Mangoes and Oranges

New life in Ohara

Mizu Akiyama rolled over in bed, her arms moving about as the sunlight peeped through her dark curtains. She slowly opened her eyes feeling her beagle up against her back. The dog snored soundly as she began to push the creature off of her spine. The extra weight added to a good deal of pressure in the wrong places. Mizu rubbed her eyes, her mind thinking about the dream she had had during the night.

I was on a trip with my family and we were riding in a car. I don't remember where we were going, but there was a guy sitting next to me in the car. At first, I was shy towards him and tried to ignore him, but he smiled at me. I kept watching him thinking how unusual he was, yet he was kind to me, despite his appearance. He wore a white shirt. Simple enough, but I could see the half sleeve of tattoos on his right arm. At one point, his shirt was off and I could see the other tattoos on his chest, right abdomen and left arm. He was so handsome.

The dream was so vivid. I felt his hand touch my head in the car. He pushed me towards him when I was scared at my mother driving the wrong way down a country road. We almost hit a tree. She yelled at me for being silly. He comforted me.

At another point, we stopped to check in at a motel or something. There was a small theme park near the road we were taking. The guy in my dream got out of the car and sat across from me at a table. He shared his food with me. When my parents got up to leave, I leaned into him and kissed his cheek delicately. Surprisingly, he kissed me back with a tender kiss that I cannot forget.

The rest of the dream is hazy. I remember we were all in one room trying to sleep in separate beds. I found myself trying to get closer to him, but he wasn't there. In his place, was a large dog and a child who were watching me strangely. I had lost him. I looked around the room, but he was not there. Where had he gone? Why do my dreams always end up incomplete?

Mizu got out of the bed ruffling her long dark hair between her hands. She figured she was going to have to take a shower now. Her hair felt dry and dead. As she preceded to the shower, her beagle jumped off the bed to run through the house in a sprint. Mizu let the hot water flow over her body as she pressed her forehead against the wall. She couldn't get the dream out of her head. Who exactly was the guy in her dream? It had seemed so real.

She stepped out of the shower with a striped towel around her wet body. Mizu heard her mother calling for her to let the dog out. She walked down the hallway with her wet feet padding on the floor. Her stepfather was already sitting at the low table reading a paper as he smoked a cigar. Mizu shook her head. It was too early for tobacco smells drifting through the Japanese house. She whistled for her dog, Agaru, and pointed outside. The dog went willingly outside to chase a squirrel up one of the trees. The animal barked several times as she wagged her tail.

"Mizu, you need to get dressed and eat your breakfast. Your train leaves in a little over an hour. We still have to take you to the station," Mother said from the kitchen. She wiped her hands on a towel before she started to clean up the cooking utensils.

Mizu nodded her head. Her mind was occupied briefly on the night before. She went back to her room to get dressed. Mizu looked at herself in the mirror as she stood wearing jeans, her striped fuzzy socks, and a green shirt with long white sleeves. Mizu had finished with high school and graduated several months ago. She had been taking the time to find freedom from her busy every day schedule before starting college. Now she was moving to another town in order to work. It had been difficult to convince her overbearing parents to let her go. She had to find herself.

She took one last look at her room before she grabbed her suitcase. Mizu was off to another part of Japan to experience life as she had never known it. She wondered if she would make any friends for the first time in her life. Mizu headed out of the door for the waiting car outside. Only time would tell.

Mizu watched the trees move past the train as she leaned her head against the window. She had been reading a book to pass the time, but her eyes had grown tired from the text. Her eyes felt heavy as the train moved along the track. Soon she fell asleep.

Mizu seemed to be sitting above the water, her body moving along the surface. She reached her hand over to trail her fingers in it. The water around her moved as she kept going forward. She lifted her head up to see the dark sky overhead with stars showing. However, down below, it was day. Mizu didn't know where she was going. Soon her body was moving over grass as if the water was a hallucination.

Before she knew it, her dream shifted to where she was searching the island she was on. Her hands moved tall grasses out of the way. Who was she searching for? Mizu's feet led her to stone steps leading up a mountain she hadn't noticed. As she walked up the steps, lights started to appear on the sides.

The area around her became dark as night pressed down. Crickets chirped amongst the bushes forgotten by time. Her eyes scanned ahead to see someone waiting for her. She stopped a few steps below. The clothes were the same. She knew this person. Mizu wasn't afraid, but rather unsure. The man held his hand out to her. She cautiously took it. Mizu's eyes befell upon the smile from the man with the strange tattoos.

"Next stop, Ohara station," the conductor yelled throughout the box car. "Everyone, next stop Ohara," he repeated before he moved on his way. The young man passed Mizu who was waking up from her dream.

Next stop Ohara ? That's my stop. She rubbed her eyes trying to wake herself up. Mizu turned her head to look out the window. Twilight was occurring outside.

The train rolled into the station with a which and hiss from the brakes on its wheels. Mizu Akiyama stepped off the step with her bit of luggage. She moved away from the entrance to allow others to depart. The station appeared old, but it had a bit of charm to it. She looked around at the cobwebs hanging from lights that dangled. A moth fluttered its wings around the light bulb mistaking it for the sun. She soon heard the train conductor calling for other people who were departing to get on the train. Mizu walked over to sit on a wooden bench with her luggage in her lap.

As the train rolled away into the night, she sat alone wondering when her ride was coming to get her. I forgot to wear my watch. Darn it. Mizu pulled her sleeve back down. She noticed a man crouched over banging his hand against an old newspaper machine. Was he waiting here for someone too? "Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?"

Mizu saw the man bang the machine again. Had she not spoken loud enough for him to hear? Mizu shouted, "Do you happen to know what time it is?"

Hinata Hisakawa tensed his shoulders as the woman sitting on the bench shouted at him. He had been trying to ignore her. It wasn't his custom to be familiar with train passengers. "Lady, I don't wear a watch," he said turning his head to look at her. Hinata froze. The woman was young. She appeared to be dressed rather comfortable for someone traveling. He noticed the look on her face was that of shock and shyness. She was checking him out.

He saw her eyes move up from his rough worn pants to his tattered shirt. Hinata turned his head away when her eyes stopped at his arms. He was wearing extra long sleeves under a t-shirt. His fingers poked out halfway. Hinata figured that was odd to her, especially since it was winter. He wasn't wearing a coat, or the proper clothes for the season. "There's a clock to your right," he said as he stood.

Mizu glanced at the clock, but went straight back to looking at the man. He was handsome, but there was something quirky about him that she couldn't place. That was, until she heard someone yelling.

"Hinata, have you finished breaking into the paper machine yet? I want my paper," a small old man said as he rounded the corner. "How long does it take to break that contraption? Move aside, I'll do it myself," he said swinging his cane over his head as if he was about to stop an attacker.

Hinata waved his hands embarrassingly as the girl on the bench watched them. "No, Ryota, the manager will come out and call the police like last time!" He pulled the old man back as he waved his cane over his head. "We'll just have to try another machine!"

"This machine stole my money! It should be beat to death and torn to pieces like the foul creature it is," Ryota shouted. He struggled against Hinata's grip.

The manager of the train station stood with her hands on her hips eying the pair before her. The noise had caused her to come out of her office. It was too late at night for her to be dealing with this sort of thing. "I have told the both of you time and time again that if you came back to my paper machine, I'd have you both in jail!"

Ryota's eyes widened. He scurried around Hinata making a run for it. "Time to go, Hinata!" He leapt off the platform, his tattered cape flying into the air. "Every man for himself, that's what I say!" Ryota ran off into the distance away from the train station.

Hinata growled under his breath. "Ryota, you cheat!" He glanced at the woman on the bench who was still watching them. Hinata panicked. He took off running after Ryota, as if he knew exactly where the old man was going.

Mizu covered her mouth as the manager went back into the office. She continued to wait for her ride to the apartment building. However, Mizu sat for hours without a word from anyone. Soon, she got up. Mizu walked over to the train station manager. "Excuse me, do you happen to know where Tokodeki Apartments is?"

"Tokodeki Apartments?" The manager took out her map of Ohara. She scanned it with her finger checking the listings of buildings around the area. "It's about five kilometers from here."

"Thank you," Mizu said getting a copy of the map from the manager. She had no choice but to walk the road. Her ride had forgotten about her.

Yuuma Fukai drove down the dark road by himself, his eyes scanning for deer. Up ahead he saw a young woman carrying a suitcase walking along the highway. He slowed down the car. The woman seemed surprise to see a car coming up the road at this time of night. He rolled down the window. "Are you lost? The mountain roads are slippery. It's dangerous for you to be walking alone."

Mizu looked up the road and down. She looked back at the young man in the car. He appeared pale to her. "My ride never came for me at the train station."

"Oh, so are you visiting someone? I can take you wherever you need to go. Please," Yuuma said opening the door beside him. "It's a lot warmer in the car. I won't bite you."

Mizu nodded slowly. It was either she freeze walking, or take upon the stranger's kindness. She got into the car and closed the door with a soft click. "Thank you. I haven't seen too many people in this town."

"Well, tourist season is in the summer and fall. You're here in the winter. Most of the families stay indoors. You're also coming from the train station. Not too many travelers this time of year," Yuuma said as he started to move the car forward. "Where can I take you?"

"Tokodeki Apartments. I have a map," Mizu offered the driver, but he only shook his head.

"I know where it is," Yuuma said with a smile. "I have a friend who lives there as well. Oh, I'm sorry. I probably sound like a rude stranger. I'm Yuuma Fukai. I'm originally from Hokkaido, but I moved up here several years ago to take in the fresh air."

Fresh air? Mizu found herself asking a question before she could stop herself, "Are you ill?" Mizu blushed and shook her head looking away. "I'm sorry! That was rude of me."

"It's not a problem," Yuuma said moving his head so his white hair was out of his line of sight. "It's better to be open with people than to live in false presences. I have Leukemia," he stated as if the mere mention of it to him was nothing.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Have you had it long?" Mizu covered her mouth again. "I'm really sorry! I come from a family where studying and questions are part of my life. So I went ahead and asked without thinking of the consequences! I terribly sorry!"

Yuuma laughed lightly at the woman. "You don't have to be sorry. Studying is a good hobby to have. It's how you learn. Too bad Hinata doesn't have that approach."

Mizu looked at him oddly as the car started to slow down. She put her hand on the handle of the door. It was starting to sprinkle. "Thank you so much for the ride. I appreciate it," she said as she opened the door. Mizu retrieved her luggage. She stood waving to the driver as he drove off into the night. She wondered if she'd ever see him again.

Chiyoko Honda bowed low to the ground before the young woman who had entered the apartment building. "I am so sorry to have forgotten when your train would arrive. I have been ill all day with a cold. I must have fallen asleep," she said bowing low to the ground again.

Mizu stood quite taken aback by the old woman's gestures. She set her suitcase on the floor before taking her shoes off. "It's alright. Someone gave me a ride. It's not a big deal," she said with a soft smile.

Chiyoko awed at the girl's kind, tender face. If it had been any of her other tenants, she would have had a war at the front entrance. She took the girl's cold hand and rubbed her small hands against it. "My, your hands are freezing! Come into the sitting area. We have a nice fireplace in there. In fact, some of our tenants are taking refuge in there from the coldness in their rooms," she said leading onto the fact that some of the tenants couldn't afford to increase their electric bill.

Mizu walked down the hall to a large room at the end of the hall. Chiyoko slid the shoji screen aside to reveal a wide open space. It was absolutely beautiful. The area was littered with three small tables for setting drinks and food upon. The pillows in the room were large for someone to sit on, or lean against. There was also a stack of blankets near the side of the wall. The fireplace was in the middle of the room crackling with a few people around it. Outside, she could see the snow starting to mix with the rain behind the large glass windows. It was breath taking.

Chiyoko clapped her hands to get the attention of the few in the room. "Everyone, we have a new tenant staying here with us. This is Mizu Akiyama. She's starting her job at the antique shop not far from here. Let's all get along and be hospitable." She moved over to check the pantry in the room for mugs and supplies of hot cocoa.

Mizu bowed low to the few who were looking at her. "Pl-Pleased to meet all of you," she said embarrassed at the formalities. She stood back up seeing a boy spring up to run over to the landlady.

"Chiyoko grandma, Hinata went out to get more firewood. He's been gone a long time," Daichi said as he tugged her skirt. He went to the window searching out for any signs of the man.

"Daichi, he's only been gone a few minutes. He can take care of himself," Kyo Miyamoto said from her seat near the fire. "I'm sorry. He's quick to worry about his friend. He's kind of taken after him. I'm Kyo Miyamoto. That is Daichi. We both live on the second floor in 2D."

Emi looked up from her Ipod and waved to the young woman who had entered the room. She was laid back on a large bean bag with her feet up looking at a magazine she had borrowed from Kyo. "Emi Wakahisa," she said before going back to her reading. She flipped through the pages trying to find the article about resolutions regarding the new year.

Riku typed endlessly on his laptop trying to catch up on his paper for his course. He didn't bother to look up, thinking formalities were useless since most tenants didn't stay long at the apartment complex. "Riku Kita," he said nonchalantly before resuming surfing the internet for research material. "And that strange little devil who is eying you behind the door, is Noburu Mori."

Mizu turned around to see a small man who was relatively thin searching her backside. She yelped surprised at his appearance. He reminded of the gremlins her mother used to tell her about in childhood stories.

"Noburu, it's impolite to stare a woman from that end," Chiyoko said as she gestured him to walk around Mizu. "Go sit down. We'll have hot cocoa once Hinata comes back with the firewood."

Noburu moved slowly around the young woman with loathing eyes. He smiled at her, or tried, but it was awkward for him. Noburu freaked out at the woman staring at him and moved even faster, dragging one of his legs as if he were the humpback of Notre Dame.

Daichi bounced up and down at the window. "Hinata's back!" He ran out of the room at a high pace, his feet moving swiftly. Daichi heard his mother yell at him to wait.

Mizu took a seat next to Kyo, she seemed to be one of the few who had any sense in the place. She was offered a blanket to wrap around her legs. Mizu took it. "Thank you," she said. The fireplace was indeed a nice addition to the welcoming area.

Kenshin Nakahara moved around Daichi as the boy talked his head off to Hinata. He was carrying a load of firewood in. "It looks like everyone is nice and toasty. The weather outside is getting bad. We should have snow in the morning," he said putting the wood pile down near the pantry away from the fire.

"You must have met Hinata outside," Chiyoko said as she started to serve a tray loaded with hot cocoa to the tenants.

"Yeah, he has several piles stacked outside. I guess he determined the weather was going to be bad later. It's always good to have extra firewood. I suppose tomorrow I can build you a holding place for it," Kenshin offered with a smile. He looked around to room to single out Kyo. The woman he was interested in, was sitting near a girl with long dark hair. They were talking amongst themselves. "Do we have a new tenant this evening?"

"Oh, yes, Mizu, this is Kenshin Nakahara. He lives on the 3rd floor in the back where Hinata lives," Chiyoko said as she introduced them. She put two cups of cocoa on the table for Mizu and Kyo.

Kyo turned her head to ignore Kenshin smiling at her to correct Daichi. "Daichi, he can't get in the door with you clinging to him like that. Move aside," she ordered.

Kenshin retreated to another area of the room. He could sense the cold shoulder vibrating off of Kyo. The woman didn't regard him as a good natured guy. She saw him as a threat. He couldn't blame her with her horrible divorce that she had just gone through. She had problems of her own.

Daichi grabbed some of the firewood from Hinata's arms and ran over to the pile. He placed them down then went back for more. "Hinata, sit with me! We can play a game!"

Hinata staggered on his feet at Daichi's excitement. He looked at Kyo for a split second to say something before his eyes befell upon the woman sitting next to her. It was the same woman he had seen at the train station earlier that evening. "It's you," he said not realizing what he was saying.

Mizu moved her eyes elsewhere trying to ignore the shock on his face. "Don't you have anymore paper machines you want to break in to?" She let her comment float in the air before everyone around her got quiet.

Kyo looked from Hinata to Mizu. "You two know each other?" She saw the expression on Mizu's face of disappointment. "And what is this about paper machines?"

Hinata sighed as he scratched his head. "Ryota was trying to get me to get his newspaper out of the machine at the train station. It took his money and refused to open. So the manager came out and threatened to call the police on us again. She was sitting on the bench waiting for here, I guess."

"I've told you not to mess with Ryota, Hinata. He's a crazy old man whose only going to get you in trouble," Kyo said taking that sisterly tone of voice as she sipped her hot cocoa. She signaled Daichi to sit down. "You have half an hour before you have to go to bed. I suggest you play a quick game with Hinata."

Daichi crawled over to Hinata's leg as the man stood in front of the table. "Hinata, can we play poker? I like that game."

"Teaching the kid gambling already," Riku asked as he flicked his cigarette off into his ashtray. "Where are your morals?" He continued to type.

Kyo gave a warning glance to Riku. "I taught him how to play poker. It's what my father taught me when I was young. I suggest you keep your mouth shut."

Kenshin put his hands in the air. "Now, now, we have a new guest here. Tenant, I mean. We're making a bad impression on her," he said trying to get everyone to cool off.

Mizu got up from the table. "I think I'd like to find my room now," she said to Chiyoko who was putting the tray back in the pantry. "Good night," she said excusing herself.

Hinata placed his card down on the table as he watched Mizu walk out of the room. She's just like everyone else around here. Judges me before she even knows me. His eyes stared at the table.

Daichi tugged his shirt. "Hinata, it's your turn," he said arousing the man from his blank stare. Hinata looked at him with an uncaring attitude. "It's your turn," he emphasized.

Mizu looked over the room she was in. It was a larger room than some of the others. She was located in 3A, right above Hinata's apartment. He was in 1A. In the room, there was a small table for guests. Behind her was the entrance where shoes were placed. To her let was the small kitchen with counter space for cooking. To her right was a small bathroom with a shower. The toilet was on the left beside the bedroom. She walked towards the bedroom to inspect it.

Mizu moved the shoji screen aside. It was cold in here. This room hadn't been rented in years, as Chiyoko had informed her. The last tenant had been a man who had moved back to Tokyo. She suspected everyone at Tokodeki was running from something. That's probably why they are here. Everyone is running from their past, or present. She heard a crackle of thunder near the apartment complex. Mizu jumped back. The rain outside was running on the window mixing with the snow.

Mizu saw the flash of lightening again through the sky. A huge roar of thunder scared her so bad she screamed. The lights in her apartment went out. Mizu covered her ears and screamed again. She was afraid of the dark. It was a fear of hers she had had since she was a child.

Kenshin came running up the stairs with a flashlight the moment he had heard Mizu scream. It was normal for the lights to go out in a bad storm. He found Mizu hunkered over on the floor. He lightly touched her shoulder. The girl almost jumped out of her skin. "Mizu-san, it's Kenshin. The lights have gone off. It always happens when we have a heavy storm. Are you alright?"

Mizu nodded with tears in her eyes. She was one of the few who believed monsters lurked in the darkness. "I know it's shameful for someone my age to be scared of the dark."

Kenshin helped her up. "No, it's nothing to be shameful of. You're in a new place with new people. I think Riku went to go check the main switch for the lights. Sometimes, it just flips." Soon as he said it, the lights came back on. "See? You'll be fine now."

Mizu walked with Kenshin to the door. She thanked him again for his trouble before she laid her futon out on the tatami floor. Mizu figured, just for tonight, she would sleep with the lights on.

Chapter 2

Keyhole

Daichi ran through the snow throwing snowballs at Hinata. His mother, Kyo, was on the balcony holding a cup of coffee as she stayed wrapped in a thick robe. He shouted and laughed as Hinata came after him with his own snowballs. Daichi quickly moved to jump behind a pile of firewood. "You're not going to get me!"

Kyo sipped her hot coffee as Daichi sprinted out from behind the firewood to make a run for another location. Hinata was chasing him outright. "If you two get the firewood wet, it won't be of any use later." She moved her head at the sound of a shoji screen opening. A horrible, rough appearing Asuka emerged from her apartment wearing nothing more than a dress that was falling off her shoulders. "I see you went out on another date," she commented.

Asuka Ueda looked at Kyo with a half-awake expression. She yawned hard, her head falling forward, and shoulders slumping. Her bare feet moved along the snow covered balcony. She looked down. "It snowed," she said unaware of it before.

"Glad to see nothing gets past you," Kyo commented under her breath. She wondered what was behind Asuka's goal of dating men every chance she had. There's a reason why she's never here. She's always chasing some man from Ohara. Whether he's a tourist, or is local, it doesn't matter. Yet, I suppose she's running from something like everyone here. I think the only one who isn't running from anything is Hinata.

Hinata fell back as a snowball hit him square in the face. He covered his nose. "Watch it, Daichi. I haven't once aimed at your face."

Daichi moved from side to side on his feet as if he were a kick boxer. "Come on, Hinata. Are you a chicken?" He laughed lifting his arm to throw the snowball.

"Yes, I'm a wounded bird," Hinata said as he rolled over just in time for the snowball to hit his back. He felt Daichi jump on his legs to pull his shirt. "You're abusing an animal. Don't you like to go to the zoo?"

Daichi yelped as Hinata rolled over to pin him on the ground. "I've never been to the zoo," he said trying to push the man's leg off of his body. "Arg."

"We leave in fifteen minutes, Daichi," Kyo said as she turned around to go back inside. "Perhaps a cup of coffee from downstairs would do you good," she commented to Asuka. Kyo went in to get ready for work.

Mizu made her way downstairs. Her feet padded on the steps as she passed a woman who appeared to be half asleep. She hadn't seen her earlier that night so was unsure of who she was. Mizu didn't give her a second glance as she headed for the entrance. She slipped her shoes on and was opening the door.

Chiyoko wiped her hands as she greeted Mizu from the entrance way to the kitchen area. "Are you not staying for breakfast? It's cold out there. A nice hot breakfast will help keep you warm."

"No thanks. I have to get to the antique shop to talk to my father's old worker. He's the one giving me the job," Mizu said as she flung the door open. She started walking not paying attention to where she was going. Mizu tensed as she ran into something firm and tall. She looked up to see Hinata's dark eyes watching her. Mizu blushed hard. It took her a moment to find her voice. "Ex-Excuse me," she stammered making her way around him.

Daichi shook the snow out of his hair as he watched the new tenant leave Tokodeki. "How come she's going outside this early?" He flung his coat to the floor.

Hinata pushed Daichi forward to get out of the entranceway. His head was focused on the back of the young woman as she made her way through the snow and down the mountain. I feel like I know her from somewhere.

"Your father and I go way back. He gave me my first job at the grocery store he ran many years ago. I heard he sold it to make way for a larger retail store," Takahiro Kimura said as he gestured Mizu to take off her coat. He took her coat and hung it on a rack by the door. "I've only been in Ohara a few years. The antique business does pretty well in these parts. There's a lot of history here with the hot springs and local shrines. Winter months are a bit uninteresting though, I won't lie. We do a lot of inventory and preservation of the antiques."

Mizu nodded as she looked around at the objects on the walls, shelves, and in the casings. "Some of these are really old. There is a lot of memories floating around in this place," she said softly.

"Now you know why I opened this place," Takahiro said as he opened a cabinet to show her what was inside. "See a lot of old jewelry that comes here is from people who have to sell it. They need the money, in other words." He showed her an old necklace with pearls on the end strung into a diamond shape. "This one in particular came from a young woman whose grandmother had passed away. She had been carrying it around with her for months after the old woman's death. It seems she had to sell it in order to save the house. Everything here, has a story," he said putting it back.

Mizu walked with him around the store to get familiar with the building. She learned where everything was kept so cleaning wasn't going to be a problem. Mizu was listening to Takahiro talk about the artifacts when she rounded the corner to see a spiraling staircase lead up into the ceiling. A small opening was closed above them. "Where does that lead?"

Takahiro put his hands on his hips. "Sometimes I use it for extra storage, but I'm afraid the building isn't able to hold much. The boards are weak from years of rain damage. See, when I first bought the place, there was water dripping down from that area all the way to where it flowed down the staircase," he said pointing to the dark spaces underneath the wooden steps. "If you choose to go up there, for any reason, make sure I'm with you. I don't want you to fall through the floor."

Mizu walked off with him glancing over her shoulder at the staircase. It was unusual to her to see something like that. To her, it didn't fit the appearance of the antique store at all. It was as if it was added as a last thought and wasn't in the original design.

Takahiro moved to the back of the register where he went through an entrance that lead further into the back of the store. Mizu followed after him. "This is where I keep all of the supplies for the antiques: boxes, wrapping paper, foam to insulate the breakables – anything you need, I have it. Now, as for dress code," he said smiling at her with his hand pointing to her clothing. "You don't have to dress so formal for this place. I don't want you to ruin your good clothes. Come in wearing jeans or clothing you can spare to get dirty and rip. I'm always catching my sleeves on the edges of things," he said showing her tears in his shirt.

"For today, I'll just show you how to do inventory. There are literally hundreds of different classifications in this store for objects. It takes hours and sometimes days to go through everything. I have to do it for tax purposes," Takahiro said handing her a clipboard filled with paper.

Mizu took the clipboard. There was certainly a lot written on it. She followed Takahiro out of the room to get started.

Emi Wakahisa looked out the window at the snow falling on the ground outside. She wondered if she'd have to try and bike back home, or if someone would pick her up. She glanced at the teacher who was talking about the past history of Japan. Her eyes drifted across the room at each individual. Everyone here had someone to talk to, but her. Emi picked up her pencil as if she was writing down what the teacher was saying.

Emi's pencil scratched softly against the notebook as she drew the tenants at the apartment complex. First she drew old Chiyoko, the landlady who seemed to always be carrying something. A soft and gentle smile was placed on the woman's face. Emi drew the main scenic room around her.

Next, Emi decided to draw Daichi in the air posing with a snowball in his hand – just like that morning. She drew him with an excited face. When she got to Hinata, she drew him with a shocked expression matched with bird feathers coming out of his sides. Emi giggled to herself.

"I am not sure what is funny about the Edo period of Japan, Ms. Wakahisa, but I suggest you get it off your mind," the teacher said with an annoyed comment. The man gave her a glare that would freeze a cat's movements. All of the students turned their heads to look at her. "Some of us want to learn and pass the course."

Emi averted her eyes as she stared at the paper. As the teacher continued to speak, she put her hand over her mouth. Hinata's chicken picture kept echoing 'baaa-kahhh' in her mind. Emi shyly looked up at the teacher. The man was back in his routine. She closed the notebook slowly, feeling ashamed of herself.

Mizu walked down the street carrying a bag of food back to the antique shop. A woman dressed as an Oharame, a peddler in an indigo kimono stopped in front of Mizu. She tried to go around the woman with flowers on her head, but the woman raised her hand slowly to stop her. Mizu's eyes went over the kimono itself. It appeared to be a summer worn kimono. It was out of season. The woman's face seemed cold and emotionless. "Excuse me, but my boss is expecting me."

The woman moved aside to let Mizu by, but as the girl walked past her, she turned her head. "There is a tale of these parts of a young girl, like yourself, who fell in love with a farm laborer." The girl stopped to look over her shoulder. "Would you like to hear the story behind it?"

Mizu wasn't familiar with the history of Ohara, or the legends it seemed to contain. She wondered if the woman was going to beg her for money to hear the story. "How much does it cost?"

"No cost at all to a new resident," the woman said with a graceful voice. The lights down the street started to turn on. "There once was a young mistress who worked at Sanzen-in Temple helping keep the temple free of dust. She was a hard working girl who had a contract with the Temple to work for food during a rough period in our economy.

