8. Cafe Stop

   

 “I don’t think staring at it is going to make the rain go away,” Isamu pointed out. Ever since they had taken shelter in the Cafe Allen had been staring outside, from the window, as if willing the rain go away.

    “Shut up.”

    Isamu shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the window's frame. He quickly glanced at the bar to make sure Orihime was ok. Apparently the Cafe owner's daughter went to the same middle school as Orihime and in a few minutes the girls were talking a mile a minute.

    “Here’s your coffee, and your black tea,” Sakurada-san, the owner of the cafe, announced bearing a tray with pastries and the drinks.

    “Thank you,” Ismau muttered as he accepted the try. “Um, did Orihime-chan decide what she wanted?”

    Sakurada-san nodded. “Yes, she says she’ll have some hot coco.. I’m sorry we couldn’t find you any place to sit...”

    Isamu smiled, “No, it's ok.” He nodded over at the girls. “It seems they’re getting along well.”

    Sakurada-san nodded, “Yes. Sorry, you’ll have to excuse me now. We’re a bit short handed right now.”

7. Out Shopping. :)

Isamm (Hands entwined with) Orihime (Hand entwined with) Allen Walker

    What the... What the hades is with this situation!! This feels like...

   Stop! Let’s just not think about it....

    Allen glanced down at Orihime, “Orihime-chan....where do you want to begin?”

    “Oh, oh!! let’s try the Durples Place down there. I heard that they have the most amazing  sandals!!”

    Isamu sighed, “Hai, Hai. Calm down a little will ya?”

    “I can’t.” And as if the demonstrate the little girl did a little jig on her tippy toes.

    Laughing, Allen pulled Orihime back. “That was very nice, but let’s at least try not to scare ani-san?”

    “Ok.” Giggling the little girl settled down. “Ano,...Allen-nay..”

    “Yes?”

    Orihime considered her words as they walked down the street. “I wanted to say thank you for coming.”

    “Oh,.. Um, it’s nothing,” Allen mumbled trying to avoid looking at the sincere look on the kid’s face. “I’m glad to be here.”

  



  Uso! I’m pathetic. I was forced to come!!

“Allen,” Hanka poked her head into Allen’s bedroom.

   Startled Allen tipped back her chair to far and fell to the floor. “Itai! Ta-ta-ta-ta-”

    “Oh, are you ok?”

    “Don’t act so concerned! It’s your fault!”

    “Oh, really?”

   “Go die!”

    “Isamu-kun and Orihime-chan are going shopping. You should go with them.”

    “Why?”

    Hanak’s smile brightened. “Are you saying your not going?”

    “Fine, fine I’ll go,” Allen sobbed, shielding her eyes. Hanak was glittering so much it was painful.

 

I was forced to come by Hanak-nay!

    “Allen-nay?” Concerned, Orihime tugged at Allen’s hand. “Are..you ok?”

    “Oh,” Startled, Allen shook off her brooding thoughts. “Ugh, what?”

    “.....nothing,” Orihime replied vigilantly. Don’t just ask “What?” when you were giving off such a depressing aura!! I thought you might be thinking about committing suicide!!       

    Ismau wondered whether it really mattered if one’s shoes one shade of green or another.

    “Oni-san! Which one looks better?” Orihime asked, holding up two identical vaguely green shoes. “The paris green or the spring green?”

    Why does it matter!!They look exactly the same! But he couldn’t possibly say that. he wasn’t suicidal. “Um,....ah.” he pointed at one randomly. “That one.”

     “Really...” Orihime said doubtfully. She turned the two shoes this way that squinting in concentration.

    ....If your going to be so doubtful then don’t ask me!!

    “Why?”

    “Hmm?”

    Orihime dangled the shoes in front of him. “Why this one?”

    “Well,...because it’s an highly unusual color?”

    Silence. “That’s a compliment, right?”

    “Yes...” Isamu said hesitantly. “You would definitely look cute in them.”

    “Ahh!!” Orihime’s face bloomed into full blown smile. “Thank you, Oni-chan!!” *

    Isamu smiled at his little sister. “Well done, Oni-chan,” Allen complemented as she passed him.

    What was that?Isamu watched the girls walk towards the cashier. At least we can finally get out of here.

    “I’m going to get a cab.”

    “What? Why?” Allen asked surprised, and Orihime following within minutes.

    “Um, it’s going to get dark soon. A car would be faster-”

    Allen snickered, “Yo, this is tokyo, not Zabinwa. It’ll take forever to get home in a car.”

     “Ah....”

    Orihime giggled. “Alright, we’ll we should still get going.”

    Allen looked at her watch, “We still have an hour, where do you want to go next Orihime-chan?”

    Great another hour of this hell. Isamu looked at Allen and wondered is hisborhter would forgive him for killing one of his sister-in-laws. He sighed. Damn. Well, just few more days.....

