Yasui beamed at her.
"Well I can't take the credit for the idea. It was my friend Juno who told me about them, and this girl Shinrai and I bumped into when we were at the mall, who helped me find it."
She kept her eyes locked to her bracelet as she tried it on, as if she was terrified that somebody might try to take it. Finally, Yasui held the two bags out to his youngest sisters. They each excitedly snatched one bag each and opened the top which had been sealed with twist-ties. As they opened the bags, the sweet scent of candy emanated from the bags and they both stared wide eyed at the largest bag of candy either of them had ever gotten. Their mother asked,
"What is it?"
Mina was the first to recover and happily squeaked,
"Candy! A whole bag of candy!"
Lily stuck her nose into the bag and took a long sniff, her eyes closed in delight.
"It smells sooooo goooood!"
Yasui laughed.
"This one was also thanks to Juno. She recommended this candy store to me near school. And the owner helped me pick what to put in the bags."
Immediately each girl picked a candy from the bag and ate it, excitedly chewing their rare treat. Ino crossed her arms and gave her daughters a stern look.
"Only two pieces tonight. You don't want to eat it all at once, you'll make yourself sick."
They both groaned in disappointment as Kime and Yone looked on as the youngest members of the family carefully considered each piece of candy before choosing their second piece. Kime asked,
"Can I try one?"
Both little girls stuck out their tongues and jealously shielded their candy from sight. Kime crossed her arms and sneered at them.
The rest of the evening was spent exactly as Yasui remembered them always being. Everyone would find somewhere to sit in the main room of the house and work on whatever they needed to do that evening. Yasui's mother was sewing some patches into torn pants, his father was checking ledgers for the farm and planning what needed doing next, and his siblings worked on homework. They all looked expectantly at Yasui as they got their various pencils and papers ready. Yasui hesitated as he wondered what to do. He should help his siblings with their homework, but honestly he felt a little worn out after today and wanted to sit down and rest. But… family came first.
Yasui helped his siblings with their homework as best he could before finally it was time for them all to turn in for the night. As per usual, they all would be waking up early the next morning. As Yasui lay in his old bed in the same room as his brother, he couldn't help but feel a bit… disappointed. He was home, but he definitely missed his friends.
Oh well, I'll see them all soon enough.
The next morning Yasui was awakened the usual way that they all woke up at home. His mother knocked on the door to their room and told them to "rise and shine" before heading to the bathroom to get ready. They each took turns in the bathroom with Mom going first, then Kime, Mina and Lily, Dad, Yone, and finally Yasui.
Yasui grunted as he blearily opened his eyes. The sun wasn't even up yet, and he had been having the most amazing dream. He and Miss Diana had been on a date before they snuggled on a couch in a library reading books of their choosing. As Yasui's eyes watered and he stretched as best he could, he realized something he hadn't thought of. He had really enjoyed sleeping in when he was at Cherryton.
With an unhappy grunt, Yasui got out of bed and shuffled towards the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. Once the morning routine had been completed for everyone, they all sat down to have eggs, mealworm sausage, and toast with jam. Yasui's father took a sip of his coffee and smacked his lips happily.
"That's good coffee. Now, Yasui. I need you to help me in the fields while you're here. There's a lot to get done before summer ends, and I need all the extra help I can get."
Yasui swallowed his food and tried to smile at his dad. A pit was forming in his stomach as he began to dread the coming weeks. It was going to be hard labor in the beating sun during the day, and then trying to help around the house at night.
Kime pulled something out from under the table.
"Does anyone know who's this is?"
Everyone looked and Yasui started.
"Oh! That's mine! I thought I put it in the bathroom though."
Yone inspected the bottle and gave his brother a look of incredulity.
"Yasui, is that freaking shampoo?!"
"Well… yeah…."
Yone immediately started cackling with laughter and his siblings all joined in. Yone wiped his eye and said,
"Oh geez dude! I always knew you were a sissy, but seriously? Shampoo?"
Kime smirked as she read the bottle.
"Is it so your fur can be 'soft' and 'voluminous'?"
Yasui felt a little abashed at that.
"Well… no… it's just… uh…."
Yasui's father looked like he had eaten something sour as he spoke.
"Kids, lay off your brother. If he feels the need to use… cosmetics… he can."
They all returned to their food but not before Yone grinned and sing-songed,
"You'll be the prettiest boy in the village! Teehee!"
Yasui grumbled under his breath and stabbed at his food. Once his siblings had all gone to school, Yasui accompanied his father to the fields and helped him as best as he could. They fertilized the crops, checked them for bugs or disease, tended to the irrigation, and then maintained the tools. By day's end Yasui was tired, sweaty, and his back was aching. He then helped his mother finish dinner and ate with his family before joining them in the main room to help his siblings with their homework. Yasui's pit of dread grew deeper. He already knew this would be a long summer vacation.
It was funny how quickly Yasui returned to his normal routine over the rest of that week, and the week after. He was also surprised by just how exhausted he was beginning to feel by the time Friday night of his second week home rolled around. Yasui sighed as he thought about the prospect of two more weeks of this. He didn't even remember falling asleep, but he then opened his eyes to find himself sitting in a lounge chair in the same private cabana from when Miss Diana had taken him to the beach. He looked down towards the water to see all his friends happily playing in the surf. There was Shinrai, Jack, Legoshi, the other 701 boys, the study group, and his club mates all having a great time. Shinrai saw him and beckoned for him to join them, but Yasui was so very tired.