As with many laborers, she learned quickly to avert her eyes when superiority came along and when not to speak. Her dark eyes were the only things seen behind her long hair most of the time when she was working. Unlike most women who kept their hair tied back, the young woman chose not to do so. She found it easier to gaze upon the people entering the temple and not be caught."

The Oharame continued her tale. "Laborers weren't the only ones employed by the temple to keep the grounds clear of debris. Farmers also helped feed the monks and those with wealth who often visited the temple. In the time of famine, the ones with money are taken care of first. Thus, the farmers had to give up most of their crops to the Lords who reigned over the people.

One farmer, had a son who was humble and kind to all those around him. Without his father knowing, the son started to hide some of the crops from the Lord's men who checked the farms. The boy was trying to keep his family and his community alive. That is enough for now. It is getting too cold for my taste. Perhaps another time," she said as she turned around to leave. The Oharame walked around the corner of a building into an alley.

Mizu followed her. "Why did you stop at the beginning of the story?" She turned the corner. Mizu's eyes looked around the area. It was a dead end. Where did she go? Was the woman a ghost? Mizu didn't normally believe in such things. She took one last look at the area before rounding the corner for the antique shop.

Yuuma Fukai sat in his comfortable chair looking out the window at the snow covered trees. "How long do you think it's going to remain winter," he asked. His hands moved over the blanket that was around his lower body.

"Winter lasts a long time, Yuuma. Every season is four months," Hinata said as he watched his friend's tired eyes search the area. "Birds won't be back until then. It's too cold for them now."

"I'd like to see one," Yuuma said as Hinata removed his slippers. He tensed a little at his cold feet entering hot water. Yuuma looked down to see the man folding the legs up to keep them from getting wet. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Hinata."

"You'd probably sit here and be a vegetable if I didn't come over to keep you company at times," he said as she sat on his rear. He thought Yuuma looked unreasonably pale today. "I saw the car had been moved. You were out driving when your parents were gone, weren't you?" Yuuma only looked at him with a soft smile. "You're not supposed to be out. Your health is at risk."

"I had to get out of this house," Yuuma said looking around at the same walls and objects he saw every day. "I'd like to get a job and support myself. It doesn't favor me to move back in with my parents because I'm sick."

"Well, if you keep going out against doctor orders, you won't have to worry about what your parents think," Hinata said. "You'll die quicker," he said to the point. "I'm trying to keep you around. You may not realize it, but I'm fond of you," he said getting up with his hand placed on his knee for support.

"I'm fond of you, too," Yuuma said as he started to close his eyes. He felt exhausted. Maybe it was the weather. He couldn't be too sure. The drive the previous day had only been to see Ohara and its people out. His parents stayed away from him when they were at home. His mother only poked her head in the room on occasion to see if there was anything he needed before retreating back to the main house. Yuuma figured his parents thought they were going to catch his disease. "I'm sorry I disobeyed you," he said apologizing.

Hinata walked over with a heavier blanket to put on Yuuma as he started to drift off to sleep. "No you're not," he said softly. He knew Yuuma hated to be in the house. It was a tomb for him. What he wouldn't give to have a bigger place to help take care of him himself.

Asuka kicked her shoes off as she entered Tokodeki. She took off her wet scarf and coat to hang on the wall. "It's getting worse outside. If we're not caved in tomorrow from all the snow, I'll be surprised," she said as she passed Chiyoko.

Chiyoko went to retrieve the coat and scarf. She slung them over her arm. The old landlady preceded to walk down the hall to the laundry room.

Asuka walked up the stairs slowly. She sensed someone was lurking around the second floor. In fact, Asuka took out her keys for good measure. There was a large metal figure on the end.

Noburu Mori moved along the hall checking to see if anyone was home yet. So far, most of the rooms were empty. He put a metal device in the door to Kyo's apartment. His hands started to fiddle with the lock trying to get it open. As he grunted working, his other hand kept trying to click the doorknob open.

Asuka frowned. Noburu was up to no good. She walked towards him quietly. He was so focused on his work of breaking in, that he didn't hear her approaching. Asuka lowered her head to where it was right behind his. She put her hands on her hips. "What do you think you're doing?"

Noburu tensed. He turned around slowly to see an angry Asuka glaring at him. "N-No-thing," he said as she stood taller than him.

"Nothing, my ass!" Asuka came around with the keychain in her hand. She hit the boy several times on the head until he screamed for mercy.

Kenshin came running down the steps thinking there was an attacker in the building. He rounded the corner and flew down the hallway. In his sight he saw Asuka beating Noburu over the head with her keys. "Asuka, what's going on?" He stopped putting his hands up pleading her to explain her actions.

"This little mole was breaking into Kyo's room," she said angrily hitting him again, even harder for good measure.

Noburu's hands tensed with the amount of pain now increasing on his precious head. He fell over to shield himself from any further attacks by Asuka. "Have mercy! Mercy! I implore you!"

Kenshin put his hand up to stop Asuke from beating the boy senseless. He moved back to look down at the thin boy. "Why were you breaking into Kyo's room?" Noburu shielded his face from the man. "Answer me."

Noburu took his hands away from his face. "I only wanted to take some of the leaves off her succulent plant. Nothing more," he said justifying his actions.

"So instead of waiting until Kyo got home to ask her, you decided to break into her apartment? That makes a long of sense," Asuka said kicking the boy in the leg. He grimaced. "What is so important about a plant?"

Kenshin pinched his nose. "Was it something to put on your alter? The one intended for your mother?" Noburu nodded slowly as he laid upon the floor in the hall. "Stealing isn't going to appease your mother's spirit. It might make her angry if you put something gotten by ill means upon the alter."

Noburu finally sat up rubbing his head. He had huge bumps all over his head from Asuka's keys. "I'm sorry. I knew Kyo wouldn't give me the leaves off her plant. That's why I was going to take a few anyway."

Asuka rolled her eyes. "How do you know she wasn't going to give you any? You could have simply asked. You don't know that," she repeated.

"Kyo wouldn't have given up the plant," Kenshin said softly. He looked at Asuka. "It was one of the objects retrieved from her home before her divorce. It must have had some significance to her."

"You've been spying on her, too," Noburu said as he got up to hold Kenshin's hands in a brotherly gesture. He figured they now shared a bond that couldn't be broken. He yelped as Asuka kicked him in the leg.

"No, I haven't been spying on her," Kenshin said much to Noburu's disappointment. "When she first moved in, I saw how attentive she was to the plant. She had refused Daichi from carrying it in. In fact, it was one of the first objects she carried into the apartment. Perhaps she was thinking that if she brought it along, life wouldn't seem so bad for her here. Often, it's hard to let things go in our past – especially memories that we have of better times."

Asuka looked at Kenshin sadly. It was apparent the man was in love with Kyo. He admired her, despite Kyo pushing him off with every effort he made.

"What are you three doing hanging around my door," Kyo said as she raised a brow with a cigarette in her mouth. Her long orange hair fell from her hat as she removed it.

"We thought there was a water leak. We kept tracing the sounds," Kenshin said to cover what had really gone on. He looked down to see Noburu scurrying away quickly. Asuka soon caught on to his movements and chased him down the hall with her keys over her head in an attempted strike. Kenshin shook his head. "How was work," he asked trying to make conversation.

"It was work. How else is it supposed to be," Kyo said moving past him. She put her key into the doorknob. Kyo turned her head to see Kenshin watching her. "Is there something you need?"

Kenshin apologized embarrassed at his stare. "No, I'm sorry for the intrusion," he said turning around. He put his hand on his forehead. It was near impossible to break down the wall Kyo had up.

Mizu washed her hair in the women's bathroom. She sat on the stool thinking about the Oharame she had seen earlier that night. It was unclear to her who the woman was or why she had chosen to tell Mizu a story out of nowhere. Why me? Of all people on the sidewalk, why me?

She stared at the water running from the showerhead as it went down the drain in the floor. Mizu couldn't figure it out. She was still getting adjusted to being on her own. It was strange for her. No one was here to tell her how to dress, how to speak, or what to do with her time. It felt odd for her not being rushed to lessons her mother had planned for her. Mizu had felt caged in her own home. She hadn't had a life outside of her parents rules and expectations.

The steam in the bathroom masked the light overhead. She found herself tilting backwards looking up at the light as if it were something spectacular. Mizu became lost in thought of herself. She wanted to get to know the people in the apartment complex, but would she be able to step outside of her own comfort zone to do so? She had no idea. In the past, she had always stayed by herself immersed in her studies.

"You're wasting a lot of water," a voice said from behind Mizu. She turned around startled to see Emi behind her. Where did she come from? She reached forward to grab the shower head again to wash the shampoo out of her hair.

"I didn't mean to startle you. You seemed lost in thought about something," Emi said as she started to scrub her arms. "I'm Emi, remember? I live in the apartment building," she said trying to be friendly despite the other woman's quietness. "Are you here… for relaxation, or pleasure?"

Mizu turned the water off. She let her arms hang between her legs as her head leaned forward. "I don't know why I'm here," she said softly to no one.

Emi blinked. "Well, if you don't know why you're here, then you'll fit in with everyone else. We're all running from something – I think it's ourselves," Emi said in a sudden adult tone of voice. "My grandfather died so I have nowhere to go really."

"You don't have any parents," Mizu asked.

"Oh, I have parents. They didn't raise me. My grandfather died. Both of them had me young and it was against their timing, so they went off to pursue what they wanted. By the time they were ready to take me in, I was already sixteen. I don't want to move in with strangers who think they know what's best for me. I know what's best for me. I can stay here with strangers that are more interesting," Emi said happily as she began to wash the soap off.

Mizu was surprised a girl that young could face the world on her own. She supposed she had to find the courage in herself to do it, too. Perhaps, she could be a role model for Emi. They weren't that far apart in age. Starting tonight, she'd get to know everyone in the apartment building. In fact, Mizu was making it her goal.

Mizu walked into the large room expecting to find everyone enjoying the fire like they had the night she had arrived. However, the place was scarce of life. The fire wasn't blazing. Mizu's eyes moved around the room. It seemed awfully empty. Chiyoko wasn't giving out drinks, or attending to anyone. They must only get together when they have time. It is a week night.

Mizu wondered if there were any games to play. She searched the pantry and cupboard for a deck of cards, but couldn't find them. Hmm, I haven't looked over there in those storage areas. She moved across the room, her feet padding on the tatami floor. Sliding the shoji screen aside, Mizu saw a person hiding in there. She screamed and fell backwards.

"Oh, great, now I have to hide somewhere else," Riku said as he came out of the closet. "Honestly, does everyone in your family jump at the slightest things," he said with a serious attitude. It wasn't like he wanted to be playing hide-n-seek anyway.

"I heard a scream," Emi said as she ran to the room with Daichi. They both stopped to see Mizu on the floor. "Riku, what did you do to her?"

"I did nothing to her," he said adjusting his glasses. "I'm out. It was a ridiculous game anyway," he said shuffling off with his hands in his pockets to leave the room.

"You're the one who suggested it," Daichi said angrily. He crossed his arms. "Everyone promised to play with me before I had to go to bed," he griped.

"Fine," Riku said stopping. He popped his head over his shoulder. "Hinata's hiding behind the statue in the hallway. That ought to liven you up a bit."

Daichi bounced on his feet. He turned around as if he were cat finally figuring out where the mouse was. He ran out of the room at full force.

"That's cheating, Riku," Emi said. She heard Hinata yelp as he was tagged by Daichi. "Riku told where you were," Emi yelled at the top of her lungs.

Mizu got up slowly. Everyone was playing a game? "I thought everyone had retired to their rooms for the night," she said kind of taken aback.

"What? No, usually we're trying to keep Daichi occupied when Kyo has to work late," Emi said. Hinata walked into the room. Daichi was off to find another hiding person in the building.

Hinata glared at Riku. The man wasn't even acknowledging the extent of what he had done. "Do you realize he jumped me so hard I almost broke that statue?"

"Next time, choose somewhere safer to hide," Riku countered.

"How about next time, I knock that smirk off your face for cheating," Hinata said as he tensed his arms.

Mizu looked from Riku to Hinata. They seemed to not be the type to get along with each other. "Good night," she found herself saying. She walked quickly past the two males. It was a mistake to try and get to know these people. Everyone was so much different than her.

"Ah, wait," Emi said chasing her. "They didn't mean it," she said trying to make Mizu understand. "Riku is a poor sport. He hates doing anything that makes him get off his laptop. And Hinata doesn't like cheaters. Riku is always ruining our fun. He's too serious for his own good."

Mizu stopped half way up the stairs. "They scare me. All of them," she said softly. "I'm not used to being around people who are so open. All of my life I've been told what to do and how to act. I don't know how to act in this situation," she said excusing herself.

Emi held her hand up for Mizu to stop, but the words didn't come out of her mouth.

Chapter 3

Apologies & Fear

"She's afraid of you two," Emi said as she sat at the low table with her hands upon it. "I don't think she knows how to be around people. She's not very open."

Riku's fingers tapped across the keys of his laptop. He glanced at Emi. "This is off subject but shouldn't you be at school?" He saw her avert her eyes. "Anyway, some people are reserved. It's their personality. She's only been here a few weeks. I wouldn't expect her to be able to understand any of us that quickly."

Hinata ate his apple with his back arched forward. "I'm not worried about a person's reaction to my presence. She's no different than everyone else I've encountered." He grunted as he rose. "I have to go to work. See ya."

"But Hinata-," Emi started

"Leave him alone," Riku said crossing his arms in annoyance. "He has a definate reason why he's not concerned over a new tenant. You're only going to bother him."

Hinata got off the moped slowly. He glanced around the area behind the building. There was no one lurking about. Once the coast was clear, he went in the back way with a key the owner had made for him. The old doorknob clicked with a hard turn. In the dim light, he saw the boxes piled against the walls. It was time to make some money. Hinata started to take the boxes. He began to pile twelve medium boxes on the back of his moped. Hinata tied them together tightly with a piece of twine.

Soon he was cranking the vehicle and ready to go. Hinata backed it up slowly then sped off through the back alleys to his first destination. He drove for a little while until he found himself knee deep in traffic. What is going on? There's usually not a lot of onlookers around at this time of day. His eyes scanned the vehicles ahead of him. Shouting drifted to his ears. He stood up from the moped trying to get a better look as a woman's voice came to his ears.

"You slimy excuse for a man! How dare you do this to me," the woman said as she beat her husband on the back with her purse. "You weren't expecting to get caught, were you," she yelled as her husband kept his head lowered. The man tried to walk down the sidewalk without being noticed, but it wasn't playing off very well. "Who is she? Who is she," she repeated continuing to get upset. "We were here to visit my mother's grave and this is how you treat me?"

The man yelled as the woman's purse hit him on the back of the head. "She's no one! No one! Just a town resident! If you had gone out with me instead of me going to the restaurant by myself, this wouldn't have happened," he countered.

"So now it's my fault? How dare you, you weak man! What will our children say of their father having a weak constitution? It was merely a fling and you shrug it off! You're a slimy mole!" The woman bent over retrieving some snow on the sidewalk. She preceded to throw it at her husband as he began to run down the sidewalk.

Hinata raised a brow as the man passed him. His shoulders and head were covered in snow balls. He smirked. A lot of men come here during the summer to scout out women. Yet, she was visiting her mother's grave. That's kind of pathetic. He cranked up the scooter as the light changed. He was off again for his delivery.

Ran Yukimura bowed low to the woman in front of her. "It is nice to meet you, Mizu-san, "she said in a sweet voice. "Takahiro told me you were coming, but I've been so busy trying to get the shop cleaned while the customers are slacked off."

Mizu looked over Ran. The woman was slightly older than her with incredibly long black hair. She wore simple barrettes in her hair to keep her long hair out of her way. The dress she wore was made of wool to keep her warm. Long stockings on her legs met the hiking boots she wore on her feet. Mizu thought she was dressed kind of odd for a retail owner. "It's nice to meet you, too," she said not wanting to appear rude. She tried to keep her eyes off the woman as Takahiro spoke.

"What kind of shipment are you expecting today," Takahiro asked as he sat upon the stool stirring a cup of nice hot coffee Ran had prepared for him. He lifted his hand to partake in the sugar cookies she had brought out on a plate. His eyes widened at their soft, delicious taste.

"I ordered a shipment of beautiful sashes and buttons. I want to try and make my own dressed instead of following the old traditional designs," Ran explained. She walked over to touch one of the kimono's in the shop window with her hand. "The kimono is a beautiful piece of cloth. I would like to try experimenting with different patterns for it. I know most of them show nature themes or female colors."

"You're going to try to make something traditional a bit modern," Mizu asked as she looked at the various fabrics on spools of a large table. "That would be interesting. Children's kimonos can be any design. It'd be interesting to see a Hello Kitty one."

Ran walked over to Mizu. She smiled at her taking her hands in a friendly gesture. "I know! That was my idea. Why stick to the normal traditional methods of doing something? There are many routes that can get you to the same destination. It's not always one we usually follow, but it is adventurous nonetheless."

"Ran, as long as we don't see any Astro Boy prints on kimonos, I support you in your efforts," Takahiro said as he ate another sugar cookie.

"What's wrong with Astro Boy," Mizu asked. "You can't expect the girls prints to be altered and the boys kept in a traditional fashion." She widened her eyes as both of them stared at her. "I'm sorry!" She bowed.

"No, that's alright. I think I like that part of your personality. You've been keeping yourself bottled up since you've gotten here. I don't mean to be rude, but you're not used to being around others, are you?"

Mizu shook her head as she stared at the floor. "No, I was always focused on my studies as a child. My parents were very busy and only wanted the best for me. If they weren't around, my aunt watched me. She was very kind to me when I was alone."

"What happened to your aunt," Takahiro asked. He could tell Mizu was sad about the whole ordeal instead of being happy. He watched Ran put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're amongst friends, Mizu. No one is going to think any less of you for whatever you have to say."

"Friends?" Mizu hadn't realized that Takahiro was always nice to her at the store. He wasn't a typical manager. He taught her things and also told her stories about the artifacts in the antique shop. "My aunt went upstairs to take a shower while I was preparing dinner. It was my turn, you see. I was fixing a meal she had taught me to prepare. I waited a long time for her to come down. Thinking she had fallen asleep on the bed, I went upstairs to check the room. She wasn't there. So I went to knock on the bathroom door. My aunt never answered.

The upstairs part of the house was silent. There was no movement, or noise. I opened the door of the bathroom. No one was in the first part near the waste baskets. The clothes she had been wearing were thrown into one of the baskets on the left. The shoji screen was slightly a gap. I slid it aside," she covered her mouth turning her head.

"Mizu, it's alright. You've got to get it off your chest," Takahiro said pressing her further. "What did you see?"

Mizu found her voice again. "She was lying on the floor face down. I was only fourteen. I was so scared I stood there for a long time just staring at her body. My parents came home. They called for us but no one answered. They found me upstairs in a state of shock. My aunt had had a brain aneurysm. No one knew. It had ruptured when she had gone to take a shower."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ran said as she looked at Mizu with tender eyes. "Your aunt loved you very much. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"I didn't know what to do," Mizu said blaming herself for why she didn't act quicker.

"You couldn't have known, Mizu," Takahiro said as he sipped his coffee. "A child is not to be expected to react or take an adult's responsibility. It was not your fault and will never be your fault."

"Takahiro's right," Ran said handing Mizu a tissue. "We can't know how we're going to die, or when it will happen. All we can do is live each day as we are meant to, in hopes of finding an existence for ourselves." She turned her head to hear the bell on the door as it opened.

"Here's your package, Ran. Sorry if I'm late," Hinata said as he walked through the door carrying the box. He stopped to see Takahiro from the antique shop and Mizu standing there watching him. He put the package on the counter. "I'll sign your name," he said trying to make his retreat out of the door.

Takahiro caught on to Hinata's reaction to Mizu. He grabbed the youth by the collar of his coat. "Now, now, there's no hurry. You only have three packages left to deliver. And if my memory serves me correctly, you only have to go three streets over to deliver them. It's lunch time and I'm sure you haven't eaten. Let's play a game," he said with a smirk on his face.

"I'm not in the mood to play a game," Hinata said as he lifted his arm towards Takahiro to unhand him. "I'm on the job," he said as he attempted to walk out of the store again. He heard Takahiro make a comment under his breath. Hinata looked over his shoulder with disapproval. "What was that you muttered?"

Takahiro stepped closer to the younger man with confidence. "I believe you're running because Mizu is here. You two look at each other as if you're both carrying the plague. Why are you so weary of her? Is it because of this," he asked grabbing one of Hinata's arms.

Hinata narrowed his eyes. "Back off," he said shoving Takahiro back. "I don't care what you think, or what she thinks!" He lowered his arm hiding it as if they could see what laid underneath the bandages covering his arms under the coat. He stormed out slamming the door.

"Takahiro, are you alright," Ran asked going to his aid. She put her hands on his shoulder. The man had been shoved back into the counter. He was straightening his coat.

"I'm fine," Takahiro said. He looked back at Mizu who was trying to figure out what had occurred. "Hinata covers his arms out of shame for what's on them," he said. Mizu was not understanding.

"I'm not sure he'd approve of telling someone what he hides," Ran said trying to stop Takahiro from saying too much. It was too late, of course. Takahiro liked to get things out in the open.

"He has tattoos all over his arms and parts of his body. Most around here who know him, regard him as a thief, or person up to no good. Hinata keeps to himself, only trusting a few who haven't written him off based on his appearance. Why he has them is his business. You mustn't think of him as a bad person, Mizu. He only wants to have a place in the world to call his own. He's still trying to find it, as you are," Takahiro concluded.

"I… haven't treated him any differently than he's treated me. Every time he sees me, he goes the other way, or finds an excuse to leave the area. He's the one treating me unfairly," Mizu said in her defense.

"Yet, have you bothered to check your body language or gestures towards him? When he came in at this moment, your eyes were scanning him as if he'd done something wrong. I don't think you're aware of what you are saying with your actions," Takahiro said. He headed for the door. "We need to get back to the store. Thanks for the coffee and cookies, Ran. I'm sorry I caused a little upheaval in your store." Takahiro walked out not waiting for Mizu. He swore with the way those kids were acting it was as if they were taken with each other, but completely dumbfounded to the meaning.

Emi walked through the small grocery store with a basket in her hands as she looked at the vegetables. She wasn't sure what Chiyoko wanted to go with dinner. Emi picked up a few potatoes trying to decide on them or daikons. As she stood looking at them, she heard familiar voices drift to her ears. Emi's heart started to race. She dropped the vegetables she had, moving quickly to go around the corner into another aisle.

"Should we get these for the party," Sayuri asked picking up a box of sweets.

"No, there won't be enough in there for everyone," Mayu said taking the box out of Sayuri's hands. "We invited twenty people from our classes and grade to come. It's going to be fun. My father is having the house decorated."

'We should check the bakery down the street to see if we can get a good deal. If you order a certain amount, you get a percentage off the purchase," Noriko said sticking her nose in the air. "I'm surprised you guys want to get something as common as cookies in a box for a party. We owe our fans more than that."

"Speaking of fans, wasn't it funny when some of the unpopular people asked if they could go to our party," Mayu asked. She laughed as she moved her long hair back over her shoulders. She reached overhead to start handing Sayuri sodas to carry.

"Not only that, but what about that Wakahisa girl? She practically begged us to consider letting her come," Sayuri said. "Hey, Mayu just how many of these are we getting?" She staggered on her feet as the girl kept piling her up with soda.

"We need at least two of each variety. This one if one of the most popular sodas out right now," Mayu said showing Sayuri. "We should get at least three of these. Anyway, it was rather pathetic of her to follow us around asking us the entire day to consider her. Who does she think she is? There's a chain of command to be followed when approaching popular people and unpopular people. Doesn't she know that?"

"You do know why she didn't come to school today, don't you," Noriko said with her back to them. She grabbed several boxes of crackers to put in the shopping cart. "I heard one of our fans approached her," she started to smile with a sly smirk. "And the outcome wasn't so nice." That had her two partners in crime listening intently.

"What happened? You can't hide it, Noriko, tell us. We want to know," Mayu said as she began to put the sodas in the cart.

"Alright, alright," Noriko said waving her hand. She had both of them baited. Neither of her friends could resist a bit of juicy gossip. "It seems little Miss I-want-to-be-popular has been trying to get noticed all around the school. She's tried to get admitted to various groups with no success. There's more," she said looking around to see if anyone else was listening in. "I heard she goes to our school because she lives on her own. Even the others at the apartment building she lives in, don't want anything to do with her. So she tries to fit in with us, as if that's ever going to happen."

"You're getting off track, Noriko. Why didn't she come to school," Mayu said turning around with her hands on her hips. "You always get ahead of yourself and stop."

"There's a reason why I told you guys those parts. Despite harassing us and trying to fit in with us, some of the other girls who are included in our group got jealous of her intentions. They followed her around for a while, for a few days. She didn't even know they were watching her. When the timing was right and she was alone, they put a large bag over her and threw her against the wall. Oh, wait there's more," she said leaning in for dramatic effect. "When she was pleading for them to leave her alone, they picked her up and carried her to the top of the school. As they tied her feet, she started crying like they were going to kill her. Instead they took the bag off, put a blindfold on her, and dunked her in the toilets upstairs," she said started to laugh with her hand over her mouth.

"That seems sort of minor, Noriko," Sayuri said. "Why did they go to those kinds of lengths if they were just going to dunk her in the toilet? What a waste of time." She sighed. She thought there was going to be more to the story.

"You haven't let me finish. They took indecent photos of her in awful poses," Noriko said showing the girls one photo in particular. "If she tries to talk to us again, or anyone who is popular in school, these go up all over the internet in everyone's email accounts. Not only that, but they have been blown up to where they can be super glued onto the bulletin boards in the hall."

"That's terrible," Mayu said as she flipped her hair aside. "We should use this to our advantage," she said with a smile. The other two were looking at her.

Emi clenched her hands against the metal of the shelf she was leaning against as she listened in. The longer she stood there, the more she didn't want to return to school. Noriko and her friends were going to make Emi their servant. If she didn't do what they said, they'd post the pictures all over the school. Once the girls had walked off from the aisle, she made sure they didn't see her. She waited a long time until the girls were gone before she mustered up the courage to leave the store.

Her feet shuffled along the sidewalk in the snow. Emi wished her grandfather was still alive. "Why couldn't he remain here with me until college? I can't go to my parents. They weren't there for me while I was growing up," she said quietly to herself. It seemed hopeless for her.

Mizu stood stiffly at the door of the apartment. She had knocked several times with no answer. I'm not going home. I want to make things right. I have to. Her head lowered with the basket of food in her hands. It had already been half an hour. Mizu wanted to take her coat and gloves off, but she was afraid if she went home, she'd miss him. Her head fell forward onto the door with a light thud. "He hates me. He really does," she said quietly.

"Who hates you," Asuka asked as she stood near the apartment. "If you're looking for Hinata, he won't be home until later – probably late. So Takahiro got him riled up, did he? Yeah, he went to the gym to take it out on the machines," she said opening her cigarette pack. As she lit it, she saw Mizu staring at her. "Sorry, Asuka Ueda. I live in the apartment next to Kyo. We've only passed each other a few times since you got here. I'm usually out."

Asuka focused her attention on the basket of food before she looked up at Mizu. "You and Hinata get into some kind of fight?" Mizu immediately turned her head to look at the floor. "Guess I'm right on the trail," she said sniffing out the situation surrounding the two.

