Chapter 02

WHEN THE LAST BELL OF THE DAY RANG, Seven hurried out to the iron gates in front of the school. She wanted to get home and lock herself in her room with a book. With Derek and David this morning, the day had drained her more than usual, and she was exhausted.

She froze mid-step, seeing David waiting for her outside the iron gates.

‘Why? Why is he there?’ She wondered, grabbing her head as she started feeling weak again.

She took a deep breath and walked quietly towards him.

“Waiting for me?” she asked, poking him in the side.

“Sev!” David started. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to. It was my power of invisibility,” she joked. His eyes narrow sadly at her. She often joked that her ability to be overlooked by everyone was super power. David didn’t like it when she talked about herself like that. She quickly continued, “Were you waiting for me?”

“I-I was.” His voice wavered as he looked away from her. “This morning…what I said… it replayed in my mind all day. I wanted to say again that I’m sorry... I got a little crazy...”

I don’t know why you can’t love…

She looked down at the ground as what David said played in mind again. Why couldn’t she return his feelings?

Someday…

Hearing the other voice whisper in her mind, she looked up at her friend. He shifted nervously as he waited for her to say something. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

Maybe all she needed was to push herself a little to love. To let herself be open to it. Maybe she’d ask him on a date tonight, but not tell him it was a date. That way, she could let herself try with no pressure.

“David, you’re one of my best friends. You’re right. I know everything about you guys, but you know very little about me. I don’t want to go home, so... uh... do you want to go somewhere?” she asked, hesitantly.

He looked at her, smiling when their eyes met.

“W-what?” His smile and the weight of his stare caused her to stutter.

“That’s the first time you’ve talked about your feelings. I value our friendship too… a lot. I’d hate to be the one that messed it up,” he said. He took a nervous breath. “Since you don’t want to go home, why don’t we go see the new Brendan Fraser movie? We can grab a burger for dinner after.”

“The one where he grows up in a fallout shelter? I want to go!” Aya Sato, a Japanese girl with long black hair tightly pulled back into a braid said as she walked up behind them. “Or is this a date?”

“It’s not a date!” He quickly replied, not giving Seven a chance to retort. “I don’t mind if you come, Aya. Sev?”

Seven realized the date idea was stupid anyway. Her face flushed as she shrugged her shoulders in reply.

“She doesn’t mind. Let’s go!” Aya grabbed onto his arm, pulling him towards his car. “You’re my knight in shining armor for driving me home! My mom grounded me from my car today...”

Seven let out a sigh. She barely started shrugging before Aya grabbed onto him. She walked behind them, slipping into her quiet mode, already feeling like the third wheel.

Seven sat quietly through the movie as everyone else laughed. Walking out from the theater, David and Aya debated how realistic it was for Brendan Fraser’s character to fall in love with Alicia Silverstone’s character in a matter of weeks.

Seven wondered if the two people with her noticed she hadn’t said more than one word since they left school. She sat in the front seat of David’s car, staring out the window as Aya talked from the back seat. As they decided where they’re going to eat, she closed her eyes. The sound of a train startled her awake. Stopped in front of a crossing gate, a train passed in front of the car. She stared at the train as she tried to remember something.

“What’s up, Sev?” David asked, seeing the way she was looking at the train.

Being brought out of her thoughts, she looked at David. “Uh, nothing.”

He gave her a skeptical look, but the crossing gate lifted before he could say anything. He realized she was quiet again as she looked longingly out the window. She was opening up to him a little, and now she shut down again. He regretted agreeing to Aya coming. Maybe she’ll talk more at dinner.

The three friends were now sitting in a booth at a diner, waiting for their orders to come. Seven sat alone on one side and Aya sat next to David across from her. Their drinks sat on the table in front of them.

“What do you guys think of going out of the country this summer?” Aya asked, looking eagerly at them.

“That sounds like a great idea. What do you think, Sev?” David asked, trying to get her to talk.

