Tuesday, August 11th, 2009, 9:54 am
Yuki Household

Tired. So tired. Eyes heavy. Neck stiff. So thirsty. So...eepy...

Kotone threw the bedsheets over her head and curled into a ball, whining and mumbling to herself as she tried to force herself back to sleep.

Don't wanna get up. Don't wanna.

In the deepest recesses of her soul, she could hear Elea laughing at her pitiful state. Every reverberating echo felt like a shower of knives, with every blade that rained down cutting into her psyche and destroying her on a fundamental level.

"Don't waaaaaaaaaaaaaana." She whined into her pillow.

Eventually, after many minutes spent tossing and turning, Kotone got up. She yawned, she stretched, and she immediately crash back into her bed, trying one last time to return to the realm of dreams.

But like many things in life, it was not to be. She had no choice but to confront reality before her. This was not her bed. This was not the place she grew up in, nor was it the dorm she had called home for most of the last year. She was in a room of the Yuki household.

Specifically, she was in a room of the Yuki house, sleeping in one of their beds.

More specifically, she was in a room of the Yuki household, sleeping in one of their beds, because three days ago, Makoto had abruptly asked her to come with him on vacation. Back to his home town.

To meet his family.

To introduce her to his parental guardians.

Kotone chuckled, face warmer than the rest of her body under the sheets. I still can't believe he asked me. I still can't believe I said yes. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack right then and there.

She yawned one more time, so loud she could feel her whole body shake.

Alright, time to woman up and get out of bed already.

She looked around, brain taking a few seconds to, in sequence, look for the sink, realize that this room didn't have the same layout as in the dorm, realize that there was no sink, and realize she needed to wipe the crust out of her eyes.

Posters decorated the room, mostly underground band she didn't recognize. The desk had a neatly assembled collection of CDs, mostly J-Pop acts. The bookshelves reached almost to the ceiling and were lined with manga and school books, the latter faintly reminding her that summer homework had to be finished one day. As that unpleasant thought drifted out of her head, she looked back at the bed she had slept in. The covers and sheets of her bed were a moody blue.

Her face suddenly felt hot. Very hot. Burning hot.

"I-I need fresh air." She croaked out as she forced open the window. "Fresh air stat." Even as the cool air hit her sweaty brow, and flowed through her hair, letting her inhale and exhale a bit easier, Kotone wondered if she would be able to survive the next two weeks.

Sitting at the dinner table, wearing nothing but cargo shorts and a lilac-colored shirt, looking half-awake and half-dead, was one Makoto Yuki. "Morn'." He halfheartedly waved to her, one eye shut and the other eye twitching as he sipped away from a floral cup filled with a dark brown liquid.

"Morning." She squeaked out as she sat down across from him. The same two seats they had sat in the night before.

They sat together, the chirping of the birds outside their only auditory accompaniment. The lack of any other human sounds in the house made her wonder if everyone else in the house had left. If...they were alone here.

"Hungry?"

"I'm fine." Kotone replied instantly. "D'ya have a good night sleep?" She asked, trying to distract herself with some conversation.

Makoto shrugged. "It was fine. I was passed out like a log by the time Aoi went to bed and by the time he left."

"So you stayed in his room?" Makoto nodded. "You didn't have to let me take your room, you know." Kotone mumbled, face still red hot. "I wouldn't have minded sleeping somewhere else."

Makoto shrugged again. "We got the four bedrooms, and I wouldn't feel right making you taking a futon when I had a bed available for you." He took another sip. "Besides, I don't mind slumming it with Aoi. His room is actually livable, unlike Kotaro's. I can actually sleep in there without worrying about catching some rare, undiscovered disease."

"I mean," she leaned back in her chair, trying to look casual, "I don't mind taking a futon. Either in the living room or in your room while you take the bed, you know?"

Makoto squinted at her. "Huh? What? No, you're a guest, why would I do that?"

Kotone sighed and shook her head. "Never mind, pass me the coffee, I need a sip."

"This is hot chocolate."

She slapped the table. "Then I need two sips ASAP!"

As Yae returned home, she heard the TV blaring with a familiar jingle, and saw both Makoto and Kotone sitting on the couch, dressed to go somewhere.

"Booyah!" Kotone yelled, pumping her fists in the air and dropping her controller. "A winner is me!"

Makoto sunk into the couch."Maaaaaan, I totally had that one." He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Hey Aunt Yae. How was work?"

"Fine." Yae put her hand on her hip. "It's a beautiful day out, don't tell me you spent the first full day back home cooped in here playing video games."

"In my defense, we're going to go see some movies later." Makoto said. "Also there's a lot more games here than in the dorm."

"And I'm kickin' his butt in most of them." Kotone bragged.

Makoto glared at her. "You're barely over half."

"Half is most~."

Makoto shook his head and turned back to his aunt. "Anyways, we meant to play just a few rounds of Mister Munchem Championship Edition and time got away from us."

Yae chuckled. "Well, if Makoto isn't up to the challenge, how about giving mama a chance? I need something to unwind after a day at the office."

Kotone raised an eyebrow. "I mean...if you want."