"I haven't fought with him verbally or physically. I guess I misunderstood him when I met him at the train station that night. He was with the one you all call 'Ryota'. I thought he was a thief, but not because of his appearance – his actions," Mizu said softly. "Every time I've tried to say something to him, to apologize, the words have failed to escape my lips."

Asuka turned around to see someone coming up the stairs. She signaled for him to be quiet. "Well, if you could correct it, how would you," she asked trying to get Mizu to think.

"I don't know," Mizu answered truthfully. "I don't usually judge others by appearance. I've been alone most of my life, only sticking to school studies. I don't know what to think about others who are open and kind."

"It sounds to me like you need to think for yourself," Hinata said out of the blue. Mizu turned her head to see him standing near Asuka. He was dressed in a green t-shirt with Domo-kun on the front. Hinata's arms were covered in bandages to hide his tattoos. He was self-conscious about it.

Asuka turned around with her hand in the air. "You two figure it out. I'm going to go eat dinner," she said. She made her way downstairs.

Mizu stood with the basket in her gloved hands. Hinata walked towards her, but not too close. He stood with his arms hanging. Mizu swallowed. She didn't feel threatened by him at all. He was the first guy she had had to really look at for who he was. Mizu had never been put into that position before. Takahiro's words surfaced in her mind. Hinata only wanted a place to belong in this world. He wanted to be included.

Mizu blushed as she averted her eyes from his dark gaze. He was looking right at her face, which made her embarrassed. She opened her mouth, her hands tightening on the handle of the basket. "I-I,-" she stammered. Mizu closed her mouth taking in a deep breath. He wasn't advancing upon her, or demanding she say something to appease him. She tried again. "I-I,-"

Hinata stood waiting. The girl in front of him wasn't accustomed to being around people. Maybe what Emi had said that morning was true. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly. That seemed to put Mizu a bit more at ease. She closed her eyes trying to get her thoughts together. Hinata's eyes went up and down examining her form. Mizu's hair was to the center of her back. She appeared nervous and uneasy around him. His eyes stopped at her hands. Her knuckles were white with tension. She was still attempting to say something, but it was difficult for her. He tilted his head. "Let's go eat before Daichi eats all of Chiyoko's cooking," he said breaking the silence.

Mizu looked up suddenly. Hinata lifted his hand out to her. She stared at it for a moment thinking it would bite her. Her fingers went out to touch his, but she recoiled, slightly afraid of shaking his hand. Again, she attempted to touch him. This time her fingers brushed past his. Mizu opened her eyes. She hadn't realized she had closed them in fear.

Hinata gently grasped onto her hand. She felt cold to the touch. "Hinata Hisakawa," he said softly his dark eyes watching her. He was trying to make up with her, too.

"M-Mizu Akiyama," she said. Soon he let go of her hand. She stood with her hand outstretched. Hinata turned around to go back down the stairs. Mizu took one look at the basket in her hands. She left it by his door before following him quietly with her hands clasped in front of her body.

"You smell bad," Daichi said as he sniffed towards Hinata. He had his chopsticks in his bowl of rice. Daichi made faces at the man as if he could shower right then and there.

"If you're not careful, I'll lift my arm and suffocate you in it," Hinata said lowly biting onto the tips of his chopsticks. He moved his hand towards Daichi. The boy went into defense putting his hand up to push him back.

Kyo was busy working late, as usual. Her career was that of a hotel manager near the Tokodeki apartments. It was an endless stressful job, but it kept her supported and her mind off her current divorce. Daichi brought his chopsticks up to fight Hinata with his.

"Now, now, children, we're not showing proper table manners," Kenshin said sipping his coffee. He saw Mizu watching Hinata more openly. He wondered what had happened with the two. Perhaps they made up with each other?

"You two always have to fight at the table. One night I'd like to come down here to have a quiet dinner," Riku said closing his laptop. He placed his chopsticks on the table. Chiyoko's cooking was the best at Tokodeki. He sniffed the meal slowly closing his eyes. "Chiyoko grandma has outdone herself."

"Yes, she has. I enjoy our meals together. It makes us seem more like a family and less like strangers," Kenshin said of his own loneliness. He had no family of his own. His mother died a few years ago of a heart attack while his father left him when he was a boy. The strained relationship had caused him to seek out social gatherings to fulfill a void in his life. He turned his head to see Mizu's softened gaze watching Hinata more intently. The man was not paying attention to her at all. Kenshin decided to break the silence. "Mizu, how are you liking your stay here?"

Mizu jumped a little at being spoken to while staring off. She blushed embarrassed, looking straight at her plate. She had gotten caught. Her eyes lifted to see Kenshin looking at her with a smile. He knew she had been looking at Hinata. "Um, you all are very interesting," she said softly. "I'd like to get to know all of you well."

Noburu took that as his cue to move over towards Mizu. He scurried over to the table to sit next to her rather abruptly. "Even me," he said with big eyes moving closer to her.

Mizu tensed at Noburu. He was awfully strange. She had felt him watching her from time to time when she moved around the apartment complex. "Y-Yes," she said trying to remain polite. Her mother would have killed her if she had smacked Noburu right across his face like she wanted.

Hinata kept Daichi at bay with his hand. His eyes shifted to see Noburu watching Mizu as if she were a rack of lamb and he'd been starving for a few days. Hinata glared so hard at the man, that Noburu sensed it. He turned his head slowly to watch Hinata shake his head. "Leave her alone," he said lowly.

Noburu practically hissed at Hinata for interfering. He scurried back over to the other table, his head lowered. As soon as he was safely away from the man, he began plotting against him.

Mizu bowed her head. "Th-Thank you," she said before rising to take her dinner ware into the kitchen. Hinata had saved her from an awkward moment. She had to get away from Noburu. There was something about him that frightened her.

Hinata went back to his apartment after making sure Daichi got in bed. He felt responsible for the boy when Kyo was working late. Looking at the clock on the small table in the apartment, he saw that it was nine o'clock. Kyo wouldn't be home until ten. Daichi was rolled over with the covers all the way up to his neck on the futon. Hinata reached into Daichi's book bag to pull out a walkie talkie. He turned it on. "If you need anything, talk to me through the walkie talkie, Dai."

Daichi was half asleep when he heard Hinata say something about his communication device. "Okay," he said sleepily. It wasn't long before he heard Hinata leave the apartment. Daichi fell asleep worn out from the previous day.

Hinata kept his hand on the door for a moment, listening out for the boy. He didn't hear any movement. The coast was clear. He walked down the hall to the stairs. As his foot stepped on the first step, he took one last look at the apartment to make sure everything was alright. Hinata headed up to the third floor.

Unlike the first floor, which remained busy, the second floor was mildly busy. Most of the activity was Daichi running around forgetting things from the apartment. Asuka was never home. The third floor was pretty quiet. It was only him and Kenshin who lived up top. Kenshin's room was across the hall from Hinata's, and four apartments down. He stopped at his apartment looking around. It was very quiet.

His foot hit something by the door. Hinata looked down to see the basket of food. He crouched to pick through it. Isn't this what Mizu was carrying earlier? His hand shifted the fruit around. Apples. Oranges. Bananas. Grapes. Tomatoes. Hinata sighed. If she had gone to that kind of trouble for him, she was trying to get along with him. Some of these are out of season. They were expensive. Hinata picked the basket up as he went into his apartment. He set the basket on the counter in the one room apartment. Her room is right below mine isn't it? Hinata crouched to the floor.

Soon he found himself bent over, listening for any movement downstairs. There wasn't a sound of a t.v. playing, or the sound of water. He couldn't hear anything. Was she already in the bed at this hour? It wasn't late. Hinata crawled cautiously on his floor to the shoji screen that led to the balcony. He opened it. He didn't want her to hear him moving about.

Hinata stepped onto the balcony in the freezing cold. He leaned over the railing to peer down below. There was light coming from Mizu's apartment to the snow outside. What is she doing? From the shadow he saw from the window, he could see a form moving about in a graceful dance. He didn't know why, but he found himself watching her for a long time, until his toes were numb from the cold. Mizu was a dancer. Hinata blushed as he stood up. He rubbed his arms. The snow had fallen even more since he had been standing outside. He shook his head free of the cold.

Hinata closed the shoji screen. He looked around his bare apartment. It wasn't littered with anything he had an interest in. As he stood there looking at the bareness of the place, he could hear a voice inside of his head speaking to him. You know, if you let her in, you might like her and she might like you. "Yeah, right," he said answering the voice back. Why must you be so negative? Hinata lowered his head as if he were getting hit with a paper, or stick. I thought I raised you better than that, Hinata. Your grandmother and I want to see you happy. It's been such a long time since you've smiled. That has remained closed for years. Hinata felt someone touch his chest. "And what would she think if she knew about me, Grandpa? She might think I'm crazy since I can hear you."

So you can hear us speaking when you need to hear us. We're not there to scold you. The best we can do is use our energy to check on you every once in a while. Maybe she'll think you're talented.

"No, she'll think I'm crazy. Anyone who has tried to get close to me, has been discouraged once I say 'Hey, by the way, did you know that I have a special gift? I can hear the dead speak to me as if they're really here'." Hinata closed his eyes. "Someone with my gift finds it a burden. Can you leave me alone for a while? I need to think," he said. Hinata didn't sense his Grandfather anywhere in the apartment. Had the old man, who had died several years ago, came back at this moment to just say those words?

"Let Mizu in," Hinata repeated. "What can he possibly know that I don't?" He unfolded his futon. Tomorrow was the weekend. Maybe I'll sleep in for a little while. I work too much.

Outside the snow fell from the sky in soft flurries, their forms dancing with the wind.

Chapter 4

Acquaintances

Hinata stopped by Ran's clothing shop to drop off another package. He couldn't believe his boss had misplaced it in another storage area. Today he was being put off route. He normally stayed to the other side of town because his customers were on that side. Hinata got off his moped slowly raising his leg to lift it over. Lifting the small package off the vehicle, he noticed hands moving through the display window.

The hands were trying to remove clothing off one of the mannequins. The clothing slipped out of the hands and fell to the floor. He immediately saw a face pop into view to desperately search and grab the material. It was Mizu.

He opened the door to the shop reaching his hand up to stop the bell from making a noise. Hinata slipped in unnoticed. He put the package on the counter before tip toeing towards Mizu. She was in a pit of panic trying to get the material dusted off.

Mizu brushed off the material hurriedly expecting Ran to inspect her work. She folded it nicely with delicate grace. Mizu crouched down to place the clothing into a box on the floor beside her. Ran wanted to change the displays every week to give people an idea about what the store carried.

Hinata leaned close to Mizu letting his long bangs hang. "I saw what you did," he said right into her ear. She dropped the clothing and screamed. Mizu turned around quickly with her hand on her chest. Hinata waved at her. "Hi," he said softly. "Ran's not a hard person to get along with. She's not going to scold you. It's not like you set it on fire."

"You scared the life out of me," Mizu said trying to catch her breath. She lowered her head closing her eyes. Her heart was beating incredibly fast. She waited a moment until it started to calm down. Mizu stood up and turned around. "Are you delivering another package?"

"Yeah, my boss had misplaced a box for Ran," he said moving to the counter. "Not sure what it is exactly. Can you sign for it?"

Mizu nodded. She took the clipboard from him to sign. Mizu's hand moved across the appear slowly. she sensed Hinata watching her as she wrote. The moment she lifted her eyes, he started scratching his head with his eyes averted.

Hinata took the clipboard from Mizu slowly. His fingers touched hers. They both recoiled instantly letting the clipboard fall to the floor with a clatter. He bent down at the same time she did to retrieve it. Their heads bumped into each other hard. Hinata lifted his hands to rub his scalp. "Sssorry," he said in pain.

Mizu didn't make another gesture to get the clipboard. She let him retrieve it. Hinata stood up and stepped back. He turned his back to her quickly and left the shop without another word. She found herself staring out the window as he cranked the moped. He soon left. Did I do something wrong?

Hinata kept his head down as he drove through Ohara to catch up with his routes. He wasn't accustomed to being nervous around others. Why had he acted the way he did towards her at the end? I'm such an idiot. She probably thinks everything she thought about me before is correct.

Mizu keeps to herself most of the time. I'm acting as if she's about to attack me, or something. Hinata lifted his head fully to watch the road in front of him. There was a Siamese cat walking across the road in front of him. Hinata gritted his teeth as he swerved to avoid hitting the animal. As he began to slide on the ice and snow, he lost control of the moped.

The moped went straight for a light pole. He gripped the handles hard trying to regain control of it to no avail. The moped hit with such force that he was propelled off of it, and flew upside down in the air. Hinata yelled as he came down, his head hitting the sidewalk on the other side.

Hinata blacked out for a few minutes. When he awoke, his eyes fluttered open to see the Siamese cat laying upon his chest. People started coming out of the shops looking at the accident. A man stood over him saying, "He's alive. Someone call an ambulance!"

Hinata didn't think he was hurt that badly. He sat up slowly, his head spinning. "I don't need a doctor. I'm fine," he said. He managed to stand on his feet, his hand pressed against a building to support him.

"You need to be checked out. You weren't wearing a helmet," the man said putting his hand upon the youth. "Please, sit down. Please."

Hinata reached into his back pocket for his wallet. "Call someone in here," he said as his eyes started to roll back in his head. Hinata's legs went out from under him.

The man grabbed him with the help of another man who had approached from one of the shops. "He must have a concussion. Look into his wallet. We might find a phone number for his family," the man said. He looked back at the moped on the light pole. "That vehicle isn't going to be of much use for a while."

"No, it's ruined. Those things aren't meant to sustain that kind of damage. He must have been going faster than the speed limit," the other man said. "And with no helmet? He's lucky he's not dead as far as he was thrown." He shook his head at the unconscious young man laying in the snow.

Kyo sat on the floor next to the futon watching over Hinata. She had been called at work for an emergency. Not knowing what was going on, she thought it had been Daichi who was injured. Kyo had driven with such hectic speed her car had slid on the ice a few times. To her surprise, it had been Hinata. Who would have thought he'd actually need me at a time like this? She took the rag off his forehead to dip it in the hot water in a bowl near her. Kyo rang it out before she placed it back. She shook her head.

Kyo heard the door to the apartment open. Daichi stood with his backpack in the entrance. He had a worried expression on his face. "Mama, what happened to Hinata?" He threw his backpack down in the entrance way. Daichi hopped on one bare foot as he tried to free the other from the shoe. His feet padded on the floor running to her.

"He had an accident today, Daichi. Calm down, he's alright," Kyo said. Although, it could have been worse. I've told him several times about wearing a helmet. Hinata looked up to her like a big sister. She took the comment and thoughtfulness to heart. Kyo's own sister didn't converse with her much. The woman was always busy with her own affairs – and was happily married, unlike Kyo. She placed her hand on Daichi's arm. "Do me a favor. Go downstairs and tell Chiyoko to make some hot peppermint tea."

"What's the tea for," Daichi asked tilting his head to the side.

"It'll help soothe the headache he's bound to have when he wakes up," she said. Kyo turned her son around and pushed on him. "Go, Dai. Be careful about carrying the tray up the stairs okay? And if you see Nakahara, tell him he's needed." Her son went out the apartment without another word.

"You really messed up, Hinata. Your moped is totaled. I wonder what you were thinking about to be so heavily distracted," she said. Her mind went back to when Hinata had saved up enough money to get the moped. He had only had it a little over a year. Before, he had done all of his deliveries on a bike he had had. The bike had been a refurnished antique sold a long time ago to help pay for the moped. If you hadn't of had the money for a helmet, you could have told me. I could have spared it. She sighed.

Kyo turned her head to see Kenshin Nakahara taking his shoes off. She turned back around focusing her attention back on Hinata. It wasn't that Kenshin made her uncomfortable, it was more to the fact she didn't understand him. Her ex-husband had been a sincere man when they were dating – even the first few years of marriage. But when she had gotten pregnant with Daichi, it seemed tension blanketed the couple. Kyo suspected her husband resented Daichi's birth because he was forced to give up his freedom for his son.

Kyo had wanted her husband to be a good father, but the man was concerned only with making money when he was at work. She had been a stay-at-home mother until Daichi was two-years-old. Then when he was old enough, she had gone back to work. Things started to really fall apart when Daichi got sick, or he needed something. Her husband wasn't the type to be deterred from his schedule –whether it was work, or leisure. That's when she had noticed how selfish he was.

Kyo sighed even deeper. Children changed people. Some parents could handle the stress of dealing with their kids, and… some could not. To her, Daichi was the most important thing in her life. She had struggled to work and go back to night school while Daichi slept. Hinata had been her life savior. He didn't mind watching her son while she ran errands, or worked late. She thought a lot of him. "He has a concussion," she said out of the blue to Kenshin. The man was kind of startled at her speaking directly to him.

"O-Oh, I see," Kenshin said as he sat on the other side of Hinata's sleeping form. "Daichi dropped the tray when he saw me entering the building. He should be up in a moment with a fresh one." Kenshin kept his eyes averted from Kyo's on purpose. He knew he made her tense when he was around. "How did he get in an accident?"

"It seems he was driving and hit a light pole a few miles from here. His moped is trashed. Which means-," Kyo started.

"He's out of a job," Kenshin completed for her. "I remember when he had gotten it. He was so happy to have his first vehicle, even if it wasn't a car," he said with a smile. "Funny how he took such good care of it."

"You have no idea how many times I had to scold him to stop waxing that thing," Kyo said with a hint of her true personality. "He needed to save his money. It's hard living on your own."

"Yes, yes it is," Kenshin agreed. He reached forward to put his fingers on Hinata's wrist. "His pulse seems fine," he commented. "What do you need me for," he finally asked. He wasn't entirely sure why Kyo had called him to the apartment. He wasn't a doctor. He was a pet salesman.

"Could you… Could you watch over Hinata for me," Kyo asked suddenly. "I'm going away for a while. Asuka has agreed to watch Daichi for me since Hinata's not going to be well enough yet to do so."

"I don't mind," Kenshin said softly. He heard the sadness in her voice. "Where are you going, might I ask? I'm not trying to intrude, Kyo," he said as she looked up at him with her brows furrowed. "Is it something serious?"

Kyo searched Kenshin's eyes trying to understand the man's concern with her. "It is, in a way. My ex-husband is trying to find Daichi and I. I refuse to let him have joint custody of our son. He's showed no interest in him when we were married, so why now? I suspect he's trying to play off being a good father to his new girlfriend. He also has a reputation to think about in the business he's in."

Kenshin hated to hear that sort of thing. It seemed Kyo's ex-husband was still only reacting selfishly. "There's not business, or career, you can be in where your actions are justified by selfish acts," he said with distaste. "If you have to live that sort of lie, then you're the type of person that doesn't need to be in that profession."

Kyo looked up at him. Kenshin was a very humble, honorable type of person. He was thoughtful in his decisions regarding others. She glanced back at the floor, thinking. Every time she had snapped at him, or forced him to retreat, he had only nodded his head and apologized. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. "Kenshin, I'm sorry for how I've been treating you for the past few years."

Kenshin almost fell to the floor with his arms over his head. He was in shock. Kyo didn't apologize for anything. She only justified her reasons in the past. "I appreciate the apology, but why now?"

Kyo shook her head. "Because it's taken a lot of lectures to make me open my eyes to others. I've been so worried about being found that I've gone to extreme measures to cover my trail." She nervously lit a cigarette. Kyo started to smoke, her mind becoming clouded with images of herself. "Don't get me wrong, that man has no idea where we are. He won't find us way up here. I normally hate the beach, so he'd be checking around at major hot spots in Japan. I sort of led enough hints to make it seem that's where I'd go if I needed refuge."

Kenshin watched her rake her hands through her hair several times. "Well, if you don't want to be found, Ohara is a good choice. It's so small that it's not found on major geographical maps of the world. However, maybe he's aware you've led him amiss by now."

"Probably. He's been posting our faces in Kyoto. I suppose he wants to get a lead on us," Kyo said with a horrible aftertaste in her mouth. She didn't want to see her ex-husband again. Her life before had been a solemn housewife, until she started going to college and talking to other women in the classes she had. They had convinced her that her life wasn't what she wanted. No, Kyo wasn't the type to be a quiet mouse. She was more prone to leaping and waiting with her tail twitching.

"Now that you know he's really searching for both of you, where are you going to go, Kyo? It's not just your face that's out there," Kenshin said knowing she was full aware of it. "Small towns are great to hide in. No one comes out here but tourists for the most part. I'm sorry, my mind is getting jumbled with questions I want to ask, but I don't dare upset you," he said backing off.

Kyo reached into her pocket for a small flip-open ashtray she carried. She snuffed out her cigarette. "I want Daichi to remain here where he's safe. I know Hinata is protective of him. He wouldn't let anything, or anyone harm him. I can take care of myself better if he's not around. It would draw more attention."

"So where are you going to go," Kenshin asked getting to the real question. If Kyo was planning on running for a little while, he figured she had a plan. She had already led him to believe she was capable of master minding for a long time until her real objective could be achieved.

She didn't know why, but she decided to confide in him. "Kagoshima," she said as she closed her cigarette pack. "I have no ties there. No friends. No family. I'll blend in if I remain out of the lime light." Kyo stood up. She retrieved a pad from her purse. "I'm leaving my cell phone number with you. Only call me if something is wrong and I need to come back. Hide it," she said walking over to Kenshin. She handed it to him. "Remember, only if there is an emergency. I'm telling Daichi I'm going away on a business trip. He'll understand that explanation at his age."

Kenshin stared at the phone number in his possession. He wasn't really sure what to think about Kyo going away for a while. What were the chances of her ex-husband being able to find her? He didn't know. She was running scared for herself and for her son.

Hinata started to open his eyes. He had remained still until Kyo had explained her reasoning to Kenshin. "Running away isn't going to stop him from looking," he said lifting his hand to his head. He had a major headache. "Asprins would be great right now," he groaned.

Kenshin smiled at Hinata's complaint. "Glad to see you're still amongst the living," he said. His gaze went to the door. "Where is Daichi with the tea?" As he said the words, the door started to open. He and Kyo had been talking for quite a while.

Chiyoko walked in carrying the tray herself. "Sorry, I had to send Riku to get tea. It's not a habit of mine to run out of stock. I see you're awake now," she said as she walked over to hand the tray to Kyo. "Nice bruise you have there," she said touching Hinata on the head. He gritted his teeth. "Teach you to ride without a helmet. Hard lesson to learn."

"I wasn't planning on crashing," Hinata said angrily. He sat up quickly. "My moped! Where is it? Ah!" He held his head in his hands. Kyo pushed him back down. "Where is my moped, Kyo?"

"You hit the pole going rather fast, Hinata. It's totaled," she said. Hinata started to fight with her and Kenshin trying to get up. "Hinata, stay down! You're stressing your body out more! You need to take it easy!"

Kenshin forced Hinata down using his weight and strength of his arms. "She's right. Seeing the moped now isn't going to change the condition it's in. What were you trying to avoid?"

Hinata breathed hard, upset. His only means of transportation was ruined. "A cat. A cat was crossing the road in front of me. I couldn't slow down. I was late on my route." Hinata griped. "Ah, man, it had taken me months to come up with the money for it!"

"You should have been wearing a helmet," Chiyoko said in her grandmotherly tone. "Now you are injured and out of work. Who else can make your deliveries for you?" She looked down at him. "Well! No time like the present to learn a lesson," she said clapping her hands. "Tomorrow let's all go to Kasumi's for an outing. No better time to have a day for relaxation!"

Hinata looked up at Kenshin. "Is she serious? I'm out of a job and she wants to go indulge?" He closed his eyes frustrated.

They all turned to see Daichi running into the room with Mizu. Mizu was very worried. She bowed several times to the others before running in. Her socks slipped on the floor. Mizu went falling towards Hinata with her arms outstretched.

Hinata's eyes widened. Everything was happening in slow motion. Mizu was fixing to land on his aching hurt body. Kenshin was leapt over him to try and catch her. Kyo was being pushed backwards with Chiyoko twirling in the air towards the floor. Hinata made a horrible face of disgust. "Hot spring sounds good," he said to himself before Mizu landed on him fully.

The tray of tea went falling to the floor. Mizu got up quickly to look at Hinata. His face was stuck in a half-smile with his eyes half-open. Was he dead. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" She crawled over him peering down at him. "I didn't mean to! Are you hurt? I mean, are you hurt more? Oh, my goodness, I'm sorry," she said sitting back on his hips with her hands covering her face. Mizu shook her head, her long hair moving in the opposite direction.

Kenshin sat up watching Mizu punish herself for landing on the injured Hinata. "Mizu, I think it would be best if you got off of him," he said gently as he could. She only looked at him in shock before she realized where she was sitting. Again, Mizu started to bow low and apologize numerous times.

Chiyoko honked the horn on the old bus she had driven out from the back of Tokodeki. "All aboard for Oharanosato!" She hadn't seen he sister, Kasumi, in a long time. It was time to get reacquainted. "Come on, come on. Don't drag your feet."

Hinata walked towards the bus with Kenshin holding up upright. Everyone was excited about going to Oharanosato Hot spring. They all knew they were welcome at any time; however, it was rare for them to be together in a large group. Everyone had conflicting schedules usually. He grunted as Kenshin helped him get onto the bus. "My body hurts all over," he griped as the man from down the hall lowered him into a seat. Hinata looked around at the vacant bus. "Where's Mizu," he found himself saying.

Kenshin seemed a bit surprised to hear Hinata ask about the new tenant. "I believe she is borrowing a bathing suit from Kyo." He set Hinata's bag on the other side of the seat. "She's awfully modest. It's cute," he said with a smile.

Chiyoko stood up in the driver's seat with her hands moving around. "We need seating arrangements. Yes, yes," she said watching Hinata give her a look. "It's more enjoyable when we sit with those we can get to know. Kenshin, you can sit over there," she said pointing to a certain seat down from Hinata.

Riku was entering the bus next. His shoulders were slumped and his messenger bag hung loosely over his arm. "Kyo stole my laptop," he grumbled. He moved past Hinata to slump in a seat Chiyoko demanded he sit in near the back.

Asuka entered the bus wearing a leather coat with fur on the collar and sleeves. She peered at Hinata, moving her hand up to lower her sunglasses. "So how are you and Mizu fairing?" Hinata's face turned bright red. He averted his eyes. Asuka giggled. "That well, huh?" She sat in the front despite Chiyoko signaling he to the back near Riku. "Oh, come now, you aren't trying to play match maker, are you?"

Chiyoko tried to justify her reasoning. "Not at all. They need to get acquainted. And you could teach Riku to be sociable," she said moving her arm and pointing at the young man. Riku's head was slumped over in disbelief at having his laptop removed for the trip.

If Riku was the last person in existence, he would be sociable with himself for good company. Hinata grinned. He felt someone hit him on the head with a light bag. He looked up to see Kyo glaring at him.

"You need to be more responsible," Kyo said crossing her arms. "You could have cracked your skull open with a stunt like that." She looked away, her eyes becoming sad. "You're one of the few reasons I smile, Hinata. Don't do that again," she mildly scolded. Kyo walked to sit beside Kenshin.

Hinata lowered his head. For the first time in a long time, he felt ashamed – really ashamed. Was he taking Kyo's openness towards him for granted? Man, I didn't think she'd get upset like that. She was one of the first people I started to trust next to Kenshin and Chiyoko. He laid his head against the glass. I don't want to mess things up with her. Then where will I be?

Noburu slipped ontot he bus after Daichi. His eyes darted around looking for a seat Mizu would be interested in. Chiyoko demanded suddenly for him to sit near Kenshin. He lowered his head, his plans foiled. It only took a simple glare from Hinata to send him quickly to his seat. His eyes got wide, shoulders tensed, and he darted to the leather seat with a plop.