“Just the three of us? In another country? Can we do that?” Seven took a sip of her soft drink, realizing how silly her question was.

She was always the pessimist of the group, raining on everyone’s parade. She didn’t mean to be, but her mind just came up with ways for everything to go wrong. A defense mechanism, she guessed. This trip would take money she didn’t have. David and Aya would go off together, leaving her behind. Aya would rub her nose in it when they got back. Seven let out a sigh, not wanting to get her hopes up.

“There’s no laws against it if that’s what you mean,” Aya replied. David chuckled.

“I-it sounds like fun but-”

“That settles it! Before we break off to different colleges, we ARE going international!” Aya lifted her hand in the air to sound a battle charge. When they didn’t join in, Aya slowly lowered her hand with a frown.

Seven stared down at the table, frowning. Once high school was over, they wouldn’t be together anymore. David was hoping for a sports scholarship, Aya had applied to school in Hawaii, and Seven just wanted a school with dorms so she could move out. Life was going to change, and going on a trip before it did was a great idea. She looked up at her friends across the table.

“Where do we go?” Seven asked.

“What about England or Ireland?” Aya let out a sigh in thought. “Oh! We should go to Spain!”

“Anyone of us speak Spanish?” David asked. They looked away from him. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Why don’t we go to Hong Kong or something?” Seven said in jest. None of those places interested her.

“That’s it! Hong Kong!” Aya exclaimed.

“Aya, I was kidding.” Seven picked up her drink to take another sip.

“Not Hong Kong! Why not Tokyo?” she suggested.

“Japan?” The glass slipped out of Seven’s hand, spilling the soda onto the table. “Ah! I’m so sorry!”

She grabbed some napkins and started wiping up the mess. David quickly grabbed napkins to help stop a flow of soda from heading towards Aya. They tried as hard as they could, but a rogue stream spilled off the table to the floor.

“Japan? What’s so great about Japan?” he asked, pulling a couple more napkins.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Well, I know Japanese, so I can be your personal translator and tour guide. We can use my dad’s apartment in Tokyo, so we won’t have to pay for a hotel. We’ll have so much fun going to karaoke!” Aya said with a plea in her voice as she ignored the cleaning going on in front of her. The waitress brought their orders and took over the cleanup of the spill.

“What do you think?” David looked at Seven.

“Japan?” Something inside Seven felt like it was being tugged at with the mere mention of the country. “It sounds-”

“It’s settled!” Aya exclaimed, cutting Seven off again. “Japan it is! We should go right after graduation.”

David and Seven smiled at each other, acknowledging this was all premeditated. Aya had planned this. She presented it as a new idea, so it didn’t look like she was giving orders to them. Seven sat quietly, listening as Aya and David worked out more details of the trip. She knew she wouldn’t have the money, but she had to go somehow.

* * *

Natsuo stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to get out of bed. He could try to go back to sleep, there was no point. On cue, the radio turned on as the announcer talked over a song fading out. “That was Utada Hikaru with ‘First Love.’ Coming up, we have a new one from the Sacred Boys called, ‘Don’t stop being an angel.’ Ladies, today is Natsuo’s birthday. If you’re in the Tokyo area, stop by the studio and leave presents for him. Now here’s ‘Don’t stop being an angel’ from the Sacred Boys.”

“Great! Now every girl in the area is going to come to the studio now.” He turned the radio off in a huff and sat up in bed, yawning. His hair was a mess, standing up on end from tossing and turning all night. He ran his fingers through his hair to tame it back into place.

Once he dressed, he put food and water in a bowl for Pooky. Still curled up on the couch, she watched him, waiting for him to leave so she could go back to sleep until the doorman came for her walk.

Natsuo slipped his phone in his pocket and picked up his keys. His eyes fell to an envelope sitting in the mail box connected to his door. He never got mail here, it all went to the company. Once a year, a letter appeared in the mailbox. They used to come more often, but now only around his birthday. He took out the simple envelope from Kasamatsu Prison. He let out a sigh, debating if he should open it this year. When was the last time he went to Gifu to visit?