"What's the matter? Too exhausted to go play?"
Yasui turned his head and saw Miss Diana sitting in the chair next to him wearing a swimsuit. Yasui groaned. His whole body felt like lead. He just wanted to sit in this nice comfy chair for the rest of his life. She have him an understanding smile and stroked his cheek with one of her manicured claws.
"Poor thing, you're running yourself ragged. Maybe I could give you a little pick-me-up?"
Yasui looked at her mischievous smile and grinned. He nodded, and she slowly leaned forward and held his face between her hands. She slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Yasui couldn't believe how good it felt to kiss her. She was so warm and her lips tasted like fresh picked cherries. He could have stayed in that kiss for the rest of his life. He wanted to. There didn't seem to be any need to stop, at least she wasn't breaking it off. Yasui smiled into the kiss as he—
"Pfffffffffffft!"
Yasui ignored the odd sound and passionately returned the leopard's affection.
"Teheehee!"
"Shhhhhh!"
"O-m-g!"
"Gyaahahahaha!"
Yasui frowned somewhat. Where was that noise coming from? And what was—
Yasui wearily opened his eyes as another explosion of muffled laughter came from around his bed. He squinted, eyes blurred from not having his glasses on, and attempted to figure out what was happening. Four shapes were gathered around his bed and were all laughing and snickering as quietly as they could. Yasui noticed his face felt very damp and looked down to notice his pillow was clutched in his arms and completely soaked in drool. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned as Yone howled,
"Have a good dream, Yasui?"
"Whaa?" Yasui croaked.
Kime was shaking in silent laughter while Mina and Lily began to sing,
"Yasui and his pillow, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then lots of kits in a baby carriage!"
Everyone left the room dying with laughter as Yasui slowly roused himself and put his glasses on. He went to the kitchen to find his mother finishing up everyone's breakfast. As the four laughing siblings sat around the table and Yasui slunk over, feeling embarrassed, she narrowed her eyes and looked at each child in turn.
"Okay, what happened."
Kime, Lily, and Mina all burst out laughing again as Yone said,
"We just… weren't aware of the way Yasui f-felt t-t-towards his pillo-ahHAHAH!"
They all cracked up and their father arched an eyebrow.
"What's this all about?"
Mina pantomimed kissing something very noisily with plenty of obnoxious smooching sounds added for good measure. Yasui's ears flattened against his skull as he looked down at his feet in embarrassment. His mother seemed more confused.
"I don't understand, so let me repeat myself. What. Happened."
Kime stopped laughing long enough to choke out,
"Yasui was kissing his pillow!"
Both parents shared a somewhat confused look and Yasui stammered out,
"I-I was asleep! So it wasn't actually me doing anything."
Yone snickered.
"What were you dreaming about, Yasui?"
Yasui blushed even further and tried to look even smaller than he was. His mother sighed.
"Can you all give it a rest so we can eat?"
The siblings knew better than to push their luck by discussing the issue further, so they wisely calmed down and gathered around the table for breakfast. Although, a sibling might occasionally make a ridiculous kissing face towards Yasui or pretend to smooch thin air when their mother's back was turned. When they were all finished and Ibiki was washing the dishes by himself in the kitchen, Ino approached him.
"Honey, we have to talk."
The male fox gave her a questioning look.
"About?"
"Yasui."
"Hm? What about?"
"About this morning! I think it's time you give him… the talk."
"I already gave him the talk."
"Not that talk, the other one."
"Wait, you mean... that talk? But you keep saying--"
"No, the other one. The one you had with Yone two years ago."
"…Oh. That talk. I never really thought I needed to give Yasui that talk."
"Well it's just… he's changed so much in the short time he's been away. You've noticed it too, right?"
Ibiki frowned and stopped washing the dishes to pay better attention to his wife.
"Not really? I mean, the glasses are new, but—"
Ino gave him a nonplussed look.
"Do guys just not notice anything? I mean, yes it's shocking he needed glasses, and that does make me feel bad that we never noticed. But I'm referring to him as a person! He seems… a little more confident, and happier. At least, he did when he first came home. It makes me wonder… do you think we should… have him stay there?"
Ibiki frowned.
"Why?"
"Well it's just… we've always known he didn't fit in very well, but now…. Maybe it would be better for—"
"Ino, we're his family. The only family he's ever known. We can't just get rid of him."
"I'm just saying that maybe… maybe your parents are right. Maybe he doesn't belong here."
Outside the kitchen, Yasui felt sick as that last sentence left his mother's mouth. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, he had just realized his father had forgotten one of the plates and was bringing it to him. He felt a little numb after hearing that. As he set the dirty plate back down on the table and wandered to his room, he felt like the floor had fallen out from under him. He had heard people say things like that before, but never his mother.
Did she really mean that? Does she think everyone would be better off if I just… left?