Emi had attached herself to Mizu early that morning. She followed behind her towards the bus. Chiyoko was already beeping the horn to get their attention. Mizu started to pick up the pace. "She's not going to leave us," Emi said as Chiyoko started to put the bus into gear. Emi threw herself at the door with her hand outstretched for the rail. She latched onto it, swinging her legs up onto the first step. Emi scrambled to find her seat.

"Punctuality is a virtue," Chiyoko sang. She drove to the bus down the lope of the mountain with such glee and speed that her tenants were freaking out. "Hold onto your butts, we're on an adventure!"

"Ah!" Hinata fell over. He sat up angrily holding his head. The motion of the bus was giving him a headache. It was like being on a rollercoaster ride with Chiyoko at the wheel. "I was just in an accident you crazy old woman! I don't need another one!"

Chiyoko turned the bus sharply around a curve sending poor Hinata towards the floor in the aisle. He gritted his teeth lifting his head off the floor. Hinata wanted to cry. He was in a lot of pain from the wreck with his moped – now this. Before he knew it, Mizu was trying to help get him back in the seat for his safety.

Mizu struggled to lift Hinata. He was pure dead weight. Not an easy feat to pull off for anyone trying to do it by themselves. She grunted managing to get Hinata turned over. As she crouched panting, Emi and Kenshin were assisting her, lifting Hinata's into a sitting position. "Please, help me get him laid down," she said. They put him neatly on the seat with his head turned towards the back of the seat, his body laying sideways. Mizu took off her coat. She draped it over his side. "Chiyoko grandma, could you ease up a tad on the driving," Mizu asked softly.

Chiyoko's ear twitched. Had she heard Mizu make a request in Hinata's favor? She smiled as she started to slow the bus down. Chiyoko whistled adjusting her glasses before returning her hands to the steering wheel. "Let's all sing a song while we're on the way!"

"Are you crazy," they all shouted in defiance of such an idea.

Mizu went back to her seat. She was afraid of looking at Hinata. He seemed miserable, but the expression on his face was that of content. Her heart skipped a beat. She glanced around at everyone. They were talking amongst themselves and getting along rather well.

Mizu felt her cheeks flush. They know, don't they? It seems like they do. My heart is pounding inside my chest. I want to see Hinata's expression more often. Mizu straightened her spine trying to mask her thoughts.

"Mizu, what dirty thoughts are you having back there," Asuka asked out of nowhere. She saw the girl's eyes go wide, her body tense. "Hmm? Hey, girl, chill out. I was only teasing. But if you were having dirty thoughts, imagine Hinata without his shirt on," she said in a whisper. That did it. Mizu's face turned so red she pulled her hood down to hide herself. Asuka giggled. They're so cute. Neither of them know about the other. She turned around to re-apply her lipstick.

Kasumi stood on the front of the wrap around porch with her hands behind her back. She was wearing a traditional demon mask, her small chubby form appearing as a statue. The group of people getting off the bus moved up the steps, stopping before the entrance. They were not aware of her presence. Her eyes opened, she turned around fast, her hands out in tackle position. "Welcome to Oharanosato!" The group in front of her jumped. One girl screamed moving back until she bumped into the railing. "Ah, here you must have your wits about you! Legend and history come alive in this place. For the next few days, you all will be eating amongst the spirits in these mountains. Come in, if you dare," she said with an ominous voice. She scurried to open the inn. Her small body went straight behind a desk to discard her mask. She sat quietly with her hands upon her lap, waiting.

Hinata was depending on Kyo and Kenshin to help him walk. His feet moved forward until they were all inside. He looked around the place. It was defiantly an old traditional Japanese inn. Statues and scrolls were near the walls. The wood in the place had a unique smell to it. It was well taken care of by the owner, but he could sense the history drifting through the air. Hinata's eyes drifted up the stairs. There was something moving up there. His 6th sense was picking up on a person drifting around.

Hinata glanced around at everyone. They were all staring at Kasumi Honda, Chiyoko's sister. The woman was remaining quiet, acting totally different than before. "Are you kidding me? Who does she think she's fooling? Quit trying to scare us, you old bat."

Kasumi opened her eyes slowly, her hands shaking as she reached in a drawer to take out the register to write down the names. Her other hand grabbed an ink pen out of a frog. She licked the pen a few times, slowly, her tongue rolling over it as the group's eyes twitched. Kasumi mmed softly as if she were tasting something really good. Then she snapped to, her hand moving across the paper. "Now, how many of you are there? Such a large crowd gets a 15% discount, three meals a day, along with unlimited access to the bathing area."

Chiyoko moved through the crowd her head barely peeping over the desk. "Kasumi, it's my group. We had a deal to let them stay free a long time ago, remember?" Her sister looked up with a frown on her face. Kasumi tapped the paper a few times. "Hinata had an accident the other day. He needs your care."

"Oh, no," Hinata said as Kasumi slid off the chair. She ducked her head coming out from under the desk. The woman went over to him sizing him up and down. I'm going to get Chiyoko for this. Who knows what weird concoctions her sister is going to use on me. His mind flashed back to horrible remedies he had been forced to drink in the past.

"Weary body, weary mind," Kasumi said tapping his knee with her finger. She turned around, bouncing up and down as she walked to a hall. Kasumi turned around waving the crowd to follow her. She pointed off to her left. "Men's bathing area." Her hand pointed to the door beside it. "Women's bathing area. Both are covered by a large stone wall. No peeking. They stay open until midnight." Kasumi moved around the lower part of the inn. "We shall eat in the large area together every night at 7pm. Breakfast is served promptly at 7am. Lunch is not provided. There is a small van that leaves at noon if anyone wants to go shopping in town, or sight seeing. Isamu will be happy to drive you."

Mizu stopped away from the group, her eyes focused on an old scroll painting. There was a plain woman hugging the legs of a fallen man. An older man stood behind the pair, his arm raised over head bearing a katana. Her eyes kept moving around the painting, taking it in, but every so often, they went back to the couple on the bottom of the scroll. It was a sad painting. Mizu could feel the sadness reverting from the painting. She lifted her hand, her fingers trailing over it. She could almost hear the woman's voice echoing in her mind. "No, what have you done? What have you done? I loved him!"

Mizu gasped as she heard her name being called. The group had already went around the bottom of the inn and were heading upstairs. "Y-Yes," she said nervously. She turned around, glancing over her shoulder at the scroll before catching up with them.

"The entire upstairs area is vacant. Pick any rooms you like," Kasumi said moving along the corridor. "Winter months are carefree around here. I was hoping for some income though," she said with sadness as she looked at the group. "Tips would be appreciated!" Kasumi marched her plump self downstairs. She felt being taken advantage of when business was slacked off.

"Alright, well, we'll see you later. I'm going to go take a nice relaxation in the hot spring," Kyo said. She pushed Daichi into the room the moment she opened the shoji screen. "Time to get changed, Dai."

Mizu picked the room on the far left of the staircase. She turned her head to see Kenshin helping Hinata into his room to the far right. Kyo and Daichi were staying in the middle room. Across from her, was Riku. Next to him on the right was Noburu. Mizu tensed the moment the man glanced at her with a leer. She turned around holding onto the shoji screen. He creeps me out.

Kenshin opened the shoji screen with a clack. Hinata was leaning on him really hard. "Hang on, I'm fixing to get you in the bed," he said. Emi was noisily running around her room next to Asuka's with the shoji open. She seems awfully carefree right now.

Hinata sat against the wall watching Kenshin pull the futon out of the closet. The man laid it out, dusting it off. He brought his hand up to his head. He closed his eyes, depicting the form he had felt earlier. It was hiding upstairs in one of the vacant rooms. Who are you? His mind called out to it, his senses picking up. The form was not threatening.

Kenshin crouched in front of Hinata. "Is your head bothering you that badly?" Hinata seemed to be awaking from a dream. "I think you need to lay down. I'll come get you in a little while, alright?" He helped lift the young man up. "Steady, Hinata, move your feet." Kenshin pushed him from behind to force him to walk. "You've got to help me some. I know it's difficult, but you've got to fight the pain in your bones."

Hinata fell back onto the futon. Kenshin seemed like a strange older brother who hadn't found his calling in life yet. He watched the man cover him up. "Kenshin, I'll be fine. You can go enjoy yourself. I just need to rest."

Kenshin stood, taking one last look at him. "Alright, if you insist. I'm going to go work on some material I've been writing. I'll check on you in a bit," he said exiting the room, closing the shoji screen quietly.

Hinata closed his eyes, his mind searching for the form he had felt again. It wasn't in the vacant room anymore. Where did you go? He was half-curious to who and what it was, and also concerned that it may be lingering on the hot springs for other reasons. Japan's full of spirits. I don't know why I'm trying to indulge in this particular one. He soon drifted off into sleep.

Kyo sat in the hot spring with a towel on her head. She tilted her head back looking up at the winter sky. It was strange for the air to be cold, yet the mineral water kept her body heated outside. This place must be gorgeous in the spring with frogs jumping and croaking at night. She felt lazy. It wasn't every day she took time off for herself.

Kyo lifted her arm out of the water. She stared at it as the droplets went back into the hot spring. I hope I'm doing the right thing by leaving Daichi at Tokodeki. I don't want Mizmaru to find him. I know this location is far from Kyoto, but… I have a feeling he's searching for us. If I depart from Daichi, it will limit the chance of him getting a hold of him. I know Hinata wouldn't let anything happen to him. Please, don't let me be making a bad decision. Kyo closed her eyes thinking about her son.

For now, she would enjoy her stay at Oharanosato. In a few days, she would leave Ohara for the southern tip of Japan. Her real objective was to throw her husband off the scent.

Chapter 5

Misunderstanding

Mizu admired herself in the room, turning around several times to glance and check her bathing suit. Is it too revealing? What if the guys see me? I've never worn anything like this in front of others. Mizu blushed lowering her head. She was modest and insecure about her body.

What if the string comes untied? I'll be so embarrassed. She covered her large breasts as if someone was peeping in on her. Mizu hadn't expected Kyo's bathing suit to fit her so well. It appeared they were the same size in the bust and trunk area, even though, Mizu was a lot shorter than her. My body is weird. Maybe I should wear a t-shirt over it.

Mizu exited the room slowly looking around the corridor to make sure no one was there. She still had to muster up the courage to walk down the steps and into the open area outside. Mizu closed the shoji screen softly. Her body tensed. A heavy breathing drifted to her ears. Mizu's eyes widened. Her head turned around slowly.

Noburu smiled at her with his hands raised. He sniffed the air trying to catch Mizu's scent. "You're so beautiful," he said in a creepy voice. "Sit next to me, okay?"

Mizu had forgotten to put the t-shirt on as soon as she had thought of it. She got the chills down her back as she stood trapped between the screen and Noburu. Mizu screamed in a high-pitched, deafening tone, "Get away from me!"

Noburu tried to calm her down by telling her to be quiet. It didn't work. The girl was frightened of him. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get to know you better," he said licking his lips.

Mizu screamed even louder, tears starting to come down her face. She felt she was in danger. Noburu was trying to put his hands on her shoulder. She moved her arms up slapping the attempt away.

Kenshin and Hinata came out of the room wondering what was going on. They both went straight for Noburu. Hinata turned the small, younger man around with a twirl so fast, he almost lost his balance. He slammed the palm of his hand against the wall. "What do you think you're doing to her?"

Kenshin stood between Mizu and Noburu. He put his hand on her head, rubbing his thumb against her cranium gently. Mizu was defiantly scared. He had been in the room applying hot packs to Hinata's back and shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry," Mizu said covering her face. She felt Kenshin lower her arms. She looked at the two men who came to her aid.

"No need to be sorry. He's a creepy little worm," Hinata said watching her out of the corner of his eye. Mizu was sniffling. He turned his hard gaze back onto Noburu. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to," he said in a cold, hard voice. "I've seen you spying on her when she enters Tokodeki. What's the matter with you?"

Mizu saw how Noburu was cowering with Hinata standing in front of him. She looked at Hinata, her mouth dropping open. He wasn't covered. Her eyes went over the tattoo sleeves he had on both of his arms. Then her gaze drifted to the tattoo on his upper-left chest and lower-right abdominal area. Before she could stop herself, the words escaped her lips in a whisper, "You've a vibrant painting."

Hinata's eyes widened. His body moved to look at her with his cheeks flourishing. No one had ever called his markings that before. Most thought they were hideous, or not becoming for the son of a factory owner. His hand came off the wall gently, his fingers curling as if the wall was fragile under his touch. Their eyes met and they stared at each other. Of course, Noburu took this opportunity to escape. He darted past Hinata and flew down the stairs.

Kenshin felt odd standing between the two. They probably don't know what to think of each other. He whispered to Mizu, "Just be yourself," he said taking his leave. Kenshin went back to his room to read Haiku, a secret favorite past time of his.

Mizu bit her bottom lip. She looked down, her heart racing. "Thank you for making him go away," she said sincerely.

Hinata stepped forward. He bent down to her, placing a tender kiss on her cheek. Lifting his hand, he placed it on the other cheek tenderly, feeling her pale skin under his fingertips. Her face was warm. "You're the first person who's said those meaningful words about my tattoos," he said in her ear.

Mizu's eyes softened. She thought she was the only one there who was self-conscious about her the way she looked. Mizu lifted her hand absentmindedly placing her fingers on the tattoo on his chest. The pain he endured to place this here must have been excruciating. "What were you trying to forget with all of these?"

Hinata gasped, inhaling sharply. She was reading him like a book, from cover to cover, summoning him up with few words. "How – How did you know I got these-," he stopped. She was caressing each design on his left arm with adoration. Hinata grabbed her, forcing her against his body.

Mizu stood on her tip toes with his hand on the back of her head. She was able to feel his heart beating against his chest. "He only wants somewhere to belong," Takahiro said as he stood in Ran's shop. "That's all anyone wants." Mizu wasn't afraid of him. She moved her hands around his back pressing him towards her in return. Hinata seemed lonely within himself. Was that why he worked odd jobs? To keep himself busy? To forget it all? "Hinata, I'm sorry for whatever you've been through," she said gently with a soothing, nurturing voice.

Why… Why is she apologizing for what he did to me? He moved his head to where his cheek rested against her head. In that special moment, Hinata felt undoubtfully connected to her.

Kyo wondered where Mizu had gotten off. Emi was in the hot spring with Daichi playing. She walked inside wearing a towel around her waist. The temperature change from outside to inside made her shiver. Kyo's teeth chattered. "Burr, it's rough getting out," she complained rubbing her arms.

Kyo started to walk up the stairs with her hand on the railing. "Mizu, aren't you coming down? You can wear a robe if you're that modest."

Mizu pushed Hinata back abruptly. She though if Kyo found them together, she'd getting the wrong idea bout their relationship. Kyo's head popped up in the opening where the staircase was. "Ye-Yes, I'm coming!" She ran past Hinata to go down the stairs.

Kyo waited until Mizu was well out of sight and ear shot. She walked the remaining steps up the stairs. She stood near Hinata. His head was lowered, hand clasped around his left bicep. To her, he seemed relieved. "What happened between you two?"

Hinata's fingers touched the tattoo sleeve, caressing his skin. "She said I was a vibrant painting," he admitted softly. He couldn't confide in Kyo how Mizu read his emotions. She knew the meaning and purpose of them. How was she able to know that much about me in such a short time?

Kyo sighed with relief. She was afraid Mizu had said something profound. "I was worried for a long time what her reaction was going to be," she said of the tattoos on Hinata's body. "I'm glad she's not like the other girls that we've encountered.

"Are you well enough to join us," she asked. Hinata's mind was focused on something else entirely. "Hinata," she said trying to get his attention. "If she's worth it – whatever you're feeling – don't rush it. I know it's been a long time since anyone-"

"What if she slips away," he asked in a sad voice. "It's hard to keep pushing myself, Kyo. I'm not as strong as you are. I'm starting to break."

Kyo cupped his face in her hands. "You have to keep going. Don't be the one to break down – not now. You have Daichi and I to help you keep walking. Even Kenshin. You'd hurt all of us if you,-"Kyo kissed his forehead, not able to complete her sentence. Last year, Hinata had tried to end his life. He was suffering from untold accounts of abuse. "Please, don't leave us just yet. Spring will be here soon. We have to make flower crowns for each other like we did last year."

Hinata's sad eyes softened at the mention of last summer. "Flower crowns," he repeated. He had forgotten until just now the fun they had had. "I want to make them again. I want to tip over the boat while we're fishing, too."

Kyo was going to have to talk to Kenshin and confide in him her concerns. She hated to depend on the man's good nature, but he was one of the few who knew Hinata's real background. She stayed with him until she was a hundred percent sure he was alright.

Kenshin listened to Kyo with his hands clasped together on the table. He rested his mouth against them. "Do you suppose he's having a relapse due to his accident?"

Kyo blew out smoke; her body leaned against the window. "I want to believe that's all it is. He was with Mizu when I found him in the corridor. She must have said something to trigger the bad memories he has. Damnit, he was doing so well these past six months. I was hoping it was a phase he had gone through."

"We can't jump to any conclusions. You also said his emotions towards her had abruptly changed," Kenshin mentioned. He closed his eyes in though. "Mizu isn't a bad girl. She doesn't know anything in depth about him. Only the three of us do," he said referring to himself, Kyo, and Chiyoko.

"Yuuma knows," Kyo said lowly. "I told him two months after it occurred – against Hinata's wishes. It took a while for him to be able to trust me again. Yuuma had had a serious, emotional talk with him."

"That's when Hinata learned he had cancer," Kenshin realized. He exhaled. "If we watch him too closely, he'll be on our tails about it."

"Regardless, I asked Emi to send Mizu in," Kyo said. "I have to know what she said." She turned to face Kenshin's concerned look. "I have to know for my own sanity. I'm standing here worrying so much my hands are shaking."

"At least don't approach her with the bad cop routine. You'll frighten her back into her shell," Kenshin commented. Before Kyo could say anything further, there was a voice at the shoji screen. "You can come in."

Mizu entered Kenshin's room with her head downcast. She had been playing ping pong with Riku. A robe covered her bathing suit. A heavy atmosphere hung in the air. "Am I in trouble?"

Kyo put her hand to her forehead trying to repress the bad vibes she was giving off. "No, dear, we need to have a talk." She kept smoking by the window to keep herself calm.

"Mizu, when Hinata ran Noburu off earlier, was there anything you could have said to cause his mood change," Kenshin asked with a soft voice. He saw the confusion on her face. "He was angry when he saw how Noburu had scared you. But when Kyo came up, his mood was sad – heartbroken."

Mizu blushed. "I thanked him for helping me," she said in all honesty. That was all that happened.

"What else did you say to him? I know you mentioned his tattoos," Kyo said almost losing her cool. Kenshin had told her that much. What was Mizu hiding? The girl wasn't looking her in the face. "What else did you say to him? Tell me what it was."

Mizu's eyes became wide. Kyo was angry with her. "I-I,-"she stammered. Kenshin was shaking his head. "He held me in his arms," Mizu said with a high embarrassment level. She blushed hard, her heart rate increasing along with her anxiety. Kyo was a tough person to convince. "I started to wonder why he had all of those marks on his body and…"

Kyo slammed her hands on the table startling Mizu. Kenshin's' cup rattled. "What words escaped those pale lips of yours?"

"I thought he had those done to escape some sort of pain. I apologized for the feelings they were covering up," she blurted out. Now was Kyo satisfied? Was she in the clear?

Kyo gritted her teeth, her brows furrowed. "Do you realize what you did," she found herself shouting. Kenshin grabbed her arm to hold her back. "Let go of me!"

"She doesn't know," Kenshin said trying to talk her down. Mizu was rather taken aback, her body showing resentment to the high voice volumes. "Hinata has a lot of resentment towards his father. The man sexually abused him for years," he said to finally make the girl understand. "The reason his emotions are bottled up, has to do with his mother. The woman kept silent and refused to help her son. When he was a child, he confided in his grandparents about everything.

He was taken in by them not long after. They denounced their son and daughter-in-law for their cruelty. Several years ago, his grandmother died of kidney failure. His grandfather died not long after – of normal causes. Hinata is alone in this world except for the few of us at Tokodeki."

"What you said to him, no matter how innocent, re-opened the wounds he has," Kyo said rather annoyed. "He was doing fine until now. I don't want him to break like he did last year. I can't go through that again. I can't get another phone call like that," she said with pure sadness. Kyo slumped to the floor. "Stay away from him."

"Kyo, that's not fair," Kenshin said. The damage to Mizu was done. He saw her retreat back into her shell.

"Stay away from him," Kyo repeated with a sad voice.

Mizu laid on the floor in the dark wearing her cherry blossom pajamas. Everyone had gone to dinner except her. She could hear the music drifting up the stairs. "Stay away from him." Mizu ran her fingers along the tatami mats. He was so sad. She could still feel his arms wrapped around her. Mizu was no alienated from the group.

Maybe I shouldn't have moved away from my family. Her life last year had been so ordinary. Mizu wasn't the type to take risks, or join others for social outings. Here she was at Oharanosato with fellow neighbors stuck solely in her room.

Mizu lifted herself up, her head flopping around. She was sluggish. The world around her seemed far away. To her, it was as if she were trying to enter a snow globe – to be part of the magic inside of it. She didn't want to be here.

As the commotion down stairs heightened with joy and good times, Mizu left her room. As she exited, a wave of sadness lingered in the corridor. With a blank stare, she began to follow it down the stairs, her hand drifting on the rail. It didn't occur to her she was being led outside. Her body willingly followed the sadness, her slippers crunching in the snow. Wearing nothing more than flannel pajamas, Mizu disappeared into the dark forest.

Hinata poked Kyo's mouth with the spicy sushi he had on the end of his chopsticks. Kyo was staring him down. After the much needed talk, he was back to his old self. He smiled at her cheekily. "Open," he chimed. Kyo was embarrassed.

"I am not letting you feed me," Kyo said with disapproval. "Eat your food." Kyo felt someone put his arms under hers. Her arms lifted her mouth opening with a threat to slap Kenshin. She blinked. Hinata shoved the spicy sushi in her mouth. She growled.

Emi forced a smile. She knew Kyo wasn't the type of woman to take that sitting down. "You two are going to get it," she said laughing.

Riku sighed. "So noisy," he complained as he ate his fish. His eyes glanced around the room. "Where's Chiyoko and her sister?"

Asuka stacked Daichi's dishes on her tray as she rose. She walked around the room checking for used table ware. "I believe she's in the kitchen drinking sake and battling Kasumi grandma in Shogi."

Kenshin blocked Kyo's attempt at throwing food at him. Daichi was egging her on. "Hey, Daichi, it's not nice to resort to violence."

Being the child in the room, his only concern was rested on the competition. "Get him mom," he shouted bouncing on the pillow. "Stick it down his shirt!"

Hinata was on all fours crawling fast to get away. "Ah!" Kyo jumped on his back. She put her legs around his hips forcing him to slow down. The moment he felt the collar of his yukata open, he started bucking.

Kenshin whistled with his fingers firmly placed on his lips. "And in the open, it's Kyo Miyamoto, the fierce hotel manager from Ohara," he said as an announcer. "The bucking bronco, Painting of a Thousand Words, takes her around the arena with lightening speed. Can she hold on? How long will this last? Thirty more seconds and she'll have tamed the uncontrollable horse!" Daichi and Emi were laughing.

"Kenshin, you're not helping!" Hinata started squirming as Kyo snatched a bowl of rice off Emi's play and poured it down his back. He rose up dropping Kyo to the floor. His movements caused the rice to go everywhere. "Crap! It's in my crevices," he said brushing his front.

"Paybacks are rough," Kenshin admitted as he sipped his coffee with sophistication.

"Don't act like you didn't have a part in this," Hinata shouted at the man.

Asuka entered the kitchen with a tray of food in her hands. She turned around to raise a brow watching Hinata empty rice out of his clothes. However, it wasn't as disturbing as the sight she saw occurring between Chiyoko and Kasumi as she stood in the doorway.

Kasumi laughed with her mouth wide open, her legs in the air kicking as she tottered on the stool. "Ah-hah-ha! Now that's how you make it!" She clapped her hands as Chiyoko, drunk from the sake, slammed her rear onto the dough.

Chiyoko turned around on the stool slamming her hand down so as not to lose her balance. "I tell you this much, the best baker back home was Sato Uremeshi. He could make any dish come out perfect by doing the recipe the first time!" She put her wrinkly small hands around a beer, taking a sip. "Broke my heart when he passed away."

"He was the first love of my life, too," Kasumi chimed in shaking her mixture in a flask. She poured it into her martini glass. "His cinnamon rolls were the best in Hokkaido."

Asuka had almost forgotten why she had come back with the tray. "Have either of you seen Mizu? She wasn't in her room."

Kasumi slipped the olive into her awaiting mouth. "Which one is Mizu?" She hooked her fingers around the glass lifting it into the air, tilting it from side to side. Her eyes were hungry for the liquid to trickle down her throat.

Chiyoko didn't seem to hear Asuka's question. She was lining up the beer cans she and Kasumi had gone through. She placed her hands together in a formal bow before her eyes attempted to focus on the structures of the cans. Chiyoko slammed her head on each can, crushing it to the table.

Kasumi waved miniature Japanese flags around her head congratulating her sister on a perfect victory. "That's how you do it! You've still got it!"

Asuka didn't know why she bothered asking. She walked out of the kitchen with her head lowered. Those two were drunker than a pair of raccoons falling into a brandy barrel. She passed the room where everyone was enjoying themselves. Maybe I should check the game room. She walked around the staircase checking each of the rooms. Mizu wasn't in any of them. "Could she have gone into town this late?"

"Could who have gone into town, Ms. Asuka," Emi asked from behind her.

"Mizu. She's not in the building," Asuka said completing her train of though. "She might have gone shopping, I suppose. She's been a recluse all afternoon."

"But the last trip into town was at four. No one went. Mr. Isamu came back an hour ago," Emi said. She watched Asuka grab her wrist. She was being told to put on her coat and shoes. "Where are we going?"

"To find Mizu," Asuka replied. She pulled Emi out of Oharanosato. It was freezing outside. The temperature had dropped dramatically since that afternoon. She leapt off the porch searching the snow with her eyes. "Where could she have gone?"

Emi bit her lower lip, her eyes looking away. "Um, Ms. Asuka, I think Mizu made Kyo mad." Asuka turned to looking at her, her breath creating puffs of air in the cold. "I wasn't trying to overhear. I really wasn't!"

"Emi, tell me what you heard. It's not time to worry about being ridiculed," Asuka said loudly. They could have stopped Mizu from taking off if Emi had told someone what she had heard earlier. Now it was up to them to find the girl.

Emi swallowed hard seeing the glare in Asuka's eyes. "Ms. Kyo was angry with Mizu over Hinata. She was yelling at her pretty badly. I want to get my MP3 player out of my bag and came back downstairs. I don't like confrontations," she said softly. "I didn't want to hear any more of it."

Asuka swore. "Her over protectiveness has gotten out of control. I don't know what she said to her, but we have to find her. You go that way, I'll go this way," Asuka said pointing. She started to run through the snow, her feet crunching heavily. "Mizu! Mizu," she shouted.

Mizu followed the sadness through the cold night air, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. Her heart was emotionally tied to the feelings she bore. Each step she took, felt light, despite her feet sinking into the snow. Snow flakes started to fall from the sky and onto her form. Her black hair became littered with white patches. She wasn't paying attention to the trees around her.