In his pocket, his cellphone rang. He put the letter on the counter, pulling his phone out as he headed out the door.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“The girls are here already! You’re a lucky one, they’re all cute!” Something in Kenji’s voice chilled him.

“Are they in the front?” Natsuo asked, trying to sound uninterested.

“Yeah, the presents piling up in the lobby are looking like a memorial.” Kenji laughed on the other end. “You’re going to have a great birthday.”

Through the phone, he could hear the clattering of the girls near Kenji. “I’m going to sneak in the back, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

He hung up, putting his phone back in his pocket. He knew Kenji would tell the girls that he’d be coming in the back, and that’d clear the front for him. Peeking his head around a corner when he was close to the studio, he saw the front was clear. As planned, there were only a couple of girls that stood behind just in case.

“Na-Natsuo-sama!” a middle school aged girl stuttered, seeing him walk up.

He took their gifts and signed autographs for them. He thanked them as he walked into the building. He stood waiting at the elevators when he could hear the other girls outside learn they’ve missed their chance to see him.

“You did it again! I fell right into your trap,” Kenji complained, walking into the elevator with him.

“Thanks for keeping my secret. All that was left were middle school girls, and they only wanted my autograph,” Natsuo said, walking out of the elevator towards the boardroom.

Kenji followed with a smirk on his face.

* * *

Seven laid on her bed, looking up at the moon outside her window. She grasped a blue stuffed rabbit tightly in her hand as she thought about the summer trip they were planning.

Why did she want to go? She never wants to go on trips like this... and Japan of all places. She wouldn’t be able to go. The plane ticket alone would be more than she had. She wiped her face, confused by the tear that trickled down her cheek. Why was she sad she couldn’t go?

A few heavy raindrops hit her window, tearing her from her thoughts. She stood to look out her window, not being able to see the moon now. She hadn’t noticed the rain clouds rolled in. As the rain increased, she glanced down at the walkway below.

David, soaked from the rain, stood looking up at her in the window. He waved at her as their eyes met. She ran out of her room to the front door.

“What are you doing? Standing outside my house like a stalker?” she teased him as she let him in.

“S-stalker? I was… uh… rang the doorbell, but got no answer, so I turned to leave, and I saw you in the window.” He took off his wet jacket, handing it to her. She hung the jacket on a coat rack in the hall. She grabbed a towel from the closet, offering it to him.

“What are you doing here? It’s almost nine.”

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” David replied. “It’s about-”

“Quiet!” She cut him off as a car pulled into the driveway. “Let’s go to my room before he comes in.”

“Your room?” he replied as she pushed him quickly up the stairs.

His body tensed as heard the click of the lock on the bedroom door after she closed it. Her room was simple: dresser with only a single rabbit figure on it, a bed with a black bedspread, and a desk with a chair in the corner next to the door. He stood at attention like a soldier waiting for orders. He’d never been inside her house, let alone her bedroom. He blinked in surprise at all the stuffed rabbits on the floor next to her bed.

“What is it?” she asked as he stared at her bed.

“You have a lot of stuffed rabbits,” he commented.

“I get a new one every year on my birthday…it’s kind of a tradition.” She picked up a couple of pieces of clothing, throwing it in a basket just inside the private bathroom. “You can sit in the chair.”

“There are only seventeen,” he noted as he sat as instructed, drying his hair with the towel.

“What?” Seven called out from the bathroom.

“You’re eighteen, and there are only seventeen rabbits,” he replied.

“I…uh lost one when I was three…” she mumbled, walking back into the room, sitting down on her bed.

When she sat down, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He hadn’t noticed that her hair was down. She rarely had her hair down. She looked so much more beautiful when she did. It was wavy, with slight curls framing her face.

“W-what did you want to talk about?” she asked as her cheeks pinkened with the way he was looking at her.

