Chapter 1
"Oh my god, who the heck is that?" a girl whispered to her friend.
"There goes the emo girl!" one of the boys called out snickering.
"Hey! Do you need an extra knife, freak?" a cheerleader yelled as the whole hallway errupted in laughter.
In the middle of the laughing hallway stood a girl wearing all black; her long blue hair and blue eyes seemed out of the ordinary, and she held a manga book up to her face to hide her tears. She was the emo girl. Her name was Aika, and she was always the odd one, no one understood how she felt. She never had friends before, and it seemed that highschool was one of the places where making friends was impossible. More tears streamed down her face, and black eyeliner ran down her cheek and onto her book.
A girl came up behind her, giggling as she poured soda over Aika's hair. Everyone bursted out laughing as she cried even harder and pushed her way into the girl's bathroom. She went into one of the stalls and locked the door, she put her head in her hands.
"Why does this always happen to me?" she cried.
Because you're ugly, her mind answered her.
Aiko pushed the noise out of her head, "Shut up!"
She unlocked the stall door and walked towards the sink, her makeup was running, her face was red and blotchy, and her hair felt sticky.
"Great.." she muttered as she washed her face and hair. She took a comb out of her pocket and brushed knots out of her blue hair.
She opened the bathroom door and pulled a black hoodie over her wet hair. She looked at her brand new shoes, they were stepped on and muddy. She made her way to her locker and stopped, standing by her locker was one of the cutest guys in the school, Ichirou, and he was holding a music sheet. Aika loved music, she loved singing notes in the right pitch and to feel the vibration in her ears when everything sounded perfect.
Ichirou saw her and waved, beckoning her over to him.
"Hey," He said as Aika slowly walked closer to her locker, "You're Aika, right?"
"Yeah," she answered, opening her locker and grabbing books, "You're Ichirou, right?"
"Yupp, so, I heard you're pretty good at singing," he said, moving to face her, "I need a girl to tryout with me for the school musical tomorrow, you think you can do it?"
Aika paused, thinking about what Ichirou asked her. She had already memorized every song the school was going to preform, and learned to sing harmony to each one. It wouldn't hurt her to tryout for the musical, even if she didn't make it she would have sung a duet with a hot guy.
"Sure." she replied, "But won't your friends make fun of you for singing with 'the emo girl'?"
"I don't know, maybe," he smiled, "But if they do I'll punch them in the arm for you, okay?"
She smiled back at him, "Okay! We're singing Gemini, right?"
Ichirou laughed, "How'd you know?"
Aika giggled, "Hmm...just a good guess."
Ichirou smiled and handed her the music sheets, "You wanna practice in the music room after school?"
"Kay, I'll see you then?" she asked, holding her books closer to her chest.
"Yeah! See ya!" he called walking towards a group of boys.
Oh my god, she thought, I have a date! And it's with Ichirou!!
Chapter 2
The rest of the day flew by Aika as she raced through all of her classes. She was excited and nervous, and it felt as though butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She smiled even as she tripped over a kid's foot and fell in the hallway, she didn't care what other people did to her anymore, she was in her own world.
She ran to her locker and stuffed books in her backpack,"I don't want to be late!"
She walked towards the music room where Ichirou was waiting for her, but was stopped by a group of mad-looking cheerleaders.
"Where do you think you're going, emo-girl?" one of them sneared, glaring at her.
"Ichirou's in there," one girl added, stepping closer to Aika, "We don't want your ugliness rubbing off on him, do we girls?"
The other girls shooked their heads and got up in Aika's face, "Come on, emo-girl, how 'bout you pull out your little knife and cut yourself? I mean really...Ichirou doesn't care about you, and you know that, don't you?"
A girl pushed her up against a locker, "Stay away from him." she snarled, grabbing Aika's shirt and raising her fist. Aika whimpered, Why today? she thought as the girl started laughing.
Then the music door swung open, "Take your hands off of her!" Ichirou yelled, walking over to Aika and the cheerleaders. He pryed the girl's hands away from Aika and Aika ran behind him.