Soon Mizu heard a voice coming to her out of nowhere. The voice was female, carried on by the wind in the darkness. She stood still as if she didn't have any right to go any further. Snow kept falling, covering her shoulders.

"The son of the farmer began to visit the temple when his father became ill. The man who had grown the crops for the Lords had fallen ill of malnutrition. It was now the son's right to replace his father. Every few days, he brought food to the temple for the monks and the Lords who visited. The oxen he used were gentle beasts who knew when to stop with just a glance by the young man.

The caretaker's daughter often saw the farmer's son appearing as she dusted the sides of the temple. Her hands stopped each time he started to unload the cargo. She was smitten with his gentle face, his smile, and his hands. He was not cruel to anyone around him. Yet, being a caretaker's daughter, her first love was her work. She took pride in what she did."

Mizu moved her legs slowly, her ears following the voice through the darkness. She soon found the Oharame sitting on fallen, snow-covered trees, her hands resting in her lap as her eyes stared straight at her. It was the same woman she had met before. Mizu found herself lowering, sitting in the snow as a child listening to a grand tale she longed to hear.

"The farmer's son staggered with a heavy basket of rice he had picked over the past week. It was much too large for him to be carrying alone. Against her father's wishes, the caretaker's daughter shot forward to help him steady himself. Both of their eyes met, each looking over the other. She found him to be unusual and he, her. Together, they carried the rice into the temple, setting it down ever so gently. The monks were deep in prayer, their chants echoing throughout the walls.

The farmer's son asked the girl her name, but she would not give it. Instead, she bowed her head low and returned to her work. Later that evening, her father scolded her that if the monks or a Lord had caught her, they could send them away for such atrocity on holy ground. The girl went to bed, thinking only of the farmer's son – and his humble face.

Each week they met each other at the front of the grounds speaking softly to each other. And each time, they learned about the other, taking into consideration where they were in their lives. The caretaker soon found his daughter wearing cleaner clothes on the day the farmer's son came to the temple. He had his assumptions correct. She had fallen in love with the young man who gave her attention and respect.

Within a week, the farmer who had trained his son to grow the crops for the community, died. He had suffered starvation at the risk of pleasing the Lords; who were now taking more and more crops each day. The caretaker told his daughter not to get involved in the feuds going on around them. They had to feed themselves, but she would not listen to him. She began to sneak food out of the temple, in order, to give it back to the people.

The monks knew they were being robbed by someone. The Lords would be very angry, maybe kill one of the monks for an example? They pleaded with the Lords who visited to spare them. The caretaker told on his daughter. One of the Lords sent a man to follow her during the night. They learned she was giving food to the farmer's son that he would not meet the same fate.

She was approached outside of the farm by a man carrying a katana. The farmer's son came running to defend her, only to be attacked by other men on horseback. He was captured as she was – to go in front of the Lords." The Oharame stood, her body not showing any signs of cold, or snow that had fallen on her kimono. "That is all for now," she said.

Mizu watched the woman with long dark hair vanish into the snow drifted wind, her entire being disappearing. As she sat in the snow, her body frozen from the weather, she heard her name being called. She did not move, or make a response as Hinata placed his hands on her shoulders. She wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real, or a dream.

"Mizu! Mizu? Kenshin! Over here! She's half-frozen to death," Hinata shouted taking off his coat. He placed it around her, lifting her out of the snow. He didn't know how in the world she had survived this long outside.

Kenshin came puffing through the snow with a flashlight. He, too, took off his coat to help drape the girl. "We need to hurry. The snow is getting worse. How in the hell did she get all the way out here?"

Hinata ran with the man back to the hot springs. He wasn't sure what had possessed Mizu from coming this far into the woods. How he found her, he didn't know. Something kept telling him to go in that direction. As they both ran through the freezing night, he felt Mizu move her hand up to his chest, grabbing onto his shirt. Hinata looked down at her, her eyes staring through her environment. There was nothing to be said in that moment.

Chapter 6

Confessions

Kenshin entered the building guiding Hinata in as he carried Mizu's frozen body. The girl was cold to the bone, her body shaking from being outside for hours. He began to rub her hands and feet to get warmth back in them. "She needs to get warmer," he said watching the light come on over Hinata's head. "Don't put her in the hot springs. It's too hot, too fast."

Hinata's eyes drifted down to look at the small cold, white hand gripping his shirt. The words Mizu had spoken earlier surfaced in his head along with her sweet voice. "I won't use the hot springs – not yet," he said turning around. He was headed straight for the men's bathing area. Hinata walked outside turning the water on. The water shot down a bamboo shunt directly into a wide barrel cut in half. He crunched through the snow, the hot water causing steam to rise in the frigid air.

Mizu felt her pants coming off. She tired to tell Hinata to stop, but her teeth were chattering so badly, her sounds weren't recognizable as words. Soon her legs were being immersed into the hot water. Her feet went welcoming into the water, the pain stinging her toes for a moment. Hinata started to lower her further into the water until it was coming up her waist.

The tub was still filling up as he caught a towel Kenshin threw at him. Hinata took the coat off Mizu and started to unbutton the flannel top. "I'm not going to look, I promise," he said softly. "Kyo told me she snapped at you. I'm sorry she did that. She takes her big sister role quiet seriously."

Mizu found herself leaning into him, her eyes feeling heavy. She didn't feel the towel being placed over her shoulders, nor the water coming up to her chest. Hinata tied her hair up to keep it from getting wet. The story the Oharame kept telling her reminded her of Hinata. She wondered if the farmer's son was as sweet and caring as he. "I won't know the ending until she tells me," Mizu mumbled gently.

Hinata stared at her, thinking she was hallucinating in some form. He blushed as she started to drift off to sleep. He heard her mumbling every so often. "I don't know if they do," he said about a question regarding horses.

"Do you think a pot of gold rests at the end of the rainbow," Mizu asked him curiously. She wanted to believe that some childhood tales were really true; in some form. She felt Hinata wrap his arms around her.

"I'd like to think there is," Hinata said softly. Her color and complexion were back. Her cheeks were turning red from the heat in the water.

"Hinata,…I love… you," Mizu confessed as she heard the water being turned off.

Hinata came back to reality, his head turning quickly to regard her. She can't be serious. It's the sleep talking. Yet, he moved his hand to touch her cheek, his thumb rubbing against her skin fondly.

Kenshin stood in the changing room with the shoji screen cracked. He saw Hinata's dumbfounded ness at Mizu's confession to him. The poor boy has no idea that when one's asleep, the most truth is revealed. Kyo won't be able to stop her from loving Hinata. Despite what we know about his past, I don't think Mizu will hurt him. It might be the opposite. He may not be ready to open himself to another person. Kenshin sighed, hoping what he thought wasn't the end to what he was seeing. Right now, the two of them appeared comfortable with each other.

Mizu woke to the sounds of Daichi and Emi running in the hall. Their footsteps padded left and right. She figured Daichi had to be chased by the girl to put his clothes on. The sunlight peeped through the window in the room with its bright warmth reminding her that life still existed around her. Mizu stiffened. There was a hand on her right breast. She looked down to see it wasn't her imagination. On the verge of a scream, she moved her head to come face to face with a sleeping Hinata. She relaxed, her eyes softening at his sleeping face. Has he been here all night with me?

She remained still watching his back rise up and down. Mizu moved her hand up to touch his fingers. She followed the contours of his skin, her fingertips brushing along until she managed to move his hand down to her side. Mizu nervously felt his arm up to the sleeve. She glanced at his face as he stirred. Once he stopped moving, she went back to guiding her hand up to his shoulder. He was real.

Hinata opened his eyes slowly feeling Mizu fondling his arm. Since she was distracted, he took the liberty of leaning towards her to kiss the side of her head. That was when Mizu froze in embarrassment. He brushed her hair aside with his nose before planting another kiss on her skin. "I'm fond of you," he whispered.

Mizu blushed hard. Chills went up her spine as he began to kiss down the side of her face. Mizu closed her eyes enjoying the close contact with him. Her heart was beating softly in her chest; she wasn't nervous around him at all. It was as if she knew his touch – unusual since they hadn't been this close to each other before.

Hinata hovered his lips over hers taking one last look at her beautiful face before he lowered to feel her lips against his. The world around them was forgotten for the time being, their kisses the only sounds being heard in the room. He touched her face gently, moving his hand around to feel her long hair. It's alright to be here like this, isn't it? I feel like I'm kissing an angel.

Mizu felt his lips part from hers. She opened her eyes her face flushing a bit as she looked into his dark eyes. Her voice wouldn't come. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Hinata moved her long hair out of her face. This was a big step for him. Any other woman he had been with took months to get close to. Mizu was an instant success. Were they meant for each other? So far, he felt right in his actions towards her. "I want to keep you," he admitted, his eyes searching her face. She didn't seem to mind him being there.

Mizu lifted her hands bringing his face back down towards her. She looked at him shyly, her voice still not coming to the open air. Her fingers felt his cheeks, moving over to where his ears were. She giggled when he complained about how it tickled. Mizu kissed him softly, closing her eyes. She wanted to give it a chance. Deep down, her mind and heart were focused on him.

Hinata didn't want the moment to end. However, he heard Kyo looking for him. He glanced at the shoji screen, figuring that was his best bet for an escape. "If I'm caught in here, you'll never see me again," he said with a gentle smile. Hinata got up to retrieve his coat. Mizu watched him walk to the outside balcony. "Don't worry. I can get down faster than a monkey in a tree."

Before she could say a word, Hinata closed the shoji screen with a clack. She heard him jump over the side. Mizu got up and ran to the screen, opening it. She stood on the balcony outside watching him stand in the snow. "Hinata, that's dangerous!"

Hinata looked up to see her watching him with nothing on but her pajamas. "Hey, I just got you well. Get back inside before you catch your death out here," he ordered pointing back to the room. "Go on," he coaxed.

Mizu lowered her head. She turned around to walk back inside her room. Closing the door, she heard someone call her name from outside in the hall. "Yes?"

Kenshin opened the screen slowly stepping through cautiously as if he were disturbing her. "How are you feeling," he asked kindly not moving too close to her. Kenshin looked around the room, his quick eye catching how disarrayed the futon was on both sides. Mizu seemed to have slept on one side quite hard. "You're not feeling ill, are you?"

Mizu shook her head. "No, I'm alright. I'm sorry you had to come all of the way out there to get me," she said apologizing as she bowed low. Her face flushed remembering bits and pieces of last night.

"No harm done. But I must ask, Mizu, why were you in the woods at such hours?" Kenshin saw the sadness creep onto her face. "It had to do with Kyo," he said figuring it out for himself. "She's going to apologize to you. Going off the handle like she did, was inexcusable. She cares for Hinata and only wants the best for him, yet, sometimes even her vision is clouded by her pigheadedness."

Mizu nodded slowly trying to understand, even though, the words Kyo had spoken hurt her. "I don't want to cause problems with anyone here. I just want to work and live my own life. If she wants me to stay away from Hinata, then I have no choice but to honor her wishes."

"You're in love with him, aren't you," Kenshin said breaking past the words Mizu emitted. He noted the shock on her face. "If you love him, shouldn't you fight for him? I know it's all unfamiliar to you, Mizu, but Hinata does like you. The worst thing to do is ignore what's standing in front of you."

Mizu brought her hand up touching the side of her face. Earlier, Hinata had left a trail of kisses there. "I know he likes me," she said softly to herself. Kenshin only stood watching her. "He asked me out," she confirmed. "I've never dated anyone before. I don't know what to do, or what to expect."

Kenshin was happy Hinata had confessed something to someone; however, it kind of unnerved him. When did Hinata ask her out? No one had seen him all morning. Kenshin pinched his nose, lowering his head. He had a bad feeling the man hadn't stayed in his room all night – which he had chosen to stay with Mizu. If Kyo finds that out, it'll be all our heads.

Emi burst through the room with her hands held high carrying two empty nylon bags. "Mr. Imasu is going into town! Let's go shopping," she said happily. Emi blinked. Kenshin and Mizu were staring at her. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes," Kenshin said to the girl. He turned around to shoo Emi out of the room. "I guess we're all going shopping. I'll talk to Kyo," he said closing the shoji behind him.

Mizu padded her feet on the tatami, wondering how it was all going to pan out once Kyo saw her. She lifted her shirt out of her bag, her mind stuck on the soon-to-be confrontation. For the life of her, she hoped Kyo was calmed down. I don't want things to go badly with her. She is Hinata's 'family'. It would be hard to be near him with Kyo sniffing around, or eying me. Mizu closed her eyes wishing she wasn't in the position she was in.

Kyo crossed her arms as she stood leaning on the wall near the entrance to Oharanosato. She listened patiently and calmly to Hinata as Kenshin had requested. Her eyes looked away seeing something unseen on the floor. She wasn't happy with his decision at all. Kyo didn't trust anyone getting that close to Hinata. Truth was she didn't want an episode like last year, again. She wanted to keep him safe from pain and torment.

Hinata could see she wasn't taking it very well. He placed his hands on her shoulders, until she looked up at him. "She's in love with me, Kyo. Wouldn't it be alright now? She confessed to me."

"Being half-asleep doesn't count," Kyo said with a glare. "I don't trust that girl. She's as mysterious as anyone that has ever set foot inside Tokodeki. She remains by herself no matter what happens with anyone. How can you fall for someone like her? She's not your type, Hinata."

Kenshin heard someone coming down the stairs. He looked over his shoulder to see Mizu halfway down, her purse over her shoulder. She was regretting exiting her room. "Kyo…"

"Stay out of this, Kenshin! You expect me to lay down like a beaten old dog? I'm not going to! She went out into that snow for attention! It made you, of all people, chase her! That's what young girls are after. They want a guy to chase them for eons until they finally give in, or have them wrapped around their fingers," Kyo blurted as Hinata looked at her hurtfully.

Hinata's heart ached. He wanted Mizu. He didn't particularly know why, but his heart was guiding him to her in a strong way. "I haven't been on a path for a long time now, Kyo," he said softly. "I've been straying endlessly, my mind and body never connecting for the past few years. Ever since I met her, I've been falling on my ass," he said with a lighthearted laugh following a smile. "Don't you see? It's because of her that I'm more focused."

Kyo started up again not wanting to hear about idiotic fantasies. She tried to tell Hinata that he was where he was due to her and Kenshin caring for him and keeping an eye on him. He was shaking his head at her regarding her as a nagging mother. "Do what you like then! I don't really care," she snapped pushing Hinata aside to see Mizu staring at her. Mizu's dark eyes were meeting her own. "What do you want," she said trying to get Mizu to retreat, but the girl only looked at her.

Mizu thought the more she listened to Kyo, the more she understood her. "I know you don't want Hinata to make the choices you've made in your life," she said catching on to all the fine details Kyo had told. "I don't want to lead him on. I've been more afraid of him finding out how I feel. That's why I haven't been participating downstairs at the apartments. I thought if I was around him more, my face would flush, or my heart would leap out of my chest to grab onto him. I thought Hinata would think I was weird, or not want to be friends with me, in the very least," she said clasping her hands together in front of her body. "I only want him to be happy. When he's with you and Daichi, he is happy. But when you're not around, he appears lost. I want to help him find his way," she said sincerely.

Kenshin coughed waving a miniature Japanese flag he had stolen from Kasumi in the air. He admired Mizu confronting Kyo. Before, he could sense her fear regarding Kyo's dominating nature. "Are you going to keep fighting them, or let them figure it all out for themselves?" He watched Kyo sulk. Her hot air was being blown away by a cool breeze known as Mizu Akiyama.

Kyo turned around and away from them. She walked to the main shoji, grabbing her coat. As she slipped her arms inside of it, she fluffed her hair in the back. "The van's not going to wait forever. Get your coats on," she ordered. Kyo walked outside ahead of them, defeated.

Kenshin smiled at Mizu. "It's alright. She understands now. All you have to do is make your point with her. It's kind of like taking the bite out of a barking dog," he said as Hinata hit him on the back.

Mizu started laughing with Kenshin as Hinata grabbed her coat. She liked the man. He was very sweet and kind of goofy. I hope Kyo learns to like him a lot more. It will do her some good to tear down the wall she has. Her eyes lifted watching Hinata button her coat for her. "Thank you," she said blushing. He leaned down to kiss the side of her head. Mizu closed her eyes moving her hands forward to pull him even closer. She wanted the moment to last a bit longer.

Kenshin went to retrieve his coat. As he stood waiting on the two lovebirds, Kasumi and Chiyoko passed him waddling by. Chiyoko was holding her head. Too much drinking will do that to you, Granny. Kasumi was used to that sort of life and was going off at the mouth at the various shops on her side of the world. He coughed to clear the air. "You two have plenty of time to get to know each other. It's time to go," he coaxed leaving the shoji open as he stood on the other side.

Mizu walked out of Oharanosato being led by Hinata, his hand curled with hers. Her eyes were a little wide, but she eased once they were inside the van. Mizu sat down in the very back. Asuka was in front with Riku. In front of them were Chiyoko and Kasumi. Kyo and Daichi were at the front waiting on Kenshin. Noburu was not on the van.

Hinata put his arm around her back pulling her closer to him. He brought his hand up to push her head towards his arm. The van started to pull off with Mr. Isamu at the wheel. He reminded everyone not to horseplay in the van while he drove. Hinata looked out the window wishing he had a camera for the beautiful scenery.

The van pulled to the side of the street near old shops that were going down the mountain. Mr. Imasu took his hat off scratching his head. "I'll be back in three hours to pick all of you up. Enjoy your shopping," he said as he opened the van door for them. Everyone got out but the last couple in the back. He waited on them.

Mizu pulled her coat tighter around her body. "Why didn't Mr. Noburu come shopping? It's our last day here," she said.

Chiyoko wondered what the hold up was. She overheard Mizu's comment. "He didn't stay at the inn. Kasumi wouldn't dare leave anyone there if she was going out."

"Then where is-," Mizu looked down at her legs to see a face looking back at her between her legs. She screamed to the top of her lungs, her legs coming up. Hinata grabbed her, moving her to the other side of the van. It was Noburu Mori.

Noburu fell out of the van onto his back. He scurried to get up. Noburu raised his hands in front of his face as Hinata towered over him, stalking him. "I didn't mean it," he said over and over trying to find somewhere to run.

"You didn't mean it? You didn't mean it," Hinata repeated. "Your head was sticking right through her legs! What kind of fool do you take me for?" He went after Noburu throwing snowballs. The gremlin like man was too fast for him to catch. He narrowed his eyes, breathing hard in the winter air.

"Hinata," Chiyoko said with her hands behind her back. He turned around to look at her. "He only did that because he knows you and Mizu are together," she said only for his ears. "He won't harm her. Just reassure her." Chiyoko turned around to get everyone else's attention. "Alright everyone, we have three hours to shop till we drop," she said raising her hand in the air for dramatic effect.

"Mom, I want to shop with Hinata," Daichi whined as his mother pulled him along.

"Not now, Dai. Let him be alone for a while. He needs a break from us," Kyo said popping a cigarette into her mouth.

Mizu exited the van slowly, half expecting Noburu to be under it. She moved away from it quickly. Her body lowered looking underneath it.

"He won't come near you," Hinata stated with his hand out. "If he does, he knows I'll punch him so hard he'll be able to see his brain." He interlaced his fingers with hers pulling her up. "You've never been here before. The shops here are just tourist attractions, but there's one in particular I want to show you."

Mizu followed him down the broken sidewalk, her feet almost tripping. She steadied herself. I wonder where we're going. Everyone seems to have split up rather quickly. She glanced at him, before looking straight ahead again. "Hinata, how did you know where to find me last night?"

He was wondering when she was going to ask him that. "I was guided," he said softly. He knew she didn't understand. "Something guided me to you. That's all I can say for now." Hinata wasn't going to tell her about his sixth sense until he knew for certain she wasn't going to leave.

Mizu was being led to the side of a shop. She looked behind her, noticing they were disappearing from the main group. Her feet crunched in the snow.

"Be careful right here," Hinata told her keeping a firm grip on her hand. "No one bothers to take care of this part of the mountain since my grandfather died." He turned around to lift her into his arms. Mizu was blushing hard with a surprised look. "I'd feel safer if I carried you a little ways. The ice is very slippery." His feet started to slide a bit with each step. The more he slid, the more Mizu grabbed onto him expecting them to fall. Soon he made it past the icy path. He set her down with a smile.

Mizu noticed they were down the mountain quite a ways. She felt Hinata grab her hand again. Willingly, she followed him to a vacant old building. Skeleton vines were highly noticeable going up the sides and roof of the building. Mizu looked through the window. Everything inside was boxed up and dusty.

"I haven't been here since my grandparents died," Hinata said giving a hint about where they were. "He used to sell paintings and crafts to the tourists when they came in the summer. Some of the townsfolk thought his paintings were copied, but they weren't. He had a great visual memory. Every afternoon, he'd watch the sunset from the beach – never forgetting its brilliance. He was able to paint and draw most of his work in the winter. That's probably why everyone thought he was a fake," Hinata said sadly.

Mizu tugged his hand re-focusing his attention to her. She didn't want him to remember the sad parts of his life. "Can we go inside," she asked curiously. "I want to see some of your grandfather's paintings."

Hinata looked through the broken window. The snow had started to drift inside. "I don't know if there's anything left. Most of the creditors took all of his stuff, in hopes of selling it. It might be dangerous," he said as he looked up at the roof. Snow was falling from the top. "If you want, you can wait out here and I'll go take a look?"

Mizu nodded her head. She was curious to the bone about Hinata's life. She wanted to know everything about him. He was a mysterious novel she hadn't read yet. "Be careful," she said watching him go inside. Mizu expected the door to be locked, but she supposed there was no need for that. The building had been forgotten in time.

Hinata moved through the old shop cautiously, his head flipping around every time he heard a creaking noise. He was surprised the roof didn't cave in. It didn't look the same to him. His eyes went over the walls and shelves. His grandfather used to sit off to the side of the counter greeting visitors to his shop, his spectacles hooked at the end of his nose. Hinata could still see him sitting in the old chair, the man's hand going over every detail of the painting with preen accuracy.

His feet moved over the rotted wooden boards, his eyes searching for anything that had been left behind. The shelves were littered with traces of mildew. The counter was broken in half; the glass long shattered. His feet moved the debris aside. Hinata heard his name being whispered in his ear. He turned around to look at Mizu. She was standing outside blowing hot air into her hands. "Did you call me?" She shook her head.

Hinata resumed searching the shop. Go in the back. He looked around expecting to see someone standing around, but he was the only one inside. Carefully, he guided his hand on the broken counter, moving towards the back of the shop. The floor creaked more. Hinata yelled as his foot went through an old board.

"Hinata! Are you alright? Hinata?" Mizu tried to force the door open, but it was being held by something. She looked around for the cause of the sticking door. "Hinata!"

He stood up checking his foot to make sure it wasn't broken. "I'm alright," he called. His eyes looked through the hole in the floor. Underneath the shop, he could see the snow. Hinata turned around, resuming his search. "Now who's calling me?" He didn't hear anyone answer. "I know you're there. I can sense you moving around behind me." Hinata turned around to see a light shinning against the old supply wall. He walked over to it, his hands moving the old easels out of the way. Soon, his hands felt a piece of scroll.

Hinata pulled the long piece of scroll out. It was tied with an old ribbon and a fainted note. He wasn't able to make it out. Just then, he heard the building groan. The roof was heavy with snow. Mizu was screaming for him to get out of there. Hinata stood quickly to run through the shop. The roof was coming down.

Mizu was frantically jumping outside. She screamed as the roof came coming down. The door that was stuck earlier was thrown open and Hinata threw himself out. He landed on top of her. He was breathing hard, slightly scared. Mizu looked up at him with her dark hair sprawled out behind her. "Did you find anything?"

Hinata had forgotten what he had gone in there for. He lifted her up as he sat in the snow. In his hand was the scroll. His arm lifted to unwrap the ribbon with it. Mizu was watching him as he began to unravel it. It was a painting he had never seen before. Hinata's heart jumped into his throat.

"Hinata, what is it?" Mizu could see by the expression on his face that he was shocked and concerned. "Hinata?"

He stared hard at the woman on the scroll. She was dressed in a summer dress, a summer hat upon her head. The summer wind was blowing through her hair as she smiled at the person looking at the painting. How did he know? How did he… Hinata's bottom lip quivered. He hadn't been the only one who had this type of ability in his family. At the bottom he read in Japanese: Summer's daughter.

"Hinata, what is it," Mizu asked again reaching her hand up to touch his face. Tears were starting to streak his cheeks. He closed his eyes and cried as he hugged the painting. Mizu didn't understand. "You found one of your grandfather's paintings," she said confirming his attitude regarding the scroll she couldn't see.

Hinata nodded. He gently turned the scroll around for her to see. The paper was old, but it still had vibrant colors in it. "It's you, Mizu," he said choking on his words. He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "He painted you."

Mizu looked over the girl in the painting. There was a striking resemblance to her own face and body. Her eyes moved over the figure. Mizu blushed hard as she grabbed the scroll from Hinata. The old man, whom she had never met, had even got her bust size correct. "H-How can you be so sure it's me?"

Hinata moved his hand to her cheek leaning in to kiss her lips amongst the snow. "Because it has this year's date on it. My grandfather died years ago," he said with new recognition. Hinata's eyes stayed glued to hers. "You're my fate, Mizu Akiyama," he said with new hope in his voice.

Chapter 7

Our last outing

Chiyoko shuffled through the snow on the sidewalk as she followed Kasumi. Her sister was happily smoking a pipe, her chubby stature bouncing up and down as she moved. The tenants had already gone out in search of items to bring back to Tokodeki. She wondered how Hinata was fairing with Mizu. As she walked along, she sensed someone following her in the darkness. The figure dove behind a trash bin. "Noburu, you can come out. Hinata is not with us."

The young man peeped his small head over the trash bin, his eyes darting around to see if Chiyoko was telling the truth. Once he saw the coast was clear, he hurried along after her, rubbing his hands together with his head flipping left and right scanning the area. He was nervous. His infatuation with Mizu, the new tenant at Tokodeki, had almost cost him his life. As he walked behind Chiyoko, he took out his wallet. Inside, he kept pictures of her he had snapped when she wasn't looking.

Noburu held the pictures to his chest loving on them as if they were a pet. He closed his eyes imagining Mizu approaching him in nothing more than a nightgown, her hands behind her back, dark eyes staring him down as she blushed. He giggled with a squeal at the end. Noburu felt someone's eyes on him. He opened his eyes to see Chiyoko looking over her shoulder at him. He coughed and put the pictures back in his wallet.

"It isn't my business to ask, but I suggest you get another hobby," Chiyoko said as they stopped at a particular shop. "You're alone too much, Noburu. We need to find you other interests to occupy your mind."

He walked inside eying the walls and counters of the shop. There were airplanes made out of different materials in boxes waiting to be purchased. Also sports equipment among the lot. Noburu snuffed at them. His eye caught onto a display of cameras used for photography. He started to drool with his hands pressed against the glass. Sitting on the shelf with its black exterior, was a Nikon. Oh, what he wouldn't give to have it. It was the type of camera meant for amateurs and professionals.

"I could take so many wonderful pictures with that," Noburu said to himself. He fantasized about Mizu a bit more, until he heard the shop owner clear his throat. Noburu almost lost his train of focus. He coughed several times. The man standing in front of him appeared to be in his fifties, his gray hair showing a bit over his ears. "Um, how much is this one?"