    “...this is tokyo, not Zabinwa.” He felt stupid as he recalled her words. It had been almost a year since he’d been back to Tokyo. The last time had been during one of the picnics...Is it really going to be ok living here? We’ve never spent more than a few weeks away from home. Now with mother moving to Europe with Akira-oni and Hiyoshi-oni moving in with Katane one-san.  

    “Oni-chan!” Orihime ran back to him holding the many of her shopping bags. “Can you carry these? Please?”

    “Ugh, hai...”

    Oh, this felts so good. Allen raised her hand to hide her smile as she looked at a mule-loaded Isamu. The poor guy had his hands filled with numerous shopping bags. Allen looked up to find him staring at her with death in his eyes.

    “Allen one-san, you should have given your bags to Ismau oni-san as well,” Orihime said. “I don’t think he’d have minded.”

    “It’s alright,” Allen muttered as she avoided looking at Isamu. he’d have definitely minded. “Does oni-san do this often?”

    Orihime nodded, as she scanned the crowd in the street. “Mama says that it’s gentlemanly for boys to carry the bags. She threatened all Oni-san to turn them bold if they didn’t.”


 “Orihime-”

    Orihime giggled, “Sorry, Oni-chan.”

    “What are you going to try on first?” Allen asked trying to defuse the flames.

    Orihime gave it some thought, “Umm, I think my school uniform. It’s really cute.”

    Allen smiled, “That’s nice.”

    “Allen one-chan, what does your uniform look like?”

    “My uniform?”

    “Hai.”

    “Well, how to say this... We don’t have uniforms,” Allen replied.

    “Wow, really?”

    “Yes,” Allen replied. “It can get really annoying sometimes, though.”

    “What? Why?”

    “Umm, well sometimes you can’t decide what to wear, or you don’t have anything to wear...”

    “Hmm, I still think it’s better.”

    Allen smiled. Come to think of it,...if I go to school here then I’m going to have to- -

    No, that’s not going to happen.

6. The World Not so at peace as it Seems

    


Date: July 27, 2013
Day: Saturday



“Here you go,” Hanak held out the tray with the hot coffee.

    “Um, thank you,” Allen said fidgeting in her chair. Warily she shot Hanaka a quick glance. She had a  glittering smile pasted on her face. I don’t know why but....that’s just making me more uncomfortable. Please stop!!

 “Do you need anything else?” Hanaka asked.

   Allen eyes twitched. “No....” She mumbled, shifting her eyes around the room.  The freaky smile was really intimidating!!! “So,..you were going to tell me something...”

    Hanaka’s smile faded slowly, “Yes.” Timidly, she reached over for the bulging packet straddling the other half of the tray. “This is for you.”

    “Hai,” She let her hands hover over the packet as Hanaka slid it towards her. “Um, what is it?”

    “School transfer papers.”

     Allen’s eyes darted towards Hanka. “What! But...how?”

    Hanaka folded her arms and leaned back into her chair. “Listen, I don’t know why Katane-nay suddenly decided you should go to the States or why you should come back now. If you really want answers you’d have to ask her.”

    Katane-nay.... she’s not here. ...with Hiyo-ni.

    Hanaka studied Allen’s slouched posture. “Don’t concern yourself so much over this. I’m sure she won’t mind if you call her now.” Shrugging, she sipped her coffee. “She probably already called the office a couple times already. You won’t be troubling her if you call to talk about this.”

    ...that’s not what I’m worried ....about.

    “Hmm,” Allen squeezed her coffee cup. It was warm; maybe it would seep into her and melt the cold... “Is that all?”

    Hanaka nodded, “Um, yes.”

    “Thanks for the coffee,” Allen muttered as she stood up.

    “It’s no problem..” Hanaka stood up as well. “But...the papers haven’t been confirmed. I guess she wanted to give you a choice this time around.”

    “Well, that’s nice to know,” Allen mocked.

    “Tctch!” Hanaka pointed a finger at Allen. “Show some respect. Isn't what you’ve already done enough?”

    “What...”

    Hanaka sighed as she looked away from Allen.

    Nay-san.....

    “I’m even surprised that you showed for the wedding. Should we thank you for gracing us with your divine presence yesterday?”

    “Nay-san,..what are you talking about?” Allen’s voice cracked. “I...I don’t know what your-”

    “Oh, this is just great! Now you don’t know what I’m talking about!” Flustered, Hanaka slapped her coffee down onto the kitchen table. “Just get out of my way.”

    “Wait, nay-san!” Springing, Allen latched onto her arms just as she reached the exit. “Nay...”

    “You don’t call, email, text, or even send a letter for a whole year! Do you understand that? What the hell were we supposed to think? Do you even know how worried we’ve all been for you? On top of that you don’t pick up your phone when we call! Then you don’t come home for any holidays, and what about when school ends? Half the time even Aunty Mariko didn’t know where you were! You didn’t even bother to show your face until the last minute for Katane-nay’s wedding!”