Yasui left the house without a word. His father had said he didn't need him around the farm today, so he finally had a little free time. All his siblings had dispersed to various activities with friends once they had eaten. Not that he cared. Maybe he wasn't remembering correctly, but they seemed to be teasing him a lot more than they used to.
Yasui wandered aimlessly towards the treeline surrounding their village. Without really thinking, he was tracing the path he and Yone had walked many times to get to the "fort" they had made when they were little. As Yasui thought about it while he walked, he realized that he hadn't actually spent time with his brother ever since Yone started school. After that Yone had mainly hung out with his school friends, and had started teasing Yasui with his friends if he tried to tag along with them.
As Yasui rounded the bend towards their old fort, he noticed that Yone and his friends were all sitting around laughing and joking. The fort wasn't actually a building of any sort, it was just a large wisteria tree that the young boys had pretended was a fort when they climbed it. The apparent leader of the group, the same wolf who had talked to Yasui after he got off the bus, noticed him and shouted,
"Hey, boys! Look who's here! It's Yas-sissy!"
The other two boys laughed while Yone looked at him with annoyance in his expression. The wolf stood and sauntered over to him, getting up in his face and smiling nastily.
"Get lost, freak?"
Yasui huffed.
"No, I was just leaving."
As Yasui turned to leave, the older boy stuck out his foot and tripped him. His glasses fell off as Yasui landed heavily on the grass. The wolf and two dogs all laughed as he fell, while Yone just looked down at him in disgust. One of the dogs sneered as Yasui got to his feet.
"Hey, Yone? How'd you end up with such a freak for a brother anyway?"
Yone pulled a face.
"He was an accident, what do you think? A no good runt who thinks he's better than everyone else."
The wolf laughed.
"If I was his parent, I would have thrown him down the mountain as soon as he got pushed out as a baby."
The other dog snickered.
"I guess your parents just didn't have the guts to do the smart thing and ditch you!"
That struck Yasui a little too hard, especially after what he had heard. He snarled at the dog,
"Don't talk about my parents!"
The dog recoiled a bit at the sudden outburst but the wolf lunged forward and pushed Yasui back to the ground. Without thinking Yasui swiped at him as he fell, clawing him across the arm. The wolf hissed and clasped a hand over the claw marks. The larger canid growled.
"Oh, maybe you forgot how things work around here while you were gone? Let me remind you."
As he went to step forward, the wolf paused and a wicked smile grew across his face. He looked back at Yone.
"Hey, Yone. You do the honors."
Yone looked a bit taken aback at that, but as the other boys all jeered and laughed and urged him on, he strode forward towards Yasui. Yasui stared at his brother in disbelief.
"Seriously, Yone? You're going to fight me because they told you too?"
Yone shook his head.
"No."
Yasui's head spun as his brother punched him in the jaw. He staggered backwards as Yone growled.
"I'm fighting you because I want to!"
Yasui hesitated but lowered into a fighting stance. He and Yone had play fought several times when they were younger, and Yone had always won. But this was serious. Yone swiped at him again, and Yasui darted backwards to avoid it. Yone bared his fangs.
"You've always been so weak and pathetic it makes me sick! You deserve your name, Yasui! But Mom and Dad always insisted on coddling you! Well guess what, they're not here to save you now!"
Yasui felt bile rise in his throat.
"You… you really feel like that? After everything we've done together? Everything I've done to help you!?"
"Help me! As if! You're nothing but a burden! And then you get rewarded by getting to go to the city and play with your friends and go to movies and restaurants! Why do you get to have that, huh!?"
"Because I worked hard in school!"
"Who gives a shit! I wish you'd just leave and never come back!"
The other boys howled with laughter as Yone managed to land another punch on Yasui's ribs followed by a few more to his face, arms, and chest. Yasui winced.
"You know what, maybe I should leave. Because at my new school, I have friends. And for the first time in so long, I don't feel like I have to justify being alive to them! And they don't think I'm worthless, like you do!"
Yone grabbed Yasui and the two struggled back and forth. As Yone began to force him into a kneeling position, Yasui growled.
"And guess what, Yone!"
Yone spat,
"What!"
"Do you know what else I learned while I've been away?!"
Yone didn't answer but his eyes narrowed. Yasui lowered his voice to a whisper.
"That you're the worst person I've met in my life, and I wish we weren't brothers."
And with that, Yasui let his arms go limp. Caught by surprise, Yone toppled forward, and Yasui kicked up as hard as he could. Sharp pain exploded across the top of Yasui's head as his skull connected to Yone's nose with a sickening *crunch* sound. Yone screamed and Yasui swung his fist as hard as he could. His knuckles connected with his brother's right eye and the larger fox stumbled backwards with his hands over his snout, blood already dripping from his nose. Immediately, Yasui scooped his glasses up and did the only physical thing he had ever been good at. Yasui ran like there was a fire behind him.
Yasui didn't turn to check if the other boys were following him, he didn't even bother to take the path. Yasui ran straight through the trees, weaving between trunks while branches whipped his face and neck, leaving stinging cuts behind. He ran and ran until he bodily slammed into the door of his house. He threw it open and collapsed inside, gasping for breath. His mother ran towards him,
"What on— YASUI! WHAT HAPPENED!"