"292,156.62 yen," the shop owner said not skipping a beat. "That is the cheapest Nikon I have." It was no surprise to him the young man's jaw dropped so far to the floor he could open a jar with it. He moved on to assist the other customers in his shop.

Noburu had tears of sorrow streaking down his cheeks as he stared at the camera. "There's no way I could afford something so marvelous. I'm only a college student," he griped as his head tilted to the right. An image appeared in his head of his wealthy father sitting behind a desk going over papers. "Ah! That's right! I can always ask daddy!"

Kasumi looked over to the small man who was dancing around near the cameras. "Chiyoko, dear, don't you have any qualifications your tenants have to meet? Or do you just let anyone in now or days?" Her sister had no clue what she was getting at. Chiyoko went back to looking through the airplane models.

Mizu stood in the stone covered cemetery that dwelled behind an old iron fence. Her hands were warmly inside her coat, her scarf layered around her neck. The snow amongst the dead seemed peaceful as if a piece of heaven had blanketed the area. She watched Hinata light incense over his grandparents' graves. Quietly she, too, placed her hands together bowing as he did to show respect. "Thank you for giving Hinata a wonderful home," she whispered.

Hinata stayed in his kneeling position for a while, his mind sifting through his journey until that moment. Slowly, he began to open his eyes. Drifting incense wafted in the air, its scent recognizable to anyone in the area. However, they were the only ones at the cemetery. Most only came during the Festival of the Dead. It had been hard for him to deal with his grandmother passing away, despite the illness she had suffered from. When his grandfather had died the same year, his whole world had fallen apart. "I have been lost without you," he said stroking the head stones with his fingertips, brushing the snow to the ground. "But now I have Mizu to keep me company," he said expecting his grandfather and grandmother to hear him instantly. Hinata stood up. He turned around. "We still have shopping to do."

Mizu nodded, her long black hair moving forward. She waited for him to take one last look at the headstones before she began to walk with him. Her feet moved gently on the stone path. Wind began to roll through the cemetery causing her hair to blow back. She shivered at the chill. Hinata pulled her closer to him, trying to keep her warm. "What store are we going to visit," she asked holding onto his coat.

"Well, we've been gone for a few hours," Hinata said pondering. "There's a wonderful small restaurant where everyone usually eats." He caught onto her sad expression. "She's not going to bother you," he said speaking of Kyo. "It'll be our first date. You can get whatever you want, my treat."

Mizu leaned into him more. She would have never guessed that the strange man she had encountered at the train station was going to be her best experience. Hinata led her to the sidewalk where they began to walk around the mountain back to the main shops. She wasn't used to walking up such a slope. Mizu breathed hard. "I'm out of shape," she said. Hinata laughed at her.

Riku stood in the small restaurant adjusting his glasses with Asuka behind him. He bowed to the waitress who came to seat them. "We'd like a large table for eleven, please."

The waitress picked up menus from the basket at the front counter. "My, so many of you. We look forward to serving you," she said as she led the first three to a table. The girl moved her hand in the air requesting they sit. "We'll move the tables for you. I'm sorry we don't have one large table to fit everyone."

"It's alright. We understand large crowds are not common in the winter," Riku said giving her permission to get to work. He looked at the menu. "How do you figure everyone is going to meet here for lunch?"

Emi was busy looking around the establishment, her young eyes not missing any of the detail in the place as she sat beside Asuka. "Oh, we get to eat with everyone like we do at the apartment complex. This is going to be fun," she said watching Riku ignore her.

Asuka thanked the waitress for her tea. "It's the only restaurant that stays open all year. They also have the best seafood. Chiyoko grandma loves this place." The door opened slowly letting in a breeze of cool air. Asuka glanced at the entrance. Hinata and Mizu were already coming in. She waved at them. "We already got the tables pulled together for everyone. The rest of them should be joining us shortly," she said as Hinata pulled the chair out for Mizu. "You're going to love this place. It's small and doesn't look like much, but what they lack in ambiance they pull off in cuisine."

"I'd have to agree with you on that," Riku said as he put the towel in his lap. "Their dishes are made per request. The waitress over there is the daughter of the owner," he told Mizu as she turned her head curiously. "They're a very sweet bunch."

Hinata poured the tea into Mizu's small blue flowered cup. "One would think you're in love with that girl, Riku," he said catching the man's eye. Riku brought his menu up to hide his face. He snickered.

Chiyoko, Kasumi, and Noburu came into the small restaurant known as Blue Crab. She pinched Noburu to follow them. The man remained behind her as a shield. "There won't be any fighting," she said in her grandmotherly tone her eyes looking from him to Hinata. She climbed into the chair beside Mizu. The young girl was looking over her menu curiously. "This has always been my favorite restaurant in Ohara. Forget the high dollar ones the tourists go to; this one beats them all."

Kasumi sat across from Chiyoko next to Noburu. The poor man was cowering behind the table. He jumped out of his skin when the waitress startled him requesting his drink order. "Kyo and Kenshin are finishing up their shopping. They'll be here in a little while."

Emi turned her menu around a few times. "Man, I wish I had paid more attention to hiragana lessons. Some of these are hard." She heard Hinata smirk at her. "It's not funny, Hinata," she said in her girlish whine.

Hinata rested his chin on his hand. He wasn't sure what he wanted to eat. There were so many choices. As he sat thinking about it, he lifted his hand to place it on Mizu's head. Hinata started to rub her head fondly.

Mizu blushed hard. She tensed when she saw Riku and Asuka watching her. Hinata glanced at her uneasiness. Once he saw she was nervous about what he was doing, he full out put his arms around her hugging her. Mizu felt her face become hot from all of the affection.

Riku greeted Kyo and Kenshin as they walked in following a happy hyper Daichi. "At least have some decency at the table," he said out of the corner of his mouth to Hinata. "How was your shopping," he asked not really caring, but trying to make for conversation.

Kyo blinked watching Hinata smother Mizu. She wasn't the happiest about his decision regarding a new tenant; he barely knew her. She sat down across from him refusing to be ignored. Kyo wasn't going to go anywhere any time soon, except on her trip to keep her ex-husband off her trail.

Kenshin sighed as he sat next to Hinata. "It seems you two are getting along fine," he said overlooking the menu. The waitress was coming back to take their orders. "Daichi, what would you like to eat?"

Daichi wasn't able to read a large bit of the kanji. He only knew the basic version. "I want whatever Hinata is having," he said with a smile.

"Hinata is having Mizu. You're too young," Kyo said to the shock of the table. She felt Kenshin kick her in the leg. On the verge of smacking him and making a scene, her eyes met Hinata's. He was glaring at her. Kyo met his glare. Everyone at the table sensed the sparks being emitted from the two.

"Take that back, Kyo," Hinata said lowly removing his hands from Mizu. Kyo only stared at him not blinking. She was serious about verbalizing her strong disapproval. "Take it back," he said a little louder. Daichi looked at the two of them, his body starting to withdraw from the group. "I won't have you being a bully to her."

Emi tensed at the table. She didn't like to see them having a disagreement. It was unusual for Kyo and Hinata to fight. He was an easy-laid back sort of person. Kyo, on the other hand, was normally gone from the apartment complex. And when she was around, Emi was usually on her way to bed.

Kenshin put his hand on the back of Hinata's neck holding him firmly in his grasp. "That's enough from the children at the table. There won't be any fighting, or quarreling while we enjoy our meal. Both of you are making fools of yourselves," he said nodding his head at Daichi.

Kyo's eyes moved to what Kenshin was gesturing at. Her son was cowering at the table expecting a big lash out fight. Her motherly instincts took over at that point. She put her arm around Daichi trying to calm him down. "We're not going to lash out at each other, Dai," she said with a nurturing voice. "We're just unhappy with each other," she said trying to explain it to her six-year-old.

Daichi closed his eyes afraid that if his mother and Hinata fought that he wouldn't be allowed to play with him anymore. "I don't want you and Hinata to fight," he said sadly. "Hinata's the only friend I have," he said starting to cry. "I don't want anyone to fight."

Mizu looked at the boy sadly. It was all because of her choosing to be with Hinata. She felt bad about it despite knowing it was Kyo who was being defiant. Her eyes stared at the table. "I don't want to make anyone unhappy," she said more for herself. She closed her eyes. "I don't want to cause problems. Maybe it's better if we just-,"

Kyo interrupted her. "No, it isn't better," she said sharply. "You shouldn't give up so easily," she found herself saying. She wiped the tears off Daichi's face caringly. "I know how I am, but regardless of that, if you are serious about being with him, at least, stand your ground." Kyo's hard gaze met Mizu's. "Life isn't fair. Grow a back bone."

Riku butted in, his eyes looking at each of them over his glasses. "Are we ready to order now? The waitress has come back twice. But none of you would know that with all of the quarreling."

Asuka decided to give her order first. It was the only way to shove the argument out of the way. "I'd like the beef teriyaki please." She handed the waitress her menu. "You're next Mizu. Ladies first."

Mizu hadn't had time to think about what she wanted. She was so worried with impressing Kyo that she had overlooked the real reason why they were here. "Um," her eyes skimmed the menu quickly. She soon found a favorite dish of hers. "Fish teriyaki," she said. Mizu slumped her shoulders. She had wanted to get something different.

"Unadon, please," Kyo said mentioning the eel rice bowl. "Emi, you can order whatever you want. I'll pay for your meal," she said reassuring the girl's nervousness over the menu items.

"Unadon sounds good," Kenshin said as he smiled at Kyo with his hands folded, elbows on the table. "I had no idea you liked eel. One would think you were a beach girl." Kyo blushed and averted her eyes.

"Can I have the sushi platter, please," Emi said handing the waitress her menu. "Thanks, Kyo," she said softly, her face turning slightly red. Living on her own wasn't an easy feat. Her parents only gave her a certain amount of money each month. She supposed it was to limit her spending money on things she preferred – such has hanging out with friends. Little did anyone know, but Emi was pretty lonely. She didn't have anyone to confide in at school.

Chiyoko brought the menu closer to her face. She couldn't quite read the small kanji upon it. "What does this say? I can't make it out."

"Grandma, why don't you get the Katsudon," Asuka stated. "You haven't had it in a while." The old woman shook her head; she was having difficulty with the menu alright.

"Katsudon sounds wonderful, Asuka dear," Chiyoko said of the pork and egg rice bowl. "That's what I'll have. Can I get more soy sauce please? Thank you, young lady."

Kasumi was the last to order. She already knew what she wanted. "I'd like the Sashimi dinner. Extra miso soup please. It's cold outside."

Daichi wiped his eyes clean. He was feeling a lot better since things had calmed down. "Hinata, can I have what you're having?" He looked at the older man across the table.

"How about I order something and you order something different? We can share," Hinata said. "Just don't get a cold dish. No soba noodles"

"I want a Bento B," Daichi said. "Mama, can I get a little rice and more chicken?" He pleaded with her. It was rare for him to be out at a restaurant with his mother. She worked long hours at the hotel.

"That's up to the waitress and the cook," Kyo said nodding in her direction.

"We can substitute anything you like on the menu with no extra charge," the waitress said writing down their huge order.

"Alright, how about instead of rice, we add a vegetable to his lunch." Kyo saw her son kick under the table crossing his arms. "You thought you were going to get out of that, didn't you? Not on my watch."

Hinata interlaced his fingers with Mizu's under the table. "Yamato Bento Special," he said. It was a bento lunch like Daichi's, but with more fish and veggies on it. He was going to get that kid to try something different if it killed him.

"I'd like Sushi set A," Kenshin said handing the waitress his menu. "You're welcome to have anything off my plate, Kyo," he said winking at her. The woman stiffened at the table. Ten points for me.

"Tuna rice bowl," Riku said noticing how Kenshin loved to aggravate Kyo in public. If they were at home, she'd deck him outright. Oh well, it's bothersome, but yet entertaining at the same time.

"Chirashi A," Noburu quietly told the waitress. He leaned over the table as if he had a secret to tell her. Thus, the waitress moved back not knowing what was going on. He felt someone tug him back into his seat. Chiyoko was tugging him down. Noburu humbly sat down lowering his head.

The waitress noticed another person had showed up to the table. "What will you be having, sir?" She got her pen ready.

"Oh, the sushi looks delicious," Ryota said popping his head up between Hinata and Mizu. The girl flung herself back falling off the chair. "Young lady, you act like you've never seen an old man before." Kenshin had risen to help her back up. Ryota turned his head towards Hinata. "Hinata, I need a favor."

Hinata's eye twitched. He put his hand on the old man's head pushing him down. "We're trying to eat! Go get someone else to help you with your ridiculous plans!" Ryota waved his arms in the air, his eyes getting big as his mouth opened showing his remaining few teeth. "I said go!"

Ryota breathed in hard, his lungs filling with air. He started to cry as if he was pleading for his life. "But Hinataaaa. You're so cruel to an ooold man. Do me a favor. It'll be worth your while," he said grimacing and fighting as he was pushed under the table. He hissed being defeated by the boy.

"Boy, Mr. Ryota seems to track Hinata everywhere," Emi complained. She knew something was going to happen. The old man was unpredictable. She sighed with her head tilting to the left.

Kyo raised a brow. "Is he gone?" They all looked at each other for a moment before they saw the old man's bald head come looming over the side of the table, his big white eyes staring off to nowhere. "Nope, he's back."

Ryota moved his hand forward slowly. His fingers wrapped around one of the soy sauce containers. Quickly, he retrieved it, ducking back under the table. They were all searching for him, but he was out the door cackling madly. "I stole your soy sauce! Revenge is mine," he laughed as he went down the snow covered sidewalk.

"Idiot. It's not like we can't get more," Hinata said narrowing his eyes. "Why must he bother me when I'm out?" He leaned on his hand discouraged.

"Because he knows that no matter where you are, or what you're doing, you'll help him," Kyo said sipping her tea. "He's an odd sort of man. I meant to order some Inari for us to eat before the main course gets here." Kyo raised her hand for the waitress. "Can we get three orders of Inari please?"

"Wow, Kyo, what's gotten into you," Hinata said watching her head hang forward. Her eyes were staying focused on the tea. She moved her finger around the brim of the cup, slowly watching the tea ripple with each touch. Kyo seemed a bit sad. What was she remembering?

Mizu pushed her chair out to get up. She felt Hinata grab her wrist as she stood up. "I have to go to the women's bathroom," she said with an embarrassed smile. He let her go knowing it was an escape. Mizu walked to the back leaving the group alone. As she pushed the door open, she looked around at the small area. There were two toilets covered by wood between them. The doors to the stalls were thin. Once the door behind her closed, she inhaled closing her eyes.

Mizu walked to the mirror looking at herself. I don't know what Hinata sees in me. I'm not all that special. I'm just a bookworm from Tokyo who wanted to get away from her parents. Mizu thought she appeared as a strange young woman. She was short, long dark hair with a large bust size and wider hips than most girls her height. As she stared at herself, she lifted her hand to touch the mirror. Is that really me? I'm more different than I was at this time of year. My hair used to be in a ponytail at home, but loose at school to cover my facial expressions. I didn't have a life before. All I did was what my parents asked of me – not what I wanted to do. I was afraid to do anything that was out of their plans. Her fingers moved down the mirror to her lips. "This is what he likes," she said softly. Mizu lifted her eyes to see Kyo standing behind her. She froze.

"No, he likes this part," Kyo said touching Mizu's wrist. She moved Mizu's hand to place it over her heart. "He's not like other males. To enjoy a person, he enjoys them fully. The foods at the table," she said walking out.

Mizu exited the bathroom after she triple checked her face was a healthy, normal complexion in the mirror. She couldn't believe Kyo had walked in at that moment. How embarrassing! She probably thinks I talk to mirrors all of the time. It sure made me seem insecure.

Hinata was eating his food fast with one hand and fighting Daichi with his other. "No, you can't have that one! That's mine!"

"You said we were going to share! I let you have half of mine! Give me some of yours, Hinata. That's not fair," Daichi said hitting the man on the hand with his chopsticks. He waited until the hand was retrieved. As it was being shielded from another chopstick attack, he went after a piece of fish in the bento box. Daichi latched onto it successfully. "I got it now!" His chopsticks were forced to remain in place by Kenshin. "Hey, that's mine."

Kenshin smirked as he started to fight Daichi for the piece of fish. He moved his chopsticks back, taunting the boy. When he banged his hand on the table for a distraction, Kenshin went after him. He used his chopsticks to get one of the sticks pinned. As he pulled it hard, it went flying through the air landing somewhere behind them. Kenshin held his chopsticks at an angle, their blunt ends aimed at the boy's hand. "Give up. You're not going to win," he said with a smile.

Mizu used her chopsticks to attack Kenshin from the side. She reached over Hinata, her hands moving quickly to free the fish. Kenshin attempted to counter her, but she came around backwards – something he wasn't expecting- to grab his hand from behind. She started to pinch his tender skin. Soon Kenshin let up. Mizu went for her prize piece of fish. She threw it at Daichi's plate. They all stared at her. She giggled. "Pick on someone your own size," she said.

Asuka stood outside looking over the shops. She pulled her coat tighter around her form. Mizu came outside with her, her eyes searching for something across the street. "There's still time to shop. Nice fish fighting in there," she said much to the girl's surprise. "Anyway, see you later," she said putting her hand up in the air. She began to walk by herself away from the group that was exiting the restaurant.

Mizu watched Asuka leave the group. "Why doesn't Ms. Asuka stay with us? She's always alone."

"Yeah, she is," Riku answered. "She's always by herself. It's her choice. No one can get that close to her. You'll be lucky if you see the real her." He decided to go across the street to shop for anything he might find interesting.

Noburu slipped out of the shop before Hinata. He stood looming at Mizu without her noticing. Noburu would have given anything for the Nikon camera he had seen earlier. Oh, what wonderful pictures I could take of her. She's so beautiful; so mysterious. Those dark eyes of hers must have so many dreams behind them. He clasped his hands together as he looked up at the sky. "So beautiful," he said reflecting on his thoughts.

"You better be talking about the scenery," Hinata said from behind him. All of sudden, Noburu snapped to. The man hurried across the street, his small legs moving faster than one would have thought possible. "And to think I was joking," he said sighing as he looked at Mizu. She had no idea what he was talking about. She didn't even know he was there. That kind of scares me. "What are your plans for the afternoon?"

Mizu tottered on her feet. She had enjoyed the chopstick sparring with Kenshin. "Oh, I don't know. I thought I'd wing it," she said grabbing Hinata's hand with her own. She started to run down the sidewalk pulling him along.

Hinata staggered to keep up with her petite frame. She was really high tailing it. "Mizu, be careful! It's slippery out! Where are we going?"

"I don't know," Mizu admitted as she finally stopped. They were far enough away from anyone on this side of the mountain. "Everyone seems to be splitting up again, so why not us?"

Hinata leaned closer to her whispering in her ear, "Yeah, but what will you do if some unexpecting stranger comes along? Who's going to protect you?" He kissed her cheek tenderly.

Mizu lifted her hands pulling him closer. "I don't know. I could use someone that's handsome and strong," she said. Hinata seemed to be pondering with his eyes lifted.

"Well, that leaves me out," he said as she laughed at him. Hinata buttoned his coat. "It's snowing a bit more. We should get inside one of the shops." They started to walk across the road carefully. One of the shops welcomed them in. "Sure glad it's warm in here," he said looking around. Hinata's eyes drifted to Mizu's hands. "I thought you had gloves on earlier?"

Mizu loosened her scarf looking at the items on the shelf. "Hmm? No, I had some, but they were yellow with bunnies on them. I'm not a child anymore," she said with a cute pout. "I want some adult ones."

Hinata smirked. Mizu was becoming a woman, alright. "Well, maybe they have gloves in here?" He walked to the shop owner. "Excuse me, do you sell gloves in here by chance?"

"Gloves? Yes, we sell pretty much everything in here," the lady said from behind the counter. "Our shop is more of a nick knack shop. We've gotten strange requests over the years. Let me see where I put some. We only have three kinds in stock though. Hope that's alright," she said turning around to look behind her at the boxes against the wall. "Here they are," she said placing them on the counter.

Mizu looked at the different styles in the boxes. There was a brown leather pair that she liked very much. As she put her hand through the glove, Mizu saw more of her mother in them. The next pair she picked up was dark blue and made of cotton. "These feel funny," she said. They reminded her of something her grandmother would have knitted. The last pair she lifted was rainbow colored. "I like these the most," she said as she put her hands in them. They were defiantly warm.

Hinata shook his head. He thought Mizu wanted to be more mature. She still ended up picking a pair of gloves Emi would have chosen. Oh, well. At least she likes them. Once they were paid for, Hinata led her out of the shop. "It's almost time to go," he said as they walked back to the spot where Mr. Imasu was going to pick them up. "Did you enjoy your day out with everyone?"

Mizu reflected on her day. She had spent the day worried about Kyo's approval of her. However, Kyo wasn't all that bad after all; she was just concerned. Noburu was a scary little man who appeared around her in the worst situations. Riku was as reserved as Asuka. Kenshin was starting to chip away the wall around Kyo. Daichi was fond of Hinata. Emi… well she didn't know too much about Emi. The girl just tagged along with whoever was around them. "I wouldn't change it for the world," she said with a hearted smile.

Chapter 8

Pieces of us

Daichi stood at the train station with Kenshin watching the people get off the incoming train. The steam sifted through the cold air coming up onto the platform. He looked up at his mother who was wearing a tan coat, with the collar high. His eyes drifted to the brim hat she wore to conceal her face. Kyo was masking her identity from those around her. The woman held a single old-fashioned suitcase in her hand. She appeared to be going on a trip for a short while, but Daichi already knew she was going to be gone longer than expected.

Kyo turned around. She crouched to look at her son, her eyes overlooking his cute face. "I want you to listen to Kenshin while I'm gone." Her mind instantly went over how Hinata reacted with the boy. "In fact, I'd prefer you to listen to Kenshin more than Hinata." She frowned.

"Mama, where are you going? What if I get sick or I need something," Daichi asked. His mother pulled his baseball hat up a little. "I don't want you to go."

"If you get sick, or need anything, Kenshin will be there to take care of you. I want you to behave for him," she said putting her finger in the air. "I have to go away for a little while, Dai. We talked about this. My train is fixing to leave. Be good for Kenshin," she said again as the announcer over the intercom stated they were now boarding. "He knows how to get in touch with me if anything happens. Take care of yourself." Kyo walked ahead to get on the train. She stepped up the small steps not looking back as she boarded.

Kenshin and Daichi waved at her as she glanced at them. The train started to pull off within a matter of minutes. He looked down at the boy beside him. Daichi had never been left with Kenshin before. He had always been handed off to Hinata. They stood silent until the train was out of sight. The only thing they could see from the platform was the distant smoke rising in the air. "Well, let's get you to class. It was lucky the schedule was for early this morning."

Daichi walked off the platform with Kenshin, his hands around the straps to his back pack. He wasn't sure what was going on. Normally if his mother went anywhere, he was with her, or Hinata. "Kenshin, did my mom have to leave because of me?"

Kenshin walked to his car with Daichi following him. He turned around. "No, she didn't leave because of you," he said in a caring tone. "Your mother needed to clear her mind," he said not skipping a beat to cover the truth. Daichi hopped into the car without another word.

The car moved along the slick road carefully until he got to the elementary school. Daichi opened the door with a click. He turned his body sticking his feet out of the car. As he shut the door, Kenshin lowered the window. "Be sure to give that note to your teacher, Dai. Let her know I'm the one whose going to be picking you up."

Daichi nodded. He watched Kenshin drive off to work. His fingers found the sealed note in his pocket. What did it say? Why was his mother having to send a note to the teacher about Kenshin? She could have called easily enough to notify the school. His fingers moved over the envelope touching the seal. Should he open it?

The school clock chimed out in the open area. The teachers were calling all of the students to class. Daichi went inside, taking his shoes off. He put on the traditional white school shoes he had to wear in the building. As he walked to his class, his hand kept feeling the envelope in his pocket. He wanted to know what it said.

Entering the room, he took his seat at his desk. His teacher, Mrs. Chikasuye greeted the students as they entered. She was a young woman, around twenty-five years-old with short dark hair cut neatly into a high bob cut. Her eyes went around the room making sure everyone was seated. Daichi kept staring at his pocket. He took the envelope out his fingers moving to open it. As he tore a bit of paper at the top, Mrs. Chikasuye called his name. He froze, his head lifting.

"What do you have in your hands, Daichi," Mrs. Chikasuye asked. She could tell he was fidgeting with something under his desk. She held her hand out. He lowered his head his form moving to stand up. "Hand me the note, please," she said. He walked to the front of the class slowly. By the expression on his face, she had disturbed his original plan. Taking the note, she told him to sit back down.

As she opened it, the children around her grew quiet. They assumed it was a bad note. Her eyes went over the caricatures.

Mrs. Chikasuye:

Daichi will be dropped off and picked up by Kenshin Nakahara, a neighbor, from

Tokodeki apartment complex. Please do not let him go home alone, or be picked up by

anyone else. I will be out of town for the next two weeks. If he gives you any trouble, or

needs anything related to school, please contact Mr. Nakahara. He has my permission to

assist him in his education.

Kyo Miyamoto

Mrs. Chikasuye folded the note placing it in her desk drawer. "When you get picked up this afternoon, introduce me to Mr. Nakahara properly," she told Daichi. She turned around to write on the board. "Everyone get out a pencil and paper. We're going to have a pop quiz on our hiragana lessons from last week. If you studied over the weekend, it'll show in your results." The students shuffled about to get their tools.

Daichi retrieved his pencil looking at the board. He hadn't studied at all since last Friday. They had all went to Kasumi's hot springs for a weekend outing. He hoped he was going to pass, or his mother was going to get him good. It was his responsibility to keep up with his school work. The first caricature Mrs. Chikasuye wrote on the board he knew. It was the caricature for 'no'. He wrote down his answer.

Mrs. Chikasuye pushed her students to learn the hiragana as quickly as possible. The longer she had them focused on it in repetition in class, the easier they would be able to pull it out of their heads at home. She required all of her students to write the kanji in class, recite them out loud, be called upon to recite the answers on the board, and have papers signed by parents.

She continued to write out harder hiragana mixed with the easier vowel sounds on the board. There were ten caricatures listed in the order: no, so, e, ko, su, o, a, na, chi, i. She replaced the chalk into the wooden box at her desk. Mrs. Chikasuye sat down and waited for each of her students to finish. One by one, the kids turned in their papers. Her eyes went around the room to see who was last. Daichi Miyamoto was one of the last students to turn his in. "It will only take a moment for me to grade your quizzes. Why don't all of you go to the art station and get some supplies. You may use glue, scissors, strips of construction paper, beads, feathers, nuts, etc to make a winter mask to take home."

Daichi wasn't feeling too hot about his quiz. He knew Kenshin was going to get him, if no one else. The only relief he had that moment was that his mother was on a train to reach another destination. He sighed heavily as he waited in line to get some supplies. The kids in the class were picking the best stuff for themselves.

Leiko Kitano found some pretty shiny paper in one of the craft boxes on the shelf. She picked up the blue paper and turned around quickly to bump into Daichi. Her eyes met his. "Hi, Daichi. Would you like to use this paper with me? I can share with you," she said sweetly holding the paper to her chest.

Daichi shook his head slowly. "No, that's for girls. I'm not in the mood to make a mask," he said.

Takai Yoneda heard Daichi's comment as he put a few beads into his pocket. "So you failed the quiz. You should have studied. My parents make me study every night before I go to bed and once when I come home from school," he said adjusting his glasses. He went off to his fist seeing Daichi curl his fingers into fists.