"But-but, Ichirou-kun!" the girl started to say, "She doesn't deserve you! No one likes her!"
Ichirou felt Aika grab his shirt and heard her begin to cry, he wrapped his arm around Aika's shoulders.
"Well maybe I do!" he said, his face turning a deep red, "But, even so, that's no way to be treating someone who has feelings just like you!"
"Whatever," the girl muttered, tears started to fall, "Ichirou, you baka!"
She and the other girls ran away down the hallway, Ichirou sighed and took Aika's hand.
"Come on, I'll get you some coffee, and maybe we can pratice." he told her as he sat her down in a chair and left to find a coffee machine. She sat there and her face became red, Did he just confess to me? she wondered. Ichirou returned moments later with a cup of coffee, he handed it to her and sat down next to her.
"You okay?" he asked, sounding concerned, "God, cheerleaders, why can't they just leave you alone?"
Aika wanted to change the subject, "Can we just pratice? Singing helps me clear my mind, and I'm okay, I promise."
Ichirou didn't seemed convinced but knew she didn't want to talk about it, "Okay," he smiled as he walked over to a piano, "Ready?"
"Yeah," Aika said as she warmed up her vocal chords, she hummed the melody in her head a couple times and listened as Ichirou play the opening notes.
She started to sing softly, " Even if we're torn apart, know you'll still be in my heart. Yeah, up in the sky we'll run across the constellations, even when the days are bad, nights worse then you've ever had. Just look up into the sky and we'll be Gemini."
Ichirou smiled at her, "Come on, sing louder! I know you can do it!"
Aika looked at him, "Do I have to?"
"Yeah!" he said, playing the song's notes again. This time he sang his part in the song, he had a loud yet gentle voice and it warmed Aika's heart.
"There was a bird was just like me once, lost and lonely, hurting from an unrequited love. Just living day to day despite uncertainty in my life. Even when my meager strength almost dissolves in the night, that bird came to me, stayed to rest his tired wings. And to let his bruised and bleeding heart heal from his broken dreams. I'm so done with tears and fears now, so I'll sing you a song, finally singing out a love that I have had all along."
Ichirou stood up and walked towards Aika, his face turned a light pink and he began to sing the chorus, beckoning her to sing it with him, "Hey, don't you shed a tear, when you're lonely, I am here. Listen up and hear my voice is calling out to you. Even when it starts to rain, when the sun comes out again, we can make the world go round together, you and I."
Aika quit singing and started to blush, her face turning hot and bright red.
"Why did you pick this song to audittion with?" she asked Ichirou, "There were a ton of other ones to choose from too."
"I picked it," Ichirou said taking Aika's hand and began to blush himself, "So I could tell you how I feel, but I thought music was the only way to do it. Do you remember, in middle school, when a bunch of guys came and started to make fun of you? You ran away crying and I got mad and punched everyone of them..I was looking for you, but I couldn't find you..."
He paused, "And then there was that one time when you hit this girl in the face after she started making fun of this younger girl who had braces. I think that was the day I realized I loved you, but I didn't want to tell you, you seemed so fragile I thought you'd break if someone touched you."
Ichirou squeezed her hand tighter, "What I'm trying to say is, I love you Aika, I've loved you since middle school."
Aika looked up at Ichirou with tears in her eyes, her face was a deep shade of red and she collasped in his arms. Ichirou hugged her, and looked down at her. She looks so beautiful, he thought, Even when she's crying.
"Aika, I want to make you stronger, I want to be with you when you're sad or hurt, I want to be with you." Ichirou told her, holding her crying face in his hands. He smiled at her and began to whipe her tears away. For once in her life, she felt like she was wanted, and loved. She smiled up at him and stopped crying, "I love you too."
Chapter 3
Aika pulled her cellphone out of her backpack, she typed in Ichirou's name and texted him. She was walking home from the school, and the air smelt like fresh rain. Ichirou had given his number to her when they were about to leave, and his words rang in her mind, "Remember, text me whenever you want, I won't mind. As long as it's you whos texting me, I'll be fine but don't leave me alone, okay?"