Yasui lay panting on the floor. He could feel his heartbeat in his jaw and the other areas Yone had hit. His mother looked him over before pulling him to his feet and guiding him to the bathroom. They passed Kime who was on the family phone talking to one of her school friends. The younger female's mouth froze mid sentence and her arm fell limply to her side.
"M-Mom? W-what?"
"Kime, help me."
Yasui's sister joined her mother and helped move him to the bathroom. Yasui's legs were shaking, whether from exhaustion, pain, or shock he wasn't sure. His eyes felt wet, and he didn't think it was blood. As his mother sat him down on the edge of the bathtub and began pulling out their first aid kit, she asked in a trembling voice.
"W-who did this!?"
Yasui sniffled. His throat felt so tight. He didn't trust himself to speak.
"I-It…. I-It…. I-It…."
His mother looked up at Kime.
"Kime, go get some water."
Kime nodded soundlessly. Her eyes were wide with terror and shock. She returned with a glass of water and handed it to her mother. She, in turn, held it up to Yasui.
"Here, drink this."
Yasui took it and tried to drink it, but his hands were so shaky he ended up spilling it all over himself. He was still clutching his glasses in one hand, and he absently held them out towards Kime. Reluctantly, his sister took them. Yasui felt a stinging pain from the top of his head as his mother carefully touched it.
"Yasui, there's a huge cut on top of your head, and you're covered in bruises! What happened?!"
Yasui licked his lips and tried to speak again.
"F-f-f-f-fight."
"Who? Who fought with you!?"
"Y-y-y-y…. Yone…."
Kime shrieked and leaned against the wall as his mother's eyes grew wide and an expression of horror grew on her face.
"Yone… did… this?"
Yasui nodded slightly. She continued.
"He… he attacked you?!"
Yasui nodded.
"F-f-friends… t-told him… t-to."
Yasui heard a muffled sob from beside him and saw that Kime had begun to cry. She took a shuddering breath.
"N-no! Just… no! Why! Why would…."
Ino's expression contorted into a look of cold fury.
"Kime. Go get your father."
Kime took a few shaky breaths before unsteadily getting to her feet. She gulped, still crying and hiccuping.
"W-where?"
"The tool shed."
Kime nodded and hurried out of the room. With her gone, Yasui's mother began to dab antiseptic on his various cuts and scrapes. In a matter of minutes, Ibiki came sprinting into the house. He yelled,
"Ino! What happened! Are—"
He froze when he saw the scene in the bathroom, of a still crying Yasui being tended to by his mother. He looked hollow as he gestured weakly at his son, his voice quiet with shock.
"What happened?"
She didn't look up.
"Go get Yone."
"I don't unders—"
She looked up, tears in her eyes.
"Go. Get. Yone."
Ibiki looked confused, then he looked horrified. He shook his head.
"No… he didn't."
"Go. Get. Yone."
It was a terrifying sight. Ibiki, Yasui and Kime's father, who was always so even tempered and amiable, bared his fangs. His fur stood on end and he let out a deadly snarl.
"Yone!"
He brushed past Kime and stormed out of the house. Kime gulped.
"Mom… should I go get Mina and Lily?"
"No. I don't want them to see this."
At the same time, back in the clearing, Yone was cupping his snout with his hands as his friends came trotting back up to him. One of the dogs laughed.
"Damn, that little freak can run when he needs to. How you holding up, Yone?"
Yone snarled.
"Nop bery goog! Whu oo oo phink!"
The other dog snickered.
"Dude, how'd you lose to freaking Yasui?!"
"Shup uch!"
Yone removed his hand and a puddle of blood splashed onto his lap. He coughed as some got in his mouth. The wolf grimaced.
"Dude, I think your nose is broken!"
Yone spluttered.
"Phno schlick!"
Yone got to his feet and gasped.
"Ah neeb helb."
One of the dogs patted Yone's back.
"We can go to my place. C'mon."
As they walked, Yone growled.
"Ahm goinp to kill phat little blastard wheb I."
They all froze dead in their tracks once they left the woods. Yone looked up and came face to face with his father. At least, it looked like his father, but the expression on his face was nothing he had ever seen before. For the first time since he had thrown that first punch, cold realization washed over Yone. His knees wobbled and he squeaked,
"Oh nob."
Ibiki gazed unblinkingly into his oldest child's eyes. His voice was quiet, but carried a deadly tone with it.
"Yone."
Yone gulped.
"D-dag!"
"Did you do it?"
Yone's lip trembled and he shuffled backwards a bit.
"Aaah! Ah! I-I!"
The three other boys, usually so full of themselves, began to try to slink away with their tails firmly between their legs. Ibiki's eyes snapped to them.
"Leave! I'll be paying your parents a visit later!"
They all bolted, with cries of,
"It was just him!" And "I didn't do anything!"
Ibiki slowly approached Yone. Yone fell to his knees and began to sob.
"Dag! I'b sowwhy!"
Ibiki didn't say a word, he just grabbed Yone roughly by the shoulder and began to drag him towards the house. Yone knew better than to try to pull away. He was in enough trouble as it stood. Ibiki pulled his son into the room and forced him to sit in one of the chairs in the main room before examining his son's nose. He handed Yone a tissue and grabbed his broken nose, realigning it with a *pop* sound. Yone winced and groaned in discomfort as he held the tissue to his nose to stymie the bleeding.