Leiko continued to smile at Daichi. "Don't mind him. He studies hard to impress his parents. They're both doctors." She went back to her seat.

Daichi grabbed a few random items before he went back to his desk. He stared at them with his hands folded on his legs. He really didn't want to make a mask. Most of the students were making masks with elaborate crafts, or coloring their designs onto the paper. He let his chin rest on the desk.

Mrs. Chikasuye started to pass out the results of the quiz. She made comments on each student's progress. As she moved towards Daichi, she noticed he hadn't bothered to make a mask. She laid the paper on his desk. "You didn't study. See me at recess," she said as his eyes glanced at the paper.

Daichi stood in front of Mrs. Chikasuye's desk, his eyes staring at the floor. He didn't like making bad grades. His mother wasn't going to be thrilled at him making a forty on a quiz. It reflected bad on his study habits.

"Why didn't you study this weekend?" She clasped her hands on the desk, her eyes searching the boy's face. "I need you to focus on your studies. We have a test next week on all of the hiragana we have gone over this year. It's to let me know, as a teacher, how each of you are fairing."

"I didn't get a chance to study this weekend. A friend of mine was in an accident last weekend. Our landlady took all of us to the hot springs to get away for a few days."

"Be that as it may, we each have responsibilities that we must uphold. I'm sure in all of the play time you had this weekend there were periods where you could have studied. There's no excuse for not doing your work," Mrs. Chikasuye said. "I'll have to talk with Mr. Nakahara when he comes to get you this afternoon."

Daichi looked up at her, his mind racing. "Why? I'll study harder, I promise!" She shook her head at him.

"You were the only student who failed the quiz," Mrs. Chikasuye said trying to make him understand. "If it starts with one quiz, it will start with others. I don't want you overlooking your studies while your mother is gone. Right now, you'll spend recess writing all of the hiragana you missed on the board." She handed him a piece of chalk.

Daichi didn't think that moment could get any worse. He started to move the chalk on the board. He wasn't looking forward to this afternoon.

Yuuma Fukai sat on the edge of his bed looking out at the snow in the small yard. "I wish I could go outside and throw a few snowballs at you," he said cheerfully. He turned his head to look into Hinata's dark eyes. "What is it?"

Hinata thought Yuuma looked even paler when he had seen him last. He moved his friend's long white bangs out of his face. "Have you been eating properly since I've been gone?"

Yuuma nodded. "Yes, Mother brings me fruit with every meal," he said reassuring his friend. "I don't feel tired or anything."

"Yeah I can tell. You're not wearing pajamas today. Did you dress yourself, or did you have help," Hinata asked sitting back on his legs. Most of the time, Yuuma needed assistance due to his prone weakness.

"I did it myself," Yuuma said with a frown. "I don't need them for everything, you know," he said in a high tone. He rolled his eyes. "You worry too much."

"Someone has to," he said looking around the room. It was still pretty bare except for the bed and chair Yuuma sat in during the day. There wasn't a television for him to watch, or a bookshelf for him to partake in reading. "What do you do all day? There's nothing in here. Can't they get you anything to keep your mind occupied?" He wasn't really happy with Yuuma's parents. They treated their son as a stray animal living in the house.

Yuuma knew Hinata was upset. "I don't ask them for anything. It's not in my nature. I'd rather get things on my own," he said trying to end the conversation over the matter.

"You're not able to get things on your own," he said with distaste in his mouth. He wondered if Yuuma's mother was listening in on the conversation. The woman had a bad habit of eavesdropping on anyone that came to visit her son. Hinata turned around, crawling to the door. He looked under it trying to see if any feet were there. It was clear.

"Hinata, you're not the only one who visits me," Yuuma said wanting to really drop the subject. He knew Hinata had problems with his family. Most of the dislike had come from his friend overhearing his mother make comments about him. She disapproved of the boy having tattoos. It made him seem like he was trouble. "Ran comes every day when you're not here to keep me company."

Hinata's eyes softened. He knew deep down Ran had strong feelings towards Yuuma. He didn't have a clue if Yuuma knew it, or if he saw the woman as merely a friend. "She cares about you," he said gently looking at his friend.

Yuuma smiled closing his eyes. "I know. She likes me as much as you do."

Hinata figured he was either choosing to overlook it, or didn't want to bother with the matter. "Yuuma, do you stay in this room with nothing in it, thinking it will make the burden less on your heart?" He saw the man look down at the mention of the décor.

"It's easier to forget the outside world if you don't include yourself in it," Yuuma said moving his hands over his legs. He had enjoyed his life as it used to be. He was once a college student with scholarships. Yuuma had gotten high honors in high school, was once on the fencing team, and the judo team. He had been popular with girls for his kind and gentle nature among his high achievements. "It's easier for me to gradually fade away."

Hinata moved on all fours to his friend. "I don't want you to fade away," he said angrily. "I want you to love everything around you as if you created it, Yuuma. You're not exempt from my life, or Ran's! You may have written us off to ease the feelings you have inside of yourself, but it hurts us in return." He placed his hands on Yuuma's face forcing him to look at him. Their eyes locked. "You're one of the few joys I have in my life. One of the most precious people I've ever known. Don't write yourself off."

Yuuma blinked his eyes, his heart opening for a split second. He felt the knot tying in his chest. "I'm afraid of dying, Hinata," he said softly as the tears stung his eyes.

Hinata grabbed Yuuma laying his head on his shoulder. He pressed Yuuma's head harder to his shoulder when he heard him sniffle. He clenched his teeth, not wanting to break down in front of his friend. Hinata had to be strong for him, if for anything.

"I don't want to forget the wind going through my hair as we whipped past the shops on your moped," Yuuma said fondly remembering the past. "Remember when we met? You were kicking your bike in front of the college swearing at it. It had gotten a flat from a nail in the road. You were miles from your grandparents' house," he said remembering.

"Yeah, that stupid bike was always a problem. It was an old bike my mother had used when she was my age at the time. It was embarrassing enough it was pink," Hinata said with a small laugh.

"Oh, I don't know. I always thought pink suited you. Now the tassels you had tried to cut off weren't my favorite," Yuuma admitted heart fully. He felt a little better now. Yuuma sat up rubbing his eyes. He was ashamed of having let his emotions overcome him. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

Hinata shook his head. Yuuma had always been a thoughtful person. He didn't like concerning others with his problems. "There's nothing to be sorry about. You can't bottle up everything forever, Yuu. It's not healthy."

Yuuma only averted his eyes, his mind still on his current way of life.

Hinata walked down the street with his hands in his coat pocket. He closed his eyes becoming angry all over. He's keeping everything to himself. I'm finding out what's going on with him with my own eyes. Are his parents requesting that he only regard the family's decisions on his life? Damnit! Hinata kicked a trash can hard until it fell over. I don't like this situation at all. I wonder if I should even ask Ran what she knows. She might have heard something. Then again, it'd be rude of me to ask her. Ran is more welcome at Yuuma's than I am.

Hinata missed having transportation in Ohara. The streets appeared differently to him on foot than when he had been on his moped. He walked towards the antique shop to pick up Mizu. I wish I knew there was everything to know about Yuuma. When I had first met him, he had been friendly asking me if had needed help that day. Now it's he who needs help, but is too kind to ask for it.

Hinata kicked the bike several times until it was moved up against the wall of a building on the sidewalk. "You stupid piece of trash! I'm going to be late!" He kicked it again until people stopped to stare at him. His anger was fuming. "What are you looking at? Get lost!"

"Pink is your color. It takes a real man to wear, or ride on it," Yuuma said from behind him. He put his hand up as Hinata whirled around with his fists ready to punch his lights out. "I didn't mean anything by it. Do you need a ride home? You seem to be in a bit of a rush. My car is parked down the street a ways."

Hinata looked up and down at the tall white haired man standing in front of him. He appeared to come from a decent family that had the money to get him into college. Hinata, however, had no one but his grandparents. They only owned a small shop near the beach and it was hard to survive on the income. Hinata had had to help out since he was old enough to work.

"You're not used to someone offering assistance, are you? You sure are looking at me hard," Yuuma said with a smile. He walked forward to help the boy pick up the bike. Yuuma lifted it up onto its flattened wheels. The bike was an old model, not usually found anymore. He started to push it down the sidewalk with Hinata following him cautiously.

By the time they got to the car, Hinata had moved a little closer to Yuuma, but was still eying his intentions. Yuuma tilted the bike so it stayed against his car. He put his key into the keyhole of the trunk. It popped open.

Hinata moved to put his bike in the trunk. "Thanks," he said softly, not wanting to thank anyone for helping him. He had planned on leaving the bike in the streets.

Yuuma looked at him, but soon smiled in return. He unlocked the car. They both drove off to Hinata's house. It wasn't what Yuuma was expecting. He lived on his own in an apartment. He thought Hinata lived with his parents in a decent sized house in Ohara. Truth was, the younger boy lived in a smaller house with his grandparents. "Here we are," he said turning the car off near the house. He reached over to pop the trunk open. Hinata got out retrieving his bike.

An old woman walked outside wiping her hands off on a rag. She was short, heavy set, with a kind face. "Hinata, who is your friend," she asked as he pulled the bike out of the trunk. "Did something happen to your bike?"

Hinata scowled. He hated for it to be referred to as 'his' bike. It had been his no good mother's. Closing his eyes, he calmed himself down. Snapping at his grandmother wasn't going to make him feel any better. "It has two flat tires. That's the least of the worries. I can patch the tires," he said. "I was also mugged by a tourist," he said ashamed, his face turning red.

"Are you alright," his grandmother asked coming to check him out. "Why didn't you tell me that? I was wondering what was keeping you."

"I couldn't buy the items you wanted for dinner," Hinata said hanging his head. He bowed low, his teeth clenching together, his hands on his pants. "Please forgive me, grandma."

She placed her hands on his shoulders making him rise. "There is nothing to forgive. The bike was an accident. You cannot help some crazy person coming and taking your money. Introduce me to your friend and all will be forgiven," she said as the young man with white hair got out of the car.

Yuuma bowed his head towards Hinata's grandmother. "Yuuma Fukai, ma'am," he said in his most formal tone. "It is an honor to meet you. I'm hoping you will spare beating his backside," he said with a kind smile.

Hinata's grandmother waved her hand in the air. "You're a sweet boy to have driven all this way to bring him home. Hinata's as stubborn as an ox. He would have insisted he could have walked the entire way."

"So your name is Hinata," Yuuma said much to the boy's disapproval of the familiarity.

"You didn't introduce yourself? Hinata," his grandmother said in a coaxing tone of voice, "That's not like you." She turned her gaze back onto Yuuma. "Would you like to stay for dinner? It's the least we can do."

Yuuma sat quietly at the low table in the small room. He looked around the area. There was more in his sole apartment than there was in this family's home. Hinata was sitting quietly next to him, averting his eyes. He wasn't comfortable with Yuuma being in the house; more like uncomfortable. "Do you go to college, too?"

"No," Hinata said rather short. How could this person expect him to go to college with the way his life was? Were his eyes not open?

Yuuma tried pushing a little harder. "So how come your arms are wrapped like that? Did you have an accident?"

Hinata was already tired of this guy barging into his home. He unwrapped his right arm and lifted it to show him. "There. Now you see." He waited for Yuuma to verbalize obscenities at him, or call him names. Nothing happened. He turned his head to see Yuuma about an inch from his arm examining each of the tattoos. Hinata's mouth dropped.

"Tattoos are the coolest and most daring form of expression one can put on his body. Did they hurt? How many do you have? What's this one mean," he asked pointing to a particular one on Hinata's arm.

Hinata didn't know what to think at first. He wasn't used to someone asking questions about them. He hadn't been rejected, or made fun of for having them. "Yes, they hurt," he said softly looking away. The pain helped him get over whatever he was feeling at the moment. Instead of bottling up his emotions, the tattoos helped him with releasing his anger, or sadness.

Yuuma only sat at the table watching Hinata remain quiet thereafter.

Yuuma ran down to the beach once he had caught sight of Hinata sitting in the grass watching the waves. He breathed hard placing his hands on his legs. "I'm out of shape," he said coughing a few times. "Aren't you going to say 'hi' to me?" He placed his hands on top of Hinata's head moving his head back.

"Why are you touching me like that? Someone's going to think we're lovers," Hinata said as Yuuma smiled at him in return. He moved his head back to where he could see the waves beating upon the sand.

"I should feel privileged. That was two whole sentences, Hinata. Next thing I'll get out of you is a paragraph. Then there won't be any stopping us from having a conversation," Yuuma said sitting down next to him. He placed his hands behind his back. "Why are you down here anyway?"

Hinata sighed heavily. Yuuma had been following him around for months, not giving up on making friends with him. "Wouldn't you rather hang out with your college buddies than someone like me?"

Yuuma thought the question was odd. "College friends are only for classes," he said flopping back onto the grass. He laid one of his legs out while the other remained up as he stared up at the sky. "I'd rather do more with you than study literature and the arts."

Hinata looked down at him. "Like what? I don't have the proper personality a person from your side of town would prefer."

Yuuma reached over pinching Hinata in the rear. "How do you know what personalities I like if you don't get to know me? Are you going to stay out here for the rest of your life letting the world pass you by? Yes, that's what you're doing."

Hinata turned away. "What do you care," he said in his usual pessimistic voice. His mind was constantly focused on his past. He didn't want Yuuma to be telling him what to do.

"Hinata," he said sitting up, "I'm not trying to force you to do anything. I'd like to see you enjoy the world – not put a wall around yourself," he said leaning to where he could see his face. "What has you so wrapped in the past that you can't escape it?" Hinata closed his eyes, his brows furrowing as he remembered something painful. Yuuma saw how much a memory was keeping the boy rooted. At the time, he didn't understand.

It wasn't until a few months later, after Hinata's grandmother died did he learn the truth. Yuuma stood behind Hinata as he lit the incense on the shrine made for her in the cemetery. "I'm sorry about your grandmother," he said kindly. "She was a very sweet woman."

"Do you remember the question you asked me last summer? Why I choose not to embrace life?" He stared hard at the hiragana written on the shrine. "I was adopted by my grandparents when I was a child. I didn't have the best parents in the world," he said forcing back a memory. "My mother let my father sexually molest me," he said punching the stone walkway. He felt Yuuma place his hands on him, forcing him to turn around. "Get off of me! Get off!"

"Look at me! LOOK at me!" Yuuma forced him to be still, his body tense as he grasped his shoulders hard. "The more you remain stuck in the past, the more the both of them control you! Do you understand? They are controlling you, Hinata! Even though they are gone, and your life has moved on from that point in time, you're stuck with them reliving each memory until you lose it!"

Hinata stared at him in shock, not understanding why Yuuma chose to be around him. He hadn't been too nice to him since they had met, nor accepted his friendship in any way. Hinata's body relaxed. He felt from the expression on Yuuma's face that it hurt him to hear such words.

"I can't imagine what your grandparents went through to get custody of you," Yuuma said thoughtfully. "To see their grandson, their pride and joy, suffering to such an extent for a long time, without them ever knowing – is fallible. Your grandmother loved you so much – she tried to replace all of the wrongs your parents did to you. In a way, she was your new mother. I know how much you love your grandfather. He's everything to you. I can't be them, Hinata. But if it makes any sense, I'd like to give you a reason to step forward," Yuuma said making him stand. He held out his hand to him. "I can only be a friend. That's my title and my story. Do you want to get past the introduction?"

Hinata didn't know why at the time, he could have never known where his journey with Yuuma would have gone. As he took the older boy's hand, he stepped away from the shrine with a new fresh of air. From that day on, each step he took, was a challenging on with Yuuma by his side.

Hinata leaned on the pole outside the antique shop. How much longer was this story going to last? Each day was a page to him. How many pages were in the remaining chapters that included Yuuma? He didn't know. But the fact remained, he didn't want to get to the last page. He was afraid of the conclusion and ending of his time with his best friend.

Hinata heard the shop door open behind him. He turned his head to see Takahiro escorting Mizu out so he could lock the door. "Hi, how was work," he asked trying to keep his mind off his thoughts.

"It was alright," Mizu said as she hooked her arm around his. "How was your day," she asked with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Kimura!"

Takahiro stood pulling his coat around his body tighter. "I told you to call me, Takahiro," he said waving his fist at her. Mizu only smiled at him waving. "Calling me 'Mr' makes me feel fifteen years older than what I am. That's what I called my father, for crying out loud," he grumbled turning around to walk home in the cold.

Chapter 9

A way out

Kyo Miyamoto set her bag down on the bed in the hotel at Kagoshima, a popular tourist attraction area, located at the southern tip of Japan. She looked around the room sadly her eyes falling on the plain lamps. They reminded her of how she felt inside. Her fingers rose to touch the small bag as if it were delicate porcelain. It had been a gift from her ex-husband, Mizmaru, when they were younger. Once upon a time, Kyo had been a nature enthusiast. She had loved walking on trails with the back pack around her shoulders, exploring the known areas around Japan. That was before she had had Daichi. Yes, a long time ago.

The sound of traffic outside made her look up at the huge window that was beside her bed. Kyo was going to stay here a week to sort things out. Hopefully, she was going to come to some conclusion. She sat on the bed with the back pack behind her. I would bring something that reminded me of him. Even if it is only a materialistic thing. Kyo's orange hair was longer than she had ever had it. It had been growing out pretty quickly.

Thinking about the length of her hair, she went to find a mirror in the bathroom. As she stood looking over her face she didn't recognize herself. Who is this person in front of me? Kyo wanted to change. She needed a change. It wasn't just her destination that had been bothering her. She missed her old life in Kyoto – who she had been. Her hand lifted to go through her straight hair, moving it around.

Kyo put her hair on top of her head to shorten the length. Perhaps Kenshin is right about who I am and how I've been acting. It's not like me at all. She let go of her hair. It dropped down her back. Kyo stared hard at herself in the mirror. Her face wasn't hers anymore. It was someone else looking back at her. I want my old life back – before I was married.

It was late in the day, but Kyo didn't care. She wanted to be out in the open air. Bundling her coat around her tightly, she tied the long sash before looking out the window once more. Her life was beckoning to give it a second chance. Kyo Miyamoto exited her hotel room as quickly as she had came in. She padded down the hall leaving her hat and sunglasses behind. Here she didn't need them.

Kyo didn't respond to the bell hop as she left the building. He offered to hail her a taxi, but she shook her head. She needed to walk off what was on her mind. A taxi was only going to remind her of past events – ones she couldn't bring back for anything in the world.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she saw people looking at her oddly. It was a nice day out in the sub tropical region of Kagoshima. Kyo was bundled as if she were expecting a blizzard. She was so used to harsh winters in Ohara that she had forgotten where she was. Kyo undid the sash around her waist, letting it fall. The coat was soon lifted off her shoulders. She tied it around her waist giving her a more sophisticated look. The area in Kagoshima had changed over the past decade. There were more buildings – more people. She supposed that was normal for a popular area such as this.

Kyo stopped. She was walking down the street with no inclination of where she was headed. Sighing, she turned her body going across the street. If she wanted her old life back, she ought to partake in an old hobby of hers. Kyo was out searching for a camera store to buy a throw away version.

Kenshin Nakahara narrowed his eyes at Daichi, Kyo's son, as he sat at the table going over his kanji lessons. He crossed his arms making sure the boy participated in his studies as properly as he could under his direction. "Don't skip any of them. I'm watching you. Your mother won't be happy with a failing grade," he said trying to make the boy understand just what he was getting at.

Daichi on the other hand, had other ideas. He threw the book at Kenshin hitting the man square in the leg. "You're not my dad and I don't have to listen to you!" His mother had been gone for a few days without any word from her. He was angry as heck at her and also at Kenshin. He didn't need the man telling him what to do.

Kenshin picked up the book, landing it back on the table. "You're not getting out of it despite the tantrum. Do your work," he said with authority. He could tell Daichi wasn't used to an adult besides his mother. Males were a problem area for the boy due to his father being out of the picture.

Daichi scowled hatefully at Kenshin, his hand picking up the pencil again. He started to write his kanji, but slower, not wanting to listen to anything the man had to say. "Stupid lessons," he muttered under his breath. He saw Kenshin move away from him to sit at the table, picking up his newspaper. "I have all week to do this!"

"I really don't care," Kenshin said from behind the newspaper. "You'll complete it now. No exceptions." He hated to be so authoritive to the boy, but unless he took direction now, there were going to be problems later in the week.

Kenshin heard a knock at the door. "Come in," he said giving Daichi a certain look to remain where he was. Kenshin stood up to greet Hinata as the man walked in. "Tea," he offered pointing to the teapot on the stove as it started to whistle. He went over to move it off the eye.

"How's it going with Dai," Hinata asked lowly. The boy was working on his kanji lessons from the table in the living room. He took the tea from Kenshin's offered hand. "Thanks," he said blowing on the liquid to cool it off.

"He's hard headed," Kenshin replied as he leaned on the counter. "I had a talk with his teacher yesterday when I picked him up from school. Seems he hasn't been studying his lessons. He was the only one in the entire class who failed the quiz she gave."

"One quiz isn't going to make a huge difference," Hinata said closing his eyes as he sipped the tea thoughtfully.

"No, but he was the only one who failed out of the whole class, Hinata. That's more embarrassing than anything. Kyo's pretty stern about his education. I know that much about what she wants for him."

Daichi slammed his pencil down onto the table. "There! I'm finished! Are you happy now? Can I go play, or do I have to do more, Mr. Kenshin," he said in that awkward stranger tone.

"You have an hour before dinner," Kenshin said. Daichi sprang up to run out of the apartment. He said his quick hi and bye to Hinata before putting on his shoes. As soon as Daichi left, Kenshin lowered his head. He was having a hard time being a substitute parent.

Hinata couldn't help but smirk at Kenshin's reactions. "If you think this is bad, have some of your own." Kenshin looked up at him with an unpleasant expression on his face. "It's not all that bad. He's only testing you."

"I'm too old to be taking tests," Kenshin said taking Hinata's cup from him. He put it in the bowl in the sink, running water to let it soak. "Does he do this with everyone? I mean, with the men that Kyo's dated in the past."

Hinata tilted his head slightly. "Kyo hasn't dated anyone in a long time since she moved here. Dai's only reacting to you that way because you're near Kyo's age. I guess he sees you as a threat, or a father replacement. You're also not letting him get by with anything – which is something he doesn't approve of. He's a kid, Kenshin."

"I couldn't imagine him being older," Kenshin said turning back around with his hand upon his forehead. "I'd probably be headed straight for the old folks' home if he was a teenager. Hard headed youths," he commented.

"Have you heard anything from Kyo? She normally calls once a day to check on Dai," Hinata said. Kenshin only shook his head. "I hope she's alright. It's not like her to just up and leave. She must really be afraid her ex-husband is going to find her and Dai."

Kenshin looked through the cabinet for his bottle of vodka. He finally found it stashed away behind some boxes. Taking it out, he set it on the counter. "As big as Japan is, don't you think it's quite impossible for her to be found?" He went in search of his favorite crystal glass. Right now, he needed a drink to calm his nerves.

Hinata didn't know how much he should tell Kenshin. Kyo could get angry with him for mentioning anything. "Kyo's ex-husband is an important man in Japan. He has connections all over. When he and Kyo got divorced, it was rather ugly. He wanted to keep her away from Dai, but she's his mother and has every right to see him. The man was trying to use Dai as leeway to get something out of Kyo – I just don't know what it is. She never told me that part."

"So she just took Dai behind the guy's back and bailed on him," Kenshin completed the train of thought for Hinata. "I don't know what to think anymore. People have their own paths in life, but why I want to get entangled in hers, is beyond me."

"Because you're a nice guy and you want to be around her. There's something about her that draws you to her. You just don't want to admit what it is," Hinata said as he leaned on the counter watching Kenshin drink.

"Shut up, Hinata. You're too brash for a guy," Kenshin said as he set the glass down. "Besides, my chances with her are rather slim. She can't stand being around me unless there's a purpose for her – a functional purpose, mind you. She no more wants to know me than the man in the moon."

"You can't look at it like that. She just has some serious issues with guys," Hinata tried to explain. He looked away when Kenshin gave him a glare.

"Don't give me that sort of talk," Kenshin said quite angrily. "She can't blame another guy for one idiot's mistake. That makes her a stereotypical type. Who wants to be around someone like that?"

"Um, apparently you do," Hinata said under his breath. The conversation wasn't getting anywhere with Kenshin. He supposed the older man wanted to be near Kyo, but he wasn't wanting to take the time for things to pan out. Deep down, he agreed with how he was perceiving things. Kyo had had plenty of time in the past to settle her own emotions with the past. He wondered why it was so difficult for her to get over.

Kyo stood near the railing overlooking Kagoshima. The sun was setting beautifully against the horizon. As she stood on top of the building, she started to focus the throw away camera as best she could. Kyo snapped a shot. A long time ago, she used to take pictures as a hobby, but it had been forgotten with her anger and resentment over the past few years of her life.

People around her looked through viewers commenting on the night lights starting to come on. Kagoshima was beautiful at night as it was during the day. I ought to bring Dai here one day. He'd love the shops. I can hear him asking me to buy him odd trinkets. Her mind shifted to Hinata, the younger man she had left in Ohara. And perhaps Hinata. I don't think he's been this far south before. The harbor is already active. Her eyes drifted to see a few fishing vessels preparing to go out for the night. Seafood was a prime catch in this area. Maybe I should bring them some crabs home. We can cook them on the fire outside in the snow. That would be nice.

A man near Kyo was also taking pictures. Her eyes drifted to him curiously. Not wanting to get close to anyone her, she turned around walking away. There were other sights to be seen in the town. She moved past couples exclaiming how beautiful the sunset was, before going back down the stairs. Her feet tapped along the stairs, hand trailing down the rail. Maybe I shouldn't have come back here. Her eyes showed sadness and worry. She had no reason to believe her ex-husband would ever come back to this place. It was the past – and as well as she knew him, he liked moving forward never looking back.

Kyo stepped down to the last step. The door in front of her waited. It led to the inside of the building. Why do I have this feeling that I'm still in love with him? Her heart ached at the memories she kept hidden away. Life before Daichi had been a fantasy for her. She had laughed, loved, and had had adventures –but the moment her son was born, the adventures had ended. Kyo exited through the door, not looking back.

Mizu pulled out a box that was stuck on the shelf in the attic of Yuuma's house. She carried it over to him, putting it on the floor. "Wow, there is so much stuff up here."

"If you think this is a lot, you should see the storage house in the back," Yuuma said putting his hands on the dusty box. He sneezed. "I have no idea what's in these. My parents put them up here a long time ago, before I was around."

Ran tripped over something sticking out from another area. She tottered on her feet twirling around with two boxes. "Oh, my," she said trying not to crash into Yuuma and Mizu. She fell backwards on her rear.

"Ms. Ran, are you okay," Mizu said going to her.

Yuuma smiled. Mizu's a thoughtful girl. I really hope she stays with Hinata. It's taken his mind off me.

"I'm alright," Ran said standing up brushing herself off. "I suppose I should be more careful in a place like this. There are objects sticking out everywhere." She picked up the boxes again to pile them near Yuuma. "Yuuma-kun, why are you going through these?"

"Well, if I go outside the house, Hinata will be after me. Why not explore the inside?" He opened the box in front of him. "Man, why is she keeping all of these," he asked pulling out some old clothes from twenty – some odd years ago. "It's not like these will come back in style."

"They might," Mizu said. "Retro clothes are in style in America. You could sell them online. It'd be neat to do that."