Approximately five minutes later, Kotone was curled up into a ball, crying as Yae flashed her a peace sign. "Mama still has it!"

"How could I lose three times in a row?" Kotone bawled. "My gamer cred...gone. My future...ruined. My hopes and dreams...eaten alive."

Makoto rolled his eyes but couldn't keep a smirk off of his face. "You know, Aunt Yae was the one who bought us this game in the first place. I'm pretty sure she's put more hours into this series than the rest of this household combined."

"Eh!?" Kotone turned around, face contorted in shock. "Auntie is a gamer!?"

"Auntie is a gamer." Yae said with a smug grin.

She turned to Makoto "When did that happen!?"

He turned to Yae. "Mister Munchem came out in like 1980, right? Would that be it?"

Yae put a finger on her chin and looked up. "Let's see...it might have in Japan but I remember first playing it in the arcade when I was twelve so...1982 for me. Maybe. The eighties were a long time ago."

"I lost before I even started." Kotone mumbled, still in shock.

"That you did." Makoto said drolly. "I'm going to go get a drink, does anyone want anything?"

Kotone raised her hand. "Another hot chocolate please!"

"Could you make me a coffee Makoto-chan? Pretty please?" Yae asked in a cloyingly sweet manner. "You know how I like it."

Makoto narrowed his eyes. "You just want me out of the room longer so you two can have more time to gossip behind my back." He accused.

"That too, yes." She said with an innocent smile. Makoto just sighed and nodded.

"Sooooo..." Yae clapped her hands together, eyes glittering in excitement. "Tell me a little bit more about yourself Kotone-chan."

Kotone smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt. "Um, like what?" She asked with a pensive smile.

"Like where are you from? Have you lived in Iwatodai for long?"

Kotone shook her head. "Nah, I got...transferred there late last year. My family's originally from Natori City."

"Natori..." Yae mulled it over for a few seconds. "I don't think I've ever heard of that place."

"It's just south of Sendai. Like right next to it."

"Ooooh, I've always wanted to go to Sendai." She clapped her hands together and placed them against her cheek. "I remember Sendai was actually on my list of cities to visit when I first visited Japan. I just barely missed traveling there the first time around, and never had the chance to go."

Kotone nodded before she perked up. "Oh! That's right! Makoto said you were from America right?" Yae nodded and Kotone raised her hand. "Don't tell me, I remember this one! He said you were from Ne-" she paused, "Ne, Ne, Ne-bu, Ne-bu," Yae nodded, encouraging her to go on, "Nebuchadnezzar?"

Yae gave her a wry smile, and did her best not to laught. "Close dear, but not quite. I was born in Nebraska."

"Ne-bu-ra-su-ka. Got it." Kotone paused. "I would have never guessed you were a Nikkeijin. When did you move here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I moved here for good in 1993, as an undergraduate studying in Tokyo." She smiled. "That wasn't too long before I met my honey-bunny. Ah, I remember him sweeping me off my feet like it was yesterday. He made me feel like such a princess."

Kotone grinned. "I smell a romance for the ages, give me the details."

"Just be sure to keep it PG Aunt Yae." Makoto said as he returned with their drinks.

"Oh hush Makoto." Yae said as she took her coffee. "Thank you dear."

Kotone sipped on hers. "Yummy. I hope you don't mind us raiding your pantry."

"Not at all." Yae said. "I'd rather everything in this house be used than to go to waste."

"By the way," Makoto whipped out his phone, "if we're going to catch the marathon we'll have to leave in soon-ish." He flipped it around and showed her the time.

Kotone blew on her drink and chugged it. "Let's hurry up, I don't wanna miss it."

Yae looked at the two of them. "If you kids don't mind me prying, what movies are you going to go see?"

"We're going to see the first three Vampire Frankenstein vs. Devil Robot flicks." Kotone said, red eyes burning with excitement. "There's a new one coming out later this year, and I wanna show Makoto all of them."

"That sounds...rather scary."

"Heck yeah!"

Yae shuddered. "Mama's no good with horror movies, I can't even watch them alone."

"Or with us." Makoto turned to Kotone. "We watched a slasher flick when I was like thirteen, and she was almost as scared as Kotaro."

"M-Makoto-chan! Not in front of the guests." She said bashfully.

He shrugged. "This is revenge for gossiping about me."

Kotone shook her head. "Makoto you silly fool, we didn't even have a chance to gossip about you. You've embarrassed your poor aunt for something she didn't do yet."

He shrugged. "Preemptive revenge then."

"You know," Kotone rested her chin on her palms, "I'm starting to realize you're not the nicest nephew."

"I'm the nicest nephew she has."

Yae snorted. "The only nephew, dear."

"And by the process of elimination the nicest." Makoto argued.

"And by the process of elimination the least nice." Kotone countered.

For a brief moment, the two stared each other down, neither blinking or giving an inch.

"Movie time!" Kotone announced.

"Yep." Makoto got up with a grunt. "We'll be home before midnight Aunt Yae."

"Have fun kids, get yourself something to eat other than concessionary food."

"We will."

"Byeeeeee!"