“Sorry!” He shook his head to clear the thoughts he was having seeing her sitting on the bed. “It’s about-” a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Seven, whose car is parked outside?” Derek called through the door.

“A friend’s! We’re studying for a test,” she replied. Her answer was quick and forceful, hoping to put an end to any more questions.

“You have until ten,” Derek said, taking the hint.

“I’m sorry. What did you want to talk about?” Her hands shook as she scooped up the blue rabbit from the ground to hold in her arms for comfort.

“It’s about Japan. I wanted to talk to you alone about it. Do you want to go?” he asked her.

“I want to go, but I don’t think I’ll have the money.” Her eyes saddened as she turned her attention to the rain striking the window.

“Y-you want to go?” He was not expecting that.

“Yeah, I do. What’s strange about that?” She looked at him, wondering why he was surprised.

“Nothing, but why do you want to go?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I just have this feeling.” She shook her head, erasing the thought. “It sounds like fun, and this is our last chance before college.”

“Let’s go back to this feeling thing. What do you mean?” He stared at her, confused.

“It’s nothing…” she replied uneasily.

“You can talk to me about it,” he coaxed.

“You’re going to think I’m strange,” she said.

“You can tell me, Sev,” he gently said.

“I have this feeling that I…” She took a breath. “That I need to go on this trip. I don’t know why, but it’s almost like I’ve already been on this trip...” She stopped, seeing the look on his face. She sighed and looked at the floor. “I knew you’d think I was strange...”

“No! That’s not it! I have the same feeling. Like we all have to go on this trip. That’s why I came over here to talk to you.” His eyes brightened.

“Really?” She felt her hopes rising, but she couldn’t let them. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t be able to go. You and Aya will go and then tell me all about it over a sushi dinner.” She laid back on her bed, looking at the ceiling.

“Can’t you ask your parents for the money? As a loan or something? If you really want to go on this trip, there has to be a way.”

“Not every family is rich like yours, David,” she said, sighing. “Sorry. It’s just there is no way I’d get the money from the other people in this house. I could go sell myself on a street corner to get the money, but with my bad luck, I’d end up murdered. That is my destiny, I guess.”

It hurt him to hear her talk that way about herself. The times she did, he felt there was a much deeper meaning to it and it worried him. It reminded him of the day he met her. He wanted to help, but she always pulled away.

“Do you really want to go that badly?” he asked.

“I was kidding!” She sat up and smiled at him. “I want to go through. In fact, before it started raining and there was a stalker outside my window, I was thinking about how I could get the money, but I didn’t get too far in thinking. What are you planning on doing?”

“I got some money that I was saving for a car, but since my brother gave me his car, I don’t really need it now, so I’ll use some of that,” he replied.

“Oh, right. So, you’re planning on actually going to Japan?” There was awe and longing in her voice.

“The trip is for the three of us, and it just doesn’t feel right without you.”

“Wouldn’t it be fun? Riding the trains, checking out Tokyo, and karaoke!” Her face lit up with excitement.

“I can’t picture you doing karaoke…” he said, laughing.

She pouted and stuck her tongue out at him, knowing he was right. “I’d be nice to have the option to try it.”

“Don’t worry! You’ll get to go somehow!” He looked at the window, seeing the rain had stopped. “I should go home… it’s late.”

She looked out her door and saw the rest of the house was dark except the master bedroom. Since Derek was in the room, most likely in the shower, she walked David out to his car. With a short goodbye, she returned to her room as quickly as she could, locking the door behind her again.

She glanced out the window to see if David was gone and, to her surprise, he was looking up at her window. Opening the window, she called down to him. “Forget something?”

He looked at her with a smirk on his face. “I know what to get you for a birthday present!”

“What?” she asked.

“You’ll see…”

“You don’t-” He got in his car and started it, not listening to her. “…have to get me anything,” she finished, closing the window and waving as he drove away.

Derek knocked on her door again, calling through it asking who that was. She didn’t answer as she quickly shut off the light and crawled into bed; a pit quickly growing in her stomach.