"It's not like my mother will ever come back up here," Yuuma stated. "I haven't seen her put anything up here since I was a kid. Then again," he looked around the room. "There's not any room to add anything else."

"Oh, I found some old hats," Ran said just digging into the Fukai boxes. She took out an old hat from the 40s and placed it on Yuuma's head. "It looks good on you," she said laughing lightly. The expression on his face told her otherwise.

Mizu opened a box containing old photos in frames. She blew on them, the dust going into the air. Sneezing hard, she looked at the two of them. Yuuma was trying to put a hat on Ran, but she was moving her head around laughing. "Mr. Yuuma, do you know who these people are," she asked shifting the box to where he could see inside.

Yuuma turned his head as he sat on the chair. "Not really. They can't be any of our relatives," he said starting to pick up a few eying them. "These look really old. Some of them appear burnt and charred on the sides," he said pointing out the details to the two women in the attic.

"Do you suppose they are from the war," Ran asked figuring they were from WWII. That would explain the charred edges. The pictures appeared to have been in a fire. Some of them were damaged so badly that the people in them were hard to identify.

"If they are from that time period, I wonder how they managed to get all the way to Ohara," Yuuma said pondering as he looked through the box. "Both of my parents are from Hokkaido." Yuuma held out a few of the pictures to Mizu. "Let's put these back. Who knows where they got them from. My father likes old relics and artifacts. He could have found them somewhere through one of the people he's met on his business trips."

Mizu helped Yuuma put them back in the box. "As much stuff is up here, we ought to check all of the boxes in the attic. We may find treasure," she said with a smile.

"Or even better," Ran said her face lighting up also. "We could find fabrics that aren't around anymore. I could make a wonderful dress out of them." She and Mizu moved to the back of the attic looking amongst the objects. "Oh, wow, there's so many different things back here," she said before looking over her shoulder to check on Yuuma. He was sitting looking through some old photo albums.

Mizu's eyes saw a few pictures leaning against the wall and an old small dresser. "These must be really old. The pictures are faded," she said crouching to run her hands over them. The pictures were cracked. "I wonder why they keep all of this stuff if they aren't going to use any of it."

Ran blinked her eyes. She hadn't pondered that sort of thing. Yuuma's parents were decent people, but they were very reserved when it came to meeting any of Yuuma's friends. That's why she and Mizu had snuck into the house when Mr. and Mrs. Fukai were out shopping. "I don't really know," she said bringing her finger to rest on her chin. They continued to look through the rest of the attic quietly as not to disturb Yuuma. He seemed to be heavily in thought.

Yuuma sat on the chair near the opening of the attic listening. He had lifted the stairs earlier and was relieved that he had. His parents were home earlier than he had expected. If they caught any of them in the attic, he'd surely get a heated lecture. His father and mother were moving down the hall doing something. All he could hear was their voices.

"I'm telling you this whole mess is unfortunate," Mrs. Fukai stated to her husband.

"There's nothing to be done about it. We have to prepare for it as best we can," Mr. Fukai said to his wife. "The boy has led a good life up until now."

"Such a pity. I was hoping he'd finish college and make something of himself," Mrs. Fukai said about her son. "All of that money wasted." She sighed.

"Try not to think of it dear. We can help other unfortunate students, or put a financial aid in his name. That would get us some recognition for our efforts," Mr. Fukai said. He unlocked the drawer in the hall to a small cabinet. Sliding the drawer opened, he put a piece of paper in it. Then he shut it and locked it. "Did you check on him?"

"There's no need to," Mrs. Fukai said as she put on her apron. "He's probably asleep. That's all he does lately with his illness. Cancer is a terrible thing to have," she said. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Oh, how about we go back out and get something to go? We deserve a little treat for ourselves every now and then. Yuuma will probably sleep until this afternoon. No need to wake him," Mr. Fukai said as his wife went towards the room. "The boy can't keep anything in his stomach as of late."

"I suppose you're right," Mrs. Fukai said as she took her apron off. She folded it nicely and put it on the chair in the hall. "We should go to that new place that opened near the shopping center. Mrs. Yakamono told me they have the best steak there."

"Now that's something I could go for," Mr. Fukai said as he walked to the front of the house. He let his wife out first before shutting the door behind him. Soon he and his wife were cranking up the car, driving away from the house.

Yuuma sat wide eyed. They talked about me as if I was already dead. Am I going to die? I thought I was getting better. Yuuma clenched his fists. His breathing quickened. He felt a panic come over him. What had his parents put in the locked drawer in the hall? It must be important. Yuuma put his hand to his forehead trying to calm himself down. I can't tell Hinata what I heard. He'll approach them. They'll know what I heard. They'll find out that Ran and Mizu were here without permission. What is in the drawer?

Emi Wakahisa entered Tokodeki quietly, her hands moving to shut the door at the entrance without anyone hearing. She could hear all of them eating in the dining area. Her hear sunk. The three girls she had overheard at the grocery store had approached her earlier that morning. Emi had tried to be polite, but it had led to disaster. She touched her face feeling the tissue under her fingers. Noriko Himura had landed the first punch on top of her head. Sayuri Matsumoto had gotten in another at her jaw. Mayu Kagome had stood blocking the door.

Emi couldn't let the others see. She hugged her books close to her chest and started to go up the stairs. The moment she got halfway up, she heard someone behind her. Not turning around, she asked, "What is it?"

Kenshin stood below the stairs. "You're late getting in. Did you eat in town?"

Emi didn't turn around to look at Kenshin. The man was nice enough to her – as with everyone in the building. For a split second, she registered telling him what had happened, but the decision soon exited her mind. "Yes, I did. Thank you," she said going straight to her room.

Emi shut the door slowly standing as she looked out at the one room apartment. Kenshin looked out for her. She should have told him. Emi's eyes welled up with sorrow. She was such a long way from home – on her own. Instead, she decided to talk to the open air. "Grandfather, the girls at school are not friendly," she said before the tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Th-They are horrible girls." Emi wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Once she had calmed down, she took off her coat, letting it fall to the floor. She didn't know what she was going to do. Tomorrow she had to face the girls again. Emi walked to the middle of the room and fell to her knees. She looked ahead to see her monkey with its eye patching watching her. "I don't want to go back to school, Musa. Can't I just stay home with you?"

The stuffed pink monkey only stared back at her with its head flopped to the side. Emi reached for her notepad that was lying near Musa. This was the spot she usually studied in for class. As she sat upright, she started to write down her options. The clock in the room ticked its arm moving around as she pondered. "My options are: Move back in with my parents, run away, confront the girls, tell someone, do what they say." Emi stared at the notepad with a frown. "I can't go live with my real parents. They don't even know me. If I run away, where will I go? It's winter. I could confront them, but there are three of them against me. And.. if I tell anyone – especially Mr. Nakahara, then the whole school would know I'm a coward. I suppose I'll have to do what they say."

Emi set the pad down. It was getting late. Her face was sore, too. After putting a cold wash rag on it, she pulled out her futon. Emi laid upon it in her school uniform, her eyes staring at the small kitchen. "I wish it was spring," she said before closing her eyes.

Arata Nakano walked the hall of Ohara High checking his phone. He could have sworn he had failed to memo something important. A student walked in front of him, he moved past just in time to keep from bumping into him. Arata stopped near his class making sure he was on time. A girl passed him in the hall following three other girls. He watched her move past noting how her head was lowered, holding onto a lot of books. The three girls were chatting away as if they didn't know she was there. Wow, I thought the days of bullying were over. Boy was I wrong.

Arata watched the girl disappear down the hall. He went inside his class to wait for the bell to ring. Moving to his desk, he greeted a few of the other students before sitting down in the middle. He took out his notebook, pencil, and book. His mind kept going back to the girl he had seen. Why am I thinking about her? There was something unusual about the way she was holding her head. He tapped his pencil on the desk.

The morning went by with Arata deep in thought not paying much attention to his studies. A boy in his class took out his yearbook from the previous year to show a girl who had just been admitted to their class. Arata had an idea. She has to be in there. He walked over to Morino. "Hey, I see you have your yearbook from last year."

"Yeah, I thought I'd show it to Ako," Morino said holding the book proudly. "She's from a really small town near Tokyo." He introduced her and Arata. "Say, what interest do you have in it anyway? Didn't you buy one last year?"

Arata shook his head lightly. "No, I didn't feel like getting one. I stay to myself a lot. No one to sign it and all."

"Well, if you don't have anyone to sign it you can make notes about other students on it," Ako said with a smile. "All of the girls were writing memorable things on another student's back home. It was kind of fun."

"I suppose," Arata said being thrown off from his real question. "Say, Morino, can I look through it real quick? I'm trying to find the name of someone I saw in the hall this morning."

Morino raised a brow handing the yearbook over. "Sure, I don't mind. Just give it back before lunch is up. I can show Ako the rest of it later during class break."

Arata thanked him before going back to his seat. She has to be in here. Every student had his or her picture taken from the start of the new semester. He thumbed through the book being careful as not to get his bento on the pages. Morino wasn't about to thank him for a mess on his property.

He continued to skim the pages, searching all of the pages. There were only three more minutes left of lunch before another class started. He tried to resist the urge to swear. Come on, where are you? Arata skimmed faster, his finger moving down the pages. Then he found her. Ah-hah! Wakahisa Emi. That's her.

Arata handed the yearbook back to Morino.

"I was wondering if you were going to give it to me after class, but you do pride yourself on your punctuality," Morino said taking the yearbook back.

Arata nodded. "That's right. Punctuality is the sign of determination," he said before holding up his hand. He sat back down.

Arata put his hands up to his mouth as he looked at the clock. "Alright, Wakahisa Emi. Now all I have to do is have a talk with you." The bell rang signaling lunch was over. It was time to get back to class.

Chapter 10

Peer Pressure

Daichi ran around the apartment looking for his socks as Kenshin waited by the front door. He had misplaced them in Kenshin's apartment somewhere. He crawled on his hands and knees beginning to look under the table in the middle of the room. "I don't know where they are."

"You have two minutes to find them," Kenshin said crossing his arms. This was starting to be a habit of Daichi's. Every morning he was losing something so he could delay his trip to school. "You can go without socks," he finally said when Daichi stood up almost giving up on the matter. The idea didn't seem to be too farfetched. Daichi realized this, suddenly remembering the socks were in the bathroom. That's what I thought.

The boy came back with his socks on – one inside out. He began to put his shoes on quickly, lifting his book bag over his shoulders. "I'm ready," he said as he looked up at Kenshin. Kenshin only stared back at him with an eyebrow raised.

Kenshin opened the door, moving his hand to issue Daichi to get out of the apartment. He closed the door behind them, the boy starting to run towards the stairs. "Don't run," he said knowing it was pointless for the kid to even listen to him right now. Daichi went down the stairs, almost knocking over Asuka Ueda on her way to work. Kenshin went after him grabbing his arm as soon as he hit the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, you almost knocked Asuka over! I told you to slow down! It isn't all about you and what you want to do," he said in a serious tone.

Mizu stood near the entrance of the door with her coat around her, turning around to see Kenshin getting onto Daichi. She kept her hands on her coat, remaining silent. Hinata was emerging from the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a piece of fish sticking out of his mouth.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you," Kenshin said not letting go of the boy's arm. "You could have caused her to tumble down the stairs. You're in too much of a hurry!" He gave Daichi a stern look. The boy's lip quivered. He lowered his head turning away from Kenshin, nodding slowly. "Apologize to her right now."

Asuka lifted her hood to place it over her head. She looked at Daichi with her sunglasses on, purse already over her arm. Her keys were in her hand ready to crank up her car and be on her way. "Well?"

Daichi tried to lift his eyes to look at Asuka. He was embarrassed with how Kenshin had talked to him in front of everyone. "I-I'm sorry," he said quietly, his hands clenched. He didn't dare look at Kenshin. The man told him to go to the car. Daichi walked past everyone out into the cold morning, his hand going up to wipe his eyes. He wished his mom was back.

Kenshin got into the car without a word, clicking his seatbelt. He put the key in the ignition and cranked it up. Daichi's head was lowered in the back seat, staring at his hands. There was nothing to be said. He was disappointed in the boy's listening skills. He's got to learn. That's all there is to it. I'm not going to have him disobeying me while Kyo is gone.

Kenshin pulled up to the drop off area. He waited until Daichi had opened the door and closed it before he glanced behind him. He'll be fine. It's not his first scolding. Kenshin drove off leaving Daichi standing at the entrance to the school.
**********************************

Hinata walked along the snow covered street with his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the shops in Ohara, their window displays seeming less brilliant now that he was out of a job along with transportation. He stopped along the street, sighing heavily, his mind in great thought. A large ironic stream of laughter carried to his ears in the winter atmosphere. Turning around to look over his shoulder, he could see a woman hugging the arm of a man. She's laying it on a little thick. As he stood taken aback by their romantic attitudes, the couple came closer not paying him any mind. Hinata's eyes stared straight at the woman's face hiding under the furry hood of her coat.

"You say the funniest things, Usotsuki! How can such a charming, witty man like you be single? The odacity of women and their pride," Asuka Ueda said smiling at the man, putting on all of her airs.

"My dear, Asuka, you're a fanciful delight. You're as daunting as a sparrow with the brilliance of a peacock," Usotsuki said putting his chest out to where he appeared more dignified – and full of himself.

Hinata turned around to where his back was only seen by the couple as they stopped to look around at the scenery. Soon they passed him again slowly, going back the way they came, passing compliments back and forth. Hinata rolled his eyes. It wasn't quite noon yet. He assumed Asuka was trying to get the man to treat her. Soon enough, they entered a small cafe three shops down.

What is she up to? Hinata glanced around before he got closer to the café with the green and white striped over hanger. Leaning his back against the brick, he tilted to the side so he could see in. Asuka and her date were escorted to a table. He watched her laugh redicuously at the man's words for some time. Whoever he was, he didn't seem to notice it was all a ploy. Hinata quickly moved away from the window as the couple got up from the table. Soon they were exiting the café.

Asuka walked out ahead of her date laughing as wittingly as before. The man stepped to the sidewalk as a taxi pulled up. Opening the door, he issued Asuka to get in, blew a kiss to her, and then shut the door with a click. The man waved goodbye with his hand in the air, his other hand blowing kisses as if he was departing from his fiancée.

Usotsuki took out his cell phone once the taxi was far enough away. He tottered on his feet a few times as it rang on the other end. "Hello dear, how are you? Really? Well, give your sister my love. I'll be home in a two days. It appears they might be willing to sell the farm. Yes, it's a good deal for them and the company. Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye."

Hinata grit his teeth. The man was clearly married. Asuka was being used. Even though he didn't know her very well, she was still someone he knew. Before he could confront the man, Usotsuki hit a redial button his cell phone to make another call. Hinata stopped in motion, his arms out trying to catch himself. He walked away from the scene, only to go into the door of another shop. He stood there, listening.

"Migawari, sir. Your daughter is doing well. She hasn't spoken much about her family. Yes, she's laying low in this town. I told her I was a humble Agriculture Production Manager. No, sir, neither of them know. Tomorrow is my final day here. I'll try to get as much information as I can out of her. The train leaves early the next morning. Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I understand." Migawari closed his cell phone, sticking it back in his pocket.

Hinata didn't know who the man really was. The name he had given Asuka was clearly a fake. Come to think of it, his whole appearance and situation was a fake, too. As he glanced behind to acknowledge the man behind the counter asking him why the door was open, Migawari got into a black Sedan that pulled up to the curve. Hinata's eye twitched as he bailed out the door. The car sped away as soon as he reached the curve. Who is Asuka Ueda? And why is she hiding out in Ohara?
**********************************
Chiyoko moved out to the hall sensing someone coming home a bit late. "Mizu, you must have had to work late. It's too cold out for you to be walking all of the way here," she said noticing how snow was scuffed around the young woman's boots and pants. Without turning around, she also sensed someone peeping around over the corner above her head also interested in Mizu's return. "Hinata, since you have nothing better to do, take the package on the table to Oshiro in 2A," she said jerking a thumb behind her.

"What? Are you crazy! You want me to deliver this to the spy's hideout? It could be a bomb," Hinata protested looking at the rather medium sized package on the table. Next thing he knew, he had an audience.

Riku adjusted his glasses as he stared at Hinata with a sinister smile. "Hey, if it blows up before you get up the stairs, can I have your t.v.? Mine's been a little fuzzy lately."

Hinata turned around grabbing a fake pear out of a bowl near the entrance. He threw it straight at Riku, hitting him square in the face. "Then go buy a new one! If I die, I'm coming back to haunt all of you in the shower and make you all pee on yourselves!"

Kenshin raised his hand slowly from the other room that was still in view. "Why does it have to be when we're naked? Are you a pervert?"

Hinata stood stiffly as Mizu's hands stopped putting her coat on the hanger. "All of you are sadists!" He hurried to grab the parcel from the table, passing Chiyoko with a frown. Turning quickly, he was up the stairs trying hard to not see the expression on Mizu's face.

"Um, there's a spy living here," Mizu asked not knowing whether to believe any of them, or not.

"Oh, yes, you haven't met that particular resident," Kenshin said with a half smile. "No one has, in fact. His name is: Juro Oshiro," he said moving his hands to the board Riku was holding up with the man's name, as if he were some sort of celebrity that all of Ohara should be aware of.

"Oshiro registered over the phone through a housing agency," Chiyoko said to get their minds out of the unnecessary infatuations that were developing. "He came in late at night when all of you were asleep. His flight was delayed. I told all of you this."

"He's never came down for a meal and doesn't go out of his room," Riku said typing on his laptop again. "That's suspicious." He turned his head back engrossed in the website he had pulled up.

"That's not any different than you," Kenshin said lowly. "Anyway, since no one has seen him, or knows anything about him, he was dubbed 'The Spy'."

"We didn't nickname him that," Riku corrected as he half read the summary about a movie he wanted to see. "You and Hinata named him that after listening to Emi rant about a movie she had seen. It was all on you all's basis."

"Be that as it may, everyone's wary about going towards that particular door. No one sees him take the packages that arrive. Or hear the door open," Kenshin said with a finger in the air for drama effect. "Once the package is dropped, you walk a few feet, turn around and POOF! It's gone," he said slamming his hands together. Mizu jumped a little.

"Why not tell her about the time you and Hinata set up traps to catch 'The Spy'?" Riku turned around shutting his laptop as he decided to tell her all about it. "Hinata and Kenshin set up the type of trap one would put in the woods when hunting a rabbit. But instead of a carrot, they used a dirty magazine to try and lure the old man out. Now I wonder whose magazine it could have been?"

Kenshin had no choice but to pelt Riku at that point with his fists. "You talk too much! And who do you think gave us the idea for the ridiculous trap? It was you!"

Riku grunted as he struggled to breathe with Kenshin's arm around his neck. "It was only a joke, but you both too it so seriously. As if a box with a string could catch a person – much less a spy."

Chiyoko stood with her hands behind her back watching Hinata come down the stairs. He seemed a bit uneasy. "You look as if Oshiro opened the door," she said mildly.

Kenshin dropped Riku to the floor running to Hinata, who had an uneasy expression on his face. "Did he? Did he open the door," he asked as if he were a school child trying to take pictures of a ghost.

Hinata gave him this baffled look before he pushed him back with his hand on his face. "No, he didn't open the door! The parcel wasn't that heavy. I had just crouched to set it down, stood, and by the time I looked down again, it was gone. I didn't have to walk off. I didn't hear him open the door or anything."

"Both of you are highly immature," Riku said from his seated position against the wall.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes turning around slowly. "Let's get him." He started to walk towards Riku but was grabbed by the collar by Hinata.

"You're only going to stoop to his level," Hinata said realistically.

"Oh, since when have you cared," Kenshin said rather loudly and frantically.

"When did the hair finally grow, Hinata? Before or after Mizu arrived," Riku said with a sly smirk. He was then hit on the side of the head with a swift kick. He fell over to the floor, his cheek being pressed by Hinata's weight.

Kenshin stared at the stopwatch he had out. "Hmm..better than last time. Twenty point three seconds. That's a new record," he said smiling at Hinata.

"What was his record before," Mizu asked not believing Hinata couldn't restrain himself.

"Sixteen point six seconds," Kenshin showed her the notepad where it was all written down.

"Quit writing that down," Hinata fired back.
**********************************
Yuuma couldn't keep his mind off of the drawer in the hall where something important was locked away. He sat in bed staring out the window at the snow. I have to know what's in there? Why was it locked up? I can't move around the house like I want anymore.

The house sat on top of a hill, a small frozen pond off to the left of the house near the woods. Yuuma wondered if he'd ever see ducks swim in it again, or be able to feed the birds in the grass. He slammed his fist upon the railing of the bed. It shook slightly with a ping sound. I'm not getting better. I've been fooling myself. His eyes looked over his room. I thought that if I tried to concentrate on Hinata's problems, or study during the day, that I'd be able to re-enter college. But… it's all been a lie hasn't it?

Yuuma tilted his body reaching over to open the nightstand drawer near his bed. In it, he kept a journal to keep his mind sane. Often he wrote about memories he was fond of, or people he wanted to remember. All he had was time to himself – alone in the room. Taking his pen, he wrote down a simple goal for himself: I want to sit in the grass at the beach again with Hinata. I want to talk about tourists being active. I want to go fishing. Yuuma smiled at the last part. He wasn't as good as Hinata when it came to fishing.

"You were always better than me at that sport, no? But then again, your grandfather loved to fish more than he liked to paint. You're so much like him, Hinata," he said to the open air. Yuuma closed his heavy eyes. He kept thinking about fishing at the ocean. If only he could pull hard enough to get the fish to come in.
**********************************
Daichi ran to his mother despite Kenshin telling him to wait for him at the platform. "Mom, how was your trip? Where did you go? Was it boring? Did you bring me something?"

Kyo shook her head. "And to think I was worried you and Kenshin fighting while I was gone," she said. She stood overlooking her son admiring him for the first time in a week that she had been away.

Kenshin's hand went to his mouth, his head turning away as he stared off into nothing remembering his time with the boy. It had been a battle getting Daichi to take a bath. And do his homework. And brush his teeth. Even the car rides to and from school were quite silent since the scolding had occurred. It wasn't until this moment did he appear lifelike again.

"So what have you and Kenshin been doing together while I was away," Kyo asked. She knew how troubling Daichi could be. He was as stubborn as a mule who wouldn't drink when he was thirsty. She looked up to see Kenshin thinking about something. "Was he good for you," she asked snapping him back to reality.

"He wasn't a demon," Kenshin replied a little too hastily. He retreated when Kyo came running at him to grab onto his collar. His eyes met hers. Swallowing hard, he held up his hands. "Ah-that's not what I mean!"

"Are you implying that my son is raised improperly, Kenshin Nakahara?" Kyo had only been away long enough to remind herself how beautiful life was with her son. "Are you so inexperienced with children that you cannot take care of a simple boy? It's much like taking care of your pets at the pet store, except he talks."

"Ah, Kyo-san, you have the wrong idea," Kenshin said as he was shaken about. "Help! Someone help me, please!"

"What kind of man can't defend himself? You must be that man!" Kyo shook him harder until his head went back. Kenshin was drooling with his eyes closed. "Hmm? Did I do too much damage?"

Daichi poked Kenshin's cheek. "Mom, he's puffy like a puffer fish. Should we put him in some water?"

"Water? No, it's too cold for that. We should throw him in the ocean where he came from, but we'll be more civilized and take him home," she said to her son. "Roll my luggage, Dai," Kyo instructed as she pulled Kenshin along by the collar. Daichi followed right behind her rolling a large suitcase of luggage while his mother held onto the bag she had around her shoulder.
**********************************
Emi Wakahisa stopped short in the hallway. The bell had rang for all of the students to leave for the day. As soon as she stepped out of her classroom, she was met by a boy who appeared to be her age. She didn't recognize him. The boy's eyes drifted to see Mayu, Norko, and Sayuri coming down the hall towards Emi's class. He grabbed a hold of her arm moving away from the door. "W-Wait!"

"This way," Arata Nakano said under his breath. He led Emi away from the class where it was clear the bullying girls were headed. Once they were down the hall, he led her up the stairs, instead of down.

"I have to go! I can't follow you – whoever you are!" Emi tried to pull away from him, but the boy had a tight hold on her wrist. They were heading for the roof of the building. "What are you going to do to me," she yelled in a panic. The boy stopped. He turned around to look at her.

"Do to you? I'm not going to do anything to you. Not like anything those girls have been doing to you," Arata stated. "I suppose I'm frightening you like this. Sorry, Nakano Arata. Pleased to meet you, Wakahisa Emi."

Emi pulled her hand away instantly. He wasn't advancing on her. "How do you know my name? Are you stalking me? I can't do any favors for you, if that's what you want. I'm already-"

"Bound to those girls," Arata said rather bluntly. "I transferred to this school two years ago. But I don't think you'd remember me. That's not how I know you though. I saw you in the hall a few days ago. You were carrying the books of those girls. The expression on your face told me they were forcing you to do it. What do they have hanging over your head?"

Emi moved down the stairs backwards until her back was pressing against the wall. The students below her were shuffling out of the building heading home in the snow. "I-It's none of your business," she shouted, closing her eyes, afraid of the anger in her own voice.

"Then whose business is it? Does someone have to wait months to get close to you in order to help you? I don't have that kind of time, or patience," Arata said adjusting the bag over his shoulder. "If you continue to let them bully you, they're going to get you in trouble soon. People like that have no morals for themselves, or the others around them." He walked down the steps and passed her slowly with his hand gliding down the rail. Arata stopped. "I'm not offering to help you because I feel pity for you."

"Then why are you offering," Emi said throwing her school briefcase at his back. It hit him, landing on the steps. "No one has cared about me since I came here. No one in this town, or this school! You see me for a moment in your life and want to take charge?"

"No, not take charge. I'm not that type of person." Arata glanced over his shoulder at her, his hollow gaze seeing past her. "However, if it's an injustice I see, I'm also not the type to sit by and let it happen." Arata turned back around to walk down the stairs.

Emi looked at the floor. Her eyes drifted to the briefcase on the steps. She clenched her fingers at the end of her skirt before running to retrieve it. Her feet hit the steps quickly. Maybe if she hurried, she wouldn't have to worry about the girls finding her. Emi peeped her head around the corner checking to see if any of them were coming. Most of the students had left.

They're not here. They gave up on me and went home! Now I can go home without having to do their homework, or clean their uniforms! Emi happily smiled to herself as she ran the rest of the way towards the locker. She quickly changed her shoes, shut the door, and was outside in no time. Emi's feet padded onto the snow, crunching a few feet from the building when a gallon of ice cold water hit her. She screamed in shock.

Noriko put her hand on her hip as the bucket of water was lowered by Sayuri. She let Emi get a good glimpse of her. "From now on, you'll stay by your class until we've seen you. Don't think you can hide from us. Running won't do you any good either," she said as the window was closed.

Emi's body shook with chills as the winter air latched onto her wet clothes. Her mind raced. There were no other clothes in her locker that she could change in to. Now she was soaked to the bone. Emi forced herself to stand, tears starting to spring into her eyes. The words Arata had spoken came back to her.

I…I can't let them bully me all year. I have to stand up to them. Emi didn't know how she was going to do that though. The coat she wore weighed her down with water. Emi had to take it off and ring it out before she could go home. She leaned against a tree to ring the water out of the heavy coat as best she could, then threw it over her arm. Her eyes looked up at the hill she had to walk in order to get to Tokodeki. Things were not turning out well for her today.