Ino joined them and Kime peeked out from behind the bathroom door frame, eyes wide. Ino's expression was cold as ice as she crossed her arms.
"Well? Care to explain yourself?"
Yone kept his hand over his nose and mumbled,
"It was an accident."
Ino's eyes flared with anger.
"Don't you dare lie to me, Yone! That is not something that happens by accident! That's not you accidentally tripping someone while playing a game, or going too far while roughhousing! That's intentional!"
Yone gulped, he was too ashamed to look up at his parents.
"I… I didn't mean for it to go that far."
Ibiki rested his hands on his knees as he knelt down to force Yone to look him in the eyes.
"Why? Why did you attack your brother?"
"I just… I just…."
Yone wrung his hands and growled.
"I don't want to…."
Ibiki narrowed his eyes.
"We're pretty far from when that was an option. Talk, now."
Yone snapped his head up to look his parents in the eyes.
"I'm jealous! Okay! It's not fair! Yasui gets to have an amazing time at his fancy school with his store bought clothes and movies and stuff! And I'm stuck here where I can't even go do anything with anyone from school because we're poor! And to top it all off, Yasui has a future while I don't! I don't want to be stuck in this stupid village for my whole life!"
Both parents seemed taken aback at that, but Ibiki still frowned.
"I wish you'd have told either of us about this, but it still doesn't excuse what you did!"
Yone clasped his head in his hands.
"I know! I know! I am aware that I'm an idiot! You don't have to remind me!"
Ino sighed.
"Yone, you're not an idiot. Do you act like one? Yes, frequently. But you're not an idiot. But even still, why did you attack Yasui?"
"I already told you, I don't know."
Both Ibiki and Ino stood looking down at their oldest son. Finally Ibiki shook his head.
"What am I supposed to do with you? Alright… I'm sure you're aware that you will be punished for what you did."
Yone nodded glumly. Ibiki thought for a moment before sighing.
"Well first off, I forbid you to spend time with those three again."
Yone gasped.
"Seriously?!"
Ibiki snapped,
"They told you to beat your own brother and you did! I don't want to see you near them again!"
Yone grumbled but didn't protest. Ino squeezed her eyes shut and took a shaking breath, clearly holding back tears.
"Yone, I just… I don't think I can trust you anymore to look after your siblings. At least not for a while."
Yone started to protest but thought better of it. She sighed.
"You will come straight home from school and help your father. And Yone… just know that if something like this ever happens again… we'll have to do something drastic."
Yone nodded solemnly. After a moment, he looked up and croaked out with a hoarse voice.
"I'm… I'm really sorry."
Ino rubbed her eyes and sniffled.
"I just… I don't know how I'm supposed to feel right now! Just… go to your room. I'll bring you some ice for your eye later."
As Yone left for his room, Ino returned to Yasui in the bathroom and gave him some ice for his head. Yasui gulped and held his hand up to his mother as both she and his father checked on him. His thumb was bent awkwardly and it hurt terribly.
"I-I think I hurt my hand when I… hit him."
Ibiki glanced at it and clicked his tongue.
"You must have curled your fist around your thumb. Goes to show how you've never actually punched anyone. It's definitely dislocated. Here, grit your teeth. I'll pop it back in on three."
Yasui sucked in a breath and grimaced. His father took his hand and prepared to fix his thumb.
"Okay, one… two… *pop* three!"
Yasui gasped at the awful feeling and whimpered as his hand throbbed in agony. Ino let out a mournful groan.
"I'll go get you more ice."
Dinner that night was… awkward. Nobody spoke. Even Mina and Lily seemed to gather that something serious had happened and didn't even ask about Yasui and Yone's injuries. This cold, awkward atmosphere continued throughout the week, leaving Yasui dying to return to school where he wasn't so very lonely. However, something happened on Thursday to change all that. Over breakfast which was as muted and awkward as usual, Ino looked over at Yasui and asked,
"So I forget to check, but when do you need to catch a bus back to school?"
Yasui was about to say that classes started the Monday after next, when he realized something. She didn't know how long his summer vacation was, they hadn't even realized he was coming home until he had arrived. Yasui had an idea, an idea that he was not proud of. He struggled back and forth for a second or two before blurting out,
"Uh, S-Saturday! My classes start on… Monday."
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh? So soon?"
Yasui gulped, he had never been a very good lier.
"Y-yeah…. Our summer break is, uh, shorter than most because… of… how long our spring and winter breaks are. Yeah, like, instead of having one really really long break and a few short breaks, we have a few medium breaks. So, uh, students can travel, and such, and so on and so forth."
There was silence and Yasui began to sweat. They knew he was lying, they had to. He wasn't very convincing. His mother shrugged.
"I guess that makes sense, you can't be the only student who lives far away from school."
Yasui nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She pursed her lips and thought before continuing.
"When does your bus leave?"
Yasui jolted and hurriedly searched his pockets for his phone.
"Uh, I forget the exact time, so let me check."
He fumbled around until he pulled his phone out and looked at the picture he had taken of the bus schedule. He had remembered correctly that there was a bus leaving on Saturday, and it left at 2pm. Yasui took a deep breath.