Her phone buzzed and she flipped open the screen to read, "Hey Aika! I wondering when you'd text me! I was getting lonely!"
She texted back, "Aw, don't be lonely! Hey..I was thinking..are we considered boyfriend and girlfriend?"
She put her phone in her pocket and looked at the evening sunset, everything was turning a orange shade and the clouds sparkled. Aika's phone buzzed again and it showed a picture of the sunset, under the picture it said, "I don't know, but whatever you want is okay, you'll always be my sunshine. No matter what happens, know that I'll always be here for you."
She smiled and took a picture of a dirt pile and sent it to him saying, "And you'll always be my dirt pile, hehe."
He send her moments later a text message, "Haha! You're beautiful, have an amazing voice and have a good sence of humor! Dang girl, you've got it all!"
She sent back to him, "Okay, okay, I'll be you're girlfriend. So stop with the flattering, man!"
"But it's true," he replied back to her.
"Sure it is," she messaged back to him, "I got to go, I'll text you later!" She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and ran into her house, she said hi to her little brothers and shuffled to her room.
Her phone buzzed one last time, "Okay...I'll miss you! Text me back as soon as you can, I have something to tell you, love you! ~Ichirou."
"I wonder what he has to tell me?" she asked out loud, taking her homework out of her backpack and started to doodle on it.
Her mind didn't want to focus, but she made it anyway, writing down answer after answer. She put her homework back in her bag and ran into the bathroom where she took a quick shower. After she had dried her long blue hair, she went into the kitchen to eat a poptart and to make sandwiches for her brothers. She picked up their empty plates and rinsed them off, she carried her tired brothers into their bedroom and tucked them in. She kissed them on the forehead and quietly closed the door.
She walked into her bedroom and picked up her phone once again, "Hey, what did you want to tell me?"
She held her phone as it vibrated, "I thought I should tell you now, I just got a letter saying that I got excepted into a school..in America. I'm going to be leaving in a a couple of days, but I promise I'll spend every moment I have with you! I'm so sorry Aika, I didn't think I'd ever get the letter back, but I need you to promise me something."
Aika stared at her phone in disbelief, he was leaving already? She felt like when he left she would be alone again, getting pushed down stairs, being laughed at, and being torchured all over again.
Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks as she texted him back, "Don't leave me, I'll be all alone again...what's the promise?"
Ichirou replied, "I need you to promise me that you won't ever give up on your dreams, keep being the strong girl you are, and keep singing; I want to hear that beautiful voice of yours. Even though I may not be here, I'll text you everyday, send pictures and call you daily. I love you Aika, more than anyone, I'm sorry I'm putting you through this."
Aika clutched her phone in her hands, her tears blurred her eyes making it harder to type, "I love you Ichirou, but I'm not strong, I'm not. I don't want to sing anymore if you can't be there to sing with me."
"But you have to Aika," he responded, "It makes me happy when I hear you sing, it's like the world gets brighter and the sunshine seems clear. You are my sunshine, don't let rain clouds get in your away. I've got to go to bed, I love you, see you tomorrow. ~Ichirou."
Aika rolled on her side and held the phone by her heart, tears ran down her face and onto her pillow, "I'm going to be alone again, aren't I?"
Chapter 4
Aika didn't feel like getting up the next morning, but she wanted to see Ichirou, she only had 2 more days left to see him before he left for America. She pulled on her black sweats, a Panic! at the Disco shirt, her sneakers, tyed her blue hair up in a ponytail with a ribbon and said goodbye to her brothers. Rain fell from dark grey skies as she trugged her way towards the school. Girls screamed under their umbrellas as their designer shoes got wet and guys laughed at them while they stole their backpacks and ran around the courtyard.
Standing by main enterance to the school was Ichirou, he smiled at Aika and ran to greet her.
"Aika!" he said hugging her tightly, "I missed you!"
Aika felt happy as she hugged him, "I missed you too!"
Ichirou put his hand on her chin and tilted it towards him, "I missed you the most! Plus, I love you the most too!"