    Stunned, Allen lowered her head. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

    “Whatever,” Hanka pulled at her arms. “It’s not me you were trying to punish, isn’t that right?”

    No! That’s not it! “That’s-”

    “Look, just shut it. Alright?”

    “Nay-san. Please...”

    Hanaka looked back at Allen and sighed. “Look, just forget it. Let me know when you decide to leave. I’ll see who’s available to drop you off.”

5. A Shock to the System - And there's really nothing she can do about it.

   

 “Arigato, Nay-chan,” Allen smiled as she took hold of the big pile of mail.

    “Oh, it’s nothing,” The mail lady responded with a distracted smile. “Nice to see you again. Are you heading back to the States soon?”

    “Ugh, hai,” Allen muttered, her hands raised slightly in a wave. Feebly she watched as the mail lady hustled down the street.

    I wonder how she found out. I mean I don’t even think people at my old school know what happened. Mulling, Allen stepped inside the house. Recalling her last trip to Katane’s office, she bowed her head. That week Katane-nay decided that I would leave for the States immediately to attend the new school year in New York.

    “But,-”

    “No, buts.” Katane raised her hand to stop any further appeals. “I’ve already talked to Aunty Mariko and made the proper arrangements. Plus, Maria has already received your transfer papers.  You don’t have any place at you old school anymore. Go pack, you leave for the states in two days.”

    “Hai,” Allen swallowed as she stood up from the table.

    “This is only for a while,” Katne said as Allen passed her. “A re-treat yes, but only until you're strong enough to come back. And when you do, you’ll be ready to face things straight on.”  

    Allen rubbed her forehead, she could feel a major headache borrowing. Sighing, she glanced up at the say. Come to think of it, that time was about now. Summer.

   

 “Welcome back,” Hanak said as she concentrated on cutting the fruits in front of her. “How did your walk go?”

    “Good,” Allen muttered, slipping the grocery bag and the mail in her arms on the kitchen table. “It’s a bit windy for mid-july.”

    “Hmm, it’s seems like it’s a year for unusual weather.”

    “Ah? Did something happen?”

    Hanka shrugged, “It’s not a big deal, if you think about it, but snow lasted nearly two months this year. And there was a couple typhoons in the last month too. There was that-”

    “What do you think? Red radish or green radish?”

    Ah...”Oi! Don’t ask a question if your not going to listen!”

    “I think I’ll go with the red radish.”

     “Why does it matter!”

    “Hum,” Allen looked up. It’s my turn to cook today,... “Hanka-nay what are you doing in the kitchen?”

    “Me?” Hanaka asked. “Oh, yea. Orihime-chan wanted to have a milk-shake for breakfast.”

    “Orihhime...chan? Did she spend the night here?”

    “Ah...something like that.”

    “It did get pretty late yesterday. It was hours after Ane and Hiyo-ni left for the airport when the last guest left.” (This is the day after Katane and Hiyoshi’s wedding.)

    “I wonder where they are right now.”

    “Probably near Sing-”

    “Hanaka nay-san, the moving truck guys called. Said their truck broke down or something,” Isamu said, padding into the kitchen barefoot with green slacks and a white t-shirt.

    “Moving truck?” Allen asked stupefied.

    Isamu glanced at her as he walked over to the fridge. “Ah, yea. Akira-ni forgot to do it last week. He finally called the guys yesterday, just before the wedding. I can’t believe how careless he’s been. The whole week’s been a nuisance. And now I have to go buy Orihime a dress because she said she’s won't wear the same clothes that she wore earlier this week.”

    “What do you accept. She’s a girl isn’t she,” Hanak chastened the annoyed boy.

    Ducking inside the refrigerator, Isamu replied.“Well, I don’t really see what’s the problem. I mean they’re clean, right?”

    Hanaka shook her head at the ignorance of men. “That’s just not how it work.”

    “Hmm,” Isamu grabbed an apple and walked over to the sink to wash it off. “It’s just annoying. Anyway, sorry for all the trouble this week, One-san.”

    “No, no. It’s fine. I’m sure things will calm down after you’re all settled down.”

    “I hope so.”

    Hanka smiled, “If you remain optimistic I’m sure good things will happen to you. Gambatyo!”

(A phrase that goes something like, "Keep fighting!" It's used to encourage someone.)

    “Hai.”

    

“Did you get your school uniform yet?”

    “Um, no......”

    What the ..!! Why did something feel wrong about this scene! Allem watched with a fascination that neared the horizon of bewilderment.

    “Hanaka-nay,” Allen called out sweetly as Isamu walked out. “What’s the hell's going on here?”

    “Oh, Isamu and Orihime will be living with us from now on.” Hanak smiled just as bright and sweetly. “I thought you already knew that.”

    “Uso!” (lie)

    Hanak shrugged her shoulder innocently. “Because you already discovered one truth, let me tell you the rest.”

    “There’s more!!!”