"Y-yeah! That's right! It leaves at two! In the afternoon!"
Ino nodded.
"Well we need to get groceries in town this week, so we can go on Saturday."
Kime sat forward.
"Can I come too?"
Ino looked at her daughter.
"Oh, well, I guess so."
"Great! I can spend some time with my school friends!"
Mina and Lily bounced up and down.
"We want to come too!" They cheered in tandem.
Ino gave them a serious look.
"If you come with us, you have to stay with me. I don't trust you not to get lost in town yet, not after last time."
Mina tried to look innocent.
"Okay, buuuuut…. Can we go to the diner while we're there? Even for just a teensy little bit? One of the girls in my class is having a birthday party there and we both got invited but I didn't think we could go but now we're going to be in town so—"
Ino sighed.
"I can drop you off there and pick you up when I'm done."
Both girls squealed in delight and Yone glowered at his plate. He had a suspicion he wasn't going to be joining them on this trip, even if he asked.
That day and the next probably gave Yasui some gray fur. He was jumpy and terrified that someone would confront him about his lie, but nobody did. As Saturday arrived and Yasui boarded the bus, he looked at his send off this time in comparison to before. Only his mother had come to see him off, and even then she had to hurry off to finish her shopping before it got too late. As the bus rumbled off down the road, Yasui's heart pounded in both terror and exhilaration. He had done it! He had just successfully snuck away early! This was one of the most mischievous things he had ever done!
Now I have a full week of vacation to enjoy back at school! I can hang out with my friends and watch movies and play games and sleep in! And the best part, no field work!
This jubilation carried him all the way to the gates of Cherryton, and up to the male carnivore dorm. However, he stopped in his tracks when he saw yellow tape around the doors and construction workers bustling to and fro. He looked around and saw one worker sitting down drinking a bottle of water. Yasui approached him.
"Uh, excuse me?"
The worker, a male water buffalo, looked up at him.
"Hm? Whatcha need, kid?"
"What's going on?"
"Ah, you must have left before this went down. Well, a few days one of the pipes burst on the seventh floor, so the dorm had to be closed for repairs. Everyone still staying there had to either find somewhere else to go, or the school would put them up in a hotel for a bit."
Yasui's ears drooped.
"Oh… I guess I should go see about those hotels."
Yasui headed towards the main building, he saw that the doors were closed and the lights were off. Checking his phone, he realized that it was currently seven at night on the third Saturday of summer break. So of course there was nobody in the office. Yasui was getting nervous, he had nowhere to stay.
Oh crud, this was a bad idea!
Then he had a thought. Shinrai. Shinrai's parents might let him stay with them again. Yasui took out his phone and texted him.
Y: Hello, Shinrai. I'm back where my phone works again! By the way, can I stay with you again? The dorm is closed for repairs so I need somewhere to go.
There was a few minutes delay in which Yasui anxiously paced around the entrance to the main building. Finally he got a response.
S: yo yasui whats good
S: sorry dude but were all out of town atm
S: went to visit my grandparents by the coast for the last week of summer break
S: i can see if maybe tobi can put you up for a bit
Yasui grimaced. He didn't exactly know Shinrai's brother very well. He was debating what to say when another thought came to him. Who had a house so massive and with so many guest rooms that Yasui's whole family could easily stay there? Yasui typed madly on his phone and finally found the number he was looking for. It rang a few times before a sophisticated female voice came from the other end of the call.
"Yasui! How good to hear from you again! I'm surprised you have any signal up in the mountains."
Yasui gulped.
"I, uh, I'm not in the mountains anymore. I just got back to town a few minutes ago."
There was a brief pause before Miss Diana hummed.
"I could have sworn Cherryton's summer break was four weeks long."
"I, uh, got back early. But listen, uh, the thing is… well… I have nowhere to stay so can I stay with you?!"
There was a moment of silence. Yasui then added.
"I mean, if you don't want me to I understand it's just—"
"No no, it's not that. I'm just a bit confused is all. Why do you want to stay with me instead of your dorm? And would the school even allow that?"
Yasui sighed.
"My dorm is closed for construction work, and there's nobody in the school office to ask about alternative arrangements. I just don't really know who else to ask."
"Oh you poor thing! Of course you can stay with me! Heaven knows I have enough room for you. Do you want Charles to pick you up or—"
"No, I can make my way over by train. Thanks, Miss Diana. I really appreciate it."
"Please, just call me Diana. And don't worry about it, it'll be fun to have some company for a while!"
It was a new experience to travel through the center of the city at night. Where Yasui was from, everything tended to shut down once the sun set. However, the city was alight with neon and crowds of people bustled about the various restaurants and bars as they got off from work and spent time with friends and coworkers. It was all very new to Yasui. Soon he managed to find his way to Miss Diana's front step and rang the doorbell. As was typical, Mr. Charles answered the door. However, unusually for the stern gorilla, he was wearing a white t-shirt and camo print pants. He nodded at Yasui.
"Good evening."
Yasui looked him up and down and then returned his greeting.
"Hi, Mr. Charles. Uh…."
"It's the clothes, isn't it?"