Aika laughed and leaned closer to him, "No I love you the most, and missed you the most!"
Ichirou laughed and kissed her lightly on the lips, he reached for her hand and they walked into the school together, laughing and talking like a normal couple would. Aika stopped walking when the reached her locker and kissed him on the cheek. She opened her locker and grabbed books, trying to make the day go faster, the school's musical audittions started during 4th period and lasted till 6th. She would have plenty of time to spend with Ichirou then.
She skipped to her first hour class, getting plenty of glares and disgusted faces along the way.
"Aw, the emo-girl's happy. I wonder how long that'll last." a guy snickered, talking to his friend.
"I guess you don't need a knife anymore do ya' freak?" a girl yelled.
Aika ignored everyone and held her head up high.
"Hey, freak!" a cheerleader called, "Ichirou must be getting intoxicated by your stupidity! He must be blind to like a girl like you!"
Aika grew angry and spun around, "You mind your own business! You're just jealous Ichirou happens to like nice girls, unlike you, so shut up!"
The hallway was quiet, "What did you say, freak?" the cheerleader asked, pushing Aika.
Aika pushed her back, "You heard me, now leave me alone! I'm tired of getting bullied by idiots like you! You think you're so perfect, don't you? Well, I hate to break it to you, but hun, your FAR from perfect! Stop picking on people, it's not gonna get you anywhere in life."
Aika ran into her classroom and shut the door, she heard applause behind her and looked around. Her classmates where standing there in amazement, "You stood up to her! God, I've been trying to do that for years!" a girl said, patting Aika on the back.
"I just did what needed to be done," she admitted, shuffling towards her desk.
Her face felt hot as more of her classmates complimented her on what she had done.
"Good job, Aika!"
"You're, like, my hero now!"
"Dang, girl!"
Aika's face became as red as a tomato, luckly for her the teacher came in and settled everyone down. The day dragged on, her mind raced as she waited for her 4th hour class. The bell rang, signaling that the hour was going to begin.
"Come on, come on!" Aika cried from the hallway, the principal was going to announce her name, then she would find Ichirou and sing with him.
You're never gonna' be able to sing with him again, her mind reminded her.
"Aika, Ichirou, Naku,..." the principal's voice came from an intercom. Aika smilled and ran to the stage in the music room. Other kids waited with their partners, whispering to each other.
Ichirou stood in the corner of the room, he spotted Aika and ran towards her with open arms.
"Aika! I heard what happened today! I'm so proud of you!" he said as he hugged her spun her around.
"It was no big deal, and plus, it's all thanks to you." she repiled, kissing his cheek.
He took her hand and led her to a group of seats, the director entered the music room and grabbed a sheet of paper off this desk.
The director clapped his hands, "Alrighty, everybody, let's get this show on the road! First we have Aika and Ichirou singing 'Gemini'. Take it away guys."
Ichirou smiled and sat at the piano as Aika stood close to him. She breathed in heavily, You can do this! she told herself. Ichirou played the opening notes softly and signaled her to sing.
Her voice was loud and strong, filling the music room with sound, "Even if we're torn apart, know you'll still be in my heart. Yeah, up in the sky we'll run across the constellations, even when the days are bad, nights worse then you've ever had. Just look up into the sky and we'll be Gemini."
She closed her eyes and not only sang with her voice, but her heart,"Suddenly I woke up at 2 a.m. I had a nightmare, a really bad one, when I'm frightened like now; somebody, help me, please. Sadness like the falling sky, I feel it deep in me. It is like melting heartfelt rhythms, hold me tight so that I won't disappear."
Ichirou joined in on the chorus, his low voice sliding over the notes, "When you're lost and get scared, close your eyes and feel my heartbeats. Even in the cold morning, even in the dull afternoon, we're connected through the sounds."
Ichirou sang the next notes slowly and quietly, "When I look back, I see myself left alone. I've come this far..silence of the night is about to erase me. Somebody, answer me, please."