"I'm just so used to seeing you in a suit it's a little weird."
"Hmm… Miss Diana wants me to dress down a bit after dinner. She said it might help me be a bit more relaxed around her and less formal. However I feel that it's my duty to be formal. Who ever has heard of a casual bodyguard?"
Yasui frowned.
"Wait, I thought you were her driver? And, like, butler?"
"Ah… I forgot I never expressly stated my role to you. I do a bit of everything, more or less."
Yasui followed the hulking ape into the foyer and looked around, still clutching his bag as it rested across his shoulder. Charles led him to a room where he instructed him to put his bag down. Yasui looked around and took in his new quarters. The bed in this room was larger than his family's kitchen table, and there was a fine armoire and wardrobe made of polished wood. A desk was situated against one of the walls and it had a number of fancy nicknacks decorating the top of it. A door on the right hand wall led to a spacious bathroom with a sink and vanity, a large tub, and a shower. Yasui chuckled a bit.
"Wow, this is pretty much the opposite of my room back home."
"Hmm, well this room is also much more costly than yours. It's to be expected."
Yasui frowned.
"Yeah… probably true. Well, definitely true actually."
Charles remained silent at that. Yasui had always thought of Charles as being a quiet individual, but now he was suspecting he just didn't know how to talk to young people. He seemed very conversational with Miss Diana and other adults he had seen him chatting with, but clammed up around Yasui and his club mates. Yasui followed Charles down the stairs and they headed towards the massive common room he had seen when he had been given the grand tour. It was next to the kitchen, and housed a tv so massive it was more like an electric wall than anything else. Sitting on one of the various comfy looking couches in the room was Miss Diana, however, upon seeing her Yasui couldn't help but grin. He had seen her in fashionable dresses and more plain casual attire, but never in anything like this.
"Yasui! I trust Charles helped you get settled."
As she stood, her outfit could be seen in all its glory. She was wearing a lime green pajama shirt that read "That's How I Roll" with a cartoonish donut person doing a cartwheel. Her pants were the same lime green color and had pictures of donuts and coffee cups all over them. Yasui couldn't seem to wipe the grin off his face, and Miss Diana placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.
"What? What's with that look?"
"It's just…" Yasui snickered. "I've never seen you in… something like that before!"
She twisted to show her clothes off a bit and smirked.
"I actually got this the other week when I took you clothes shopping. I saw it in my closet and figured I might as well wear it at least once. And then I figured out just how comfortable it is!"
Yasui laughed.
"Well if anyone can make that look stylish it's you."
Diana rolled her eyes and waved his comment off.
"Yes yes, keep flattering me. It is why I keep you around. And you can go change into something more comfortable if you want, no need to wear clothes like you're planning on leaving tonight. Besides, we can scratch one off my list tonight."
Yasui tilted his head.
"Oh? What's the thing?"
"Go get changed and I'll show you!"
If he was being honest, Yasui was relieved to change clothes. He had been riding in a bus all day in his current clothes, so they were a little… humid. Fortunately his mother had washed his dirty clothes for him before he left, so he changed into his pajamas of choice, a simple pair of cotton shorts and a thin cotton shirt. As he thought about his mother doing his laundry for him, Yasui felt a brief pang of guilt about his lie, but he busied himself with changing to push it out of his mind. Upon rejoining Miss Diana in the common room, he saw that she had a worn notebook decorated with stickers in her hands. As he sat down next to her, she giggled lightly.
"Try not to judge the appearance of this book too harshly, I was four when I started it."
"Oh! So what made you start this list of yours?"
She sighed and leaned back against the couch.
"Well… my parents were very… strict. So whenever I was told I couldn't do something that I really wanted to, I'd write it down here so I could do it later. I just kept adding to it over the years and never actually got around to doing any of it."
She opened the front cover and revealed the first page. In glittery pink crayon was scrawled.
"Daere bok. Wen i gro up i want tu hav a (here several attempts at the word were crossed out) picnep in da parc wit mi bleset fend. Weee hav (more crossed out words) samitchs an joos an a hole kak."
Below was a crude drawing of two stick figures sitting under a tree with a picnic basket. Yasui chuckled.
"Aww, cute! I bet you were a cute kid."
"Oh, I was adorable. But anyway, here's the one I really wanted to show you."
She flipped forward a bit until the crayon was replaced by pencil and the spelling was much better. This one had a heading at the top of the page reading "age: 11" in neat handwriting. Yasui read over the entry.
"One of the girls in my class is having a sleepover for her birthday. Mom and Dad say I can't have one because they don't want noisy, dirty children running around their home making messes and taking things. When I grow up, I want to have the best sleepover ever. We'll eat ice cream sundaes and watch a movie and tell stories. I'm sure I'll have lots of friends to invite when I'm an adult."
Yasui grinned.
"I think that having a sleepover sounds manageable. But do you have ice cream for the sundaes?"
Charles stepped into the room with a stern look.
"Young sir, what sort of establishment do you think I am running? We have hella ice cream as you kids would say, and every topping imaginable."
Yasui laughed.
"Well then, let's give Miss Diana the best sleepover ever!"
It took a while to decide what types of ice cream and which toppings they each wanted. Miss Diana chose mainly chocolate flavored ice creams with chocolate toppings; Charles went with vanilla with fruit on it; and Yasui made an abomination of peanut butter ice cream with marshmallow topping, wafers, cookies, and whipped cream. As he joined Miss Diana on one couch with his creation she shook her head and gave him a skeptical look.
"You'll make yourself sick."
"Yeah, but it'll be worth it."
Miss Diana looked up at the tv and asked,
"So, my younger self specifically requested a movie. What should we watch?"
Yasui shook his head.
"Don't ask me, I've seen like two movies in my life. And the second one I was violently ill during."
Diana shrugged.
"I don't care. Charles, you pick. And no documentaries."
Charles looked over the expansive collection of films he had and finally stood with one in his hands.
"Now this is perfect for a sleepover. I could have seen myself and my teenage friends watching this."
Diana settled back into her half of the couch and rested her bowl of ice cream in her lap.
"Well get it started then. And hopefully it's not too boring."
The movie started out with a shot of a long spaceship flying towards a planet with a ring around it. A meteor flew near it leaving a trail of shiny dust behind it. The title showed up on the screen, "Jet Black." As it progressed, the ship crashed onto the planet and all the surviving passengers, all of which were herbivores except one tiger who was a convict being transported to prison, began to search for water, food, and a way off the desert planet they were stuck on.
Yasui was enjoying it, that is until one of the survivors crawled into a cave they found while digging and then it cut to him screaming while you saw his legs kicking. Yasui's eyes went wide and he slowly turned to look at Miss Diana. For her part, she looked mildly disturbed as she turned her head to meet his eyes. From there it only got worse.
Yasui audibly let out a little squeak of terror when one of the characters went in after the missing guy and some mysterious creature scurried across the background. He yelped when they found the missing person's bloody leg on the floor before the female survivor frantically crawled up and out of the cave. Over the course of the movie, they discovered that the bloodthirsty monsters underground were scared of light, so they were safe while it was daylight. Unfortunately they discovered an eclipse was about to happen and began frantically trying to escape the planet, but it was no use.
As the eclipse started, Yasui felt his heart hammering against his ribs. He gulped and slowly edged closer to Miss Diana. For her part, she hadn't really been verbal during the film, but she had a somewhat strained expression on her face as the character's saw the large planet move through the sky to blot out the sun. Yasui's attempts to hide his terror were completely forgotten once another survivor was physically ripped in half by a swarm of the smaller creatures. With a whine he scooted the rest of the way over and clung onto Miss Diana's arm. She jolted and glanced down at him, slight panic on her face. They made eye contact and she returned her attention to the screen, but not before wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
As more and more beasts met gristly and gory ends, Yasui and Diana clung more and more tightly to each other. By the time the tiger and the last two survivors flew away in the escape craft, Yasui was cowering in Miss Diana's arms. The credits rolled and Charles stretched.
"Ah, I love a good survival movie. And the special effects are top notch in this one. What did you… two… uh…."
He fell silent as he saw the fox and leopard clutching each other with wide eyes. Diana gulped.
"I-it was… great. Very good."
Yasui nodded.
"Yup."
Charles winced.
"Was it too scary for you?"
Diana laughed a little too energetically.
"Scary!? N-not at all! Right, Yasui?!"
Yasui nodded.
"Yup."
Charles gave them a haughty look.
"Right. Well, I think it's time for me to turn in. Want me to leave you two down here or—"
Both Diana and Yasui jumped to their feet. Miss Diana stammered,
"W-what?! N-no! We… It is pretty late. Let's all go upstairs together! We can have an early night and then have a nice breakfast tomorrow! Right, Yasui!?"
Yasui nodded.
"Yup."
They both followed Charles upstairs and slowly went through the process of brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. Yasui was sitting on the floor with his knees under his chin while Miss Diana took off her makeup when Charles called out from down the hall.
"Goodnight, Miss Diana. Yasui. See you in the morning."
Miss Diana grimaced.
"Yes! Goodnight! See you! Haha…."
With both of them done, they shuffled into the hallway where they would go their separate ways to their respective rooms. Yasui looked down the dark hallway in horror towards where his room was. Diana followed his gaze and forced a smile.
"O-oh! Uh… m-maybe you could accompany me to my room? T-to tell stories! Like from my list!"
Yasui energetically nodded.
"Yup!"
He hurried after her towards the beacon of light that was the ajar door to her bedroom. As they closed the door behind them, Miss Diana went and sat on the edge of the bed. She gave him another frantic smile.
"S-so… did you like the movie?"
"Yup!"
She nodded.
"G-good! Uh… so… stories…."
She pulled back the covers and got into her bed, with Yasui still standing by the lightswitch. She gulped.
"I-I guess we can talk for a bit. Before we each go to our own rooms… alone… in the dark…."
Yasui squeaked.
"Yup…."
There was a heavy silence before Miss Diana folded back the covers and gasped,
"For heaven's sake just get over here!"
Yasui flipped the lightswitch and practically dove onto the bed. They clutched onto each other as they glanced around the dark room. Diana chuckled nervously.
"I-it was just a movie. N-nothing to be afraid of!"
Yasui whimpered and cowered against her side.
"Yup!"