"Sadness like the parted water, I always hear it from somewhere. Obscure and nostalgic melodies...Listen to them so that I won't disappear." They sang together, their voices hummed in perfect harmony.
" Please don't cry, when you're lonely. Strain to hear my voice; even when it rains, even at the dawn, the earth still rotates with us. " Aika's voice sounded louder than the notes on the piano, but she didn't care. She was singing, the one time when she could get away from the world, when everything felt right.
Ichirou's voice carried over the room,"There was a bird was just like me once, lost and lonely, hurting from an unrequited love. Just living day to day despite uncertainty in my life. Even when my meager strength almost dissolves in the night, that bird came to me, stayed to rest his tired wings. And to let his bruised and bleeding heart heal from his broken dreams. I'm so done with tears and fears now, so I'll sing you a song, finally singing out a love that I have had all along."
They sang together again, smiling to each other as they finished the song, "Hey, don't you shed a tear, when you're lonely, I am here. Listen up and hear my voice is calling out to you. Even when it starts to rain, when the sun comes out again, we can make the world go round together, you and I."
The room bursted with applause, people cheered, some people even called for an encore.
"That was great- no! More than grest! Beautiful!" the director cried, throwing his arms in the air.
Ichirou hugged Aika, "You sounded amazing!"
"Nah, not really, but you sounded awesome!" she said, hugging him back, "Hey, could I borrow you're phone for a sec? I'm gonna call on my brothers and see how they're doing."
He reached in his pocket and handed her his cell phone, "Thanks!" she said as she begain to type in her house number. She was about to hit the 'call' button when his phone got a text message, she looked around for Ichirou to tell him his phone went off, but it seemed like he was busy.
I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I checked it, she told herself. She opened the message, it was from his mother.
"The flight changed on us hun," she read aloud, "You're going to have to leave today, I'm going to come and pick you up in a couple of minutes, I have all of your stuff packed. Tell Aika I said hi! See you soon, Mom."
Her happy face turned to a hurt and sad one, she sat in a chair, crying softly. Of course it had to be today! she screamed in her mind. Ichirou saw her crying and he sat next to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, wrapping his jacket around her, "Are you cold? Did something happen to your brothers?"
"No," she said through tears, "But something else did," she handed him his phone back and he quickly scanned through the message.
"Oh, Aika," his voice sounded sad, "This day was going perfectly too! I'll have to call the school and talk to them."
"Ichirou Cantoa," the principal's voice said from an intercom, "Please bring your things for early dismissle."
Ichirou's face fell, "She's already here?"
More tears fell form Aika's face, "No! I don't want you to go! I don't want to be alone again!"
She sobbed harder and more tears came rushing out, "I'll always be alone! I-I don't want to be alone! I need you here, with me! Please.."
"I would stay with you forever, Aika! But, you need to be strong! I will try to talk to you every day! I love you, Aika, I really really love you!" He squeezed her tightly and kissed her on the lips, she sat there, with Ichirou kissing her, frozen with tears dripping down her cheeks. Ichirou leaned back and wipped the away her tears.
"I really love you, Aika." He hugged her for the last time and exited through the door. Her mind begain to spin as the door swung shut, it was like everything started to slow down, she felt useless and scared.
She looked up at a light in the ceilling and everything faded to black.
Chapter 5
,Little Aika ran towards a playground and her long blue hair swayed in the breeze. Other kids were playing at the park, she went up to a group of girls and asked the girls if she could play dolls with them. They glared at her and walked away, swinging their dolls in the air. Aika begain to cry, running back towards a startled teacher.
Then Aika was 13, her hair was short and blue and she wore a pink uniform,it was late spring and the cherry trees had just started to bloom. She was standing in the school's courtyard when a boy came up to her. He said he had liked her and that they should date, but he was laughing while his friends watched from a distance. She was speechless,but she thought the boy was reckless and stupid,so she delcined. The boy became angry and yelled at her, saying how she'll never get asked out again and that she'll probably die alone, Aika tried to hold in her sadness. She slapped him in the face and ran off with tears slowly flowing off her cheeks.
"Aika...Aika!" a voice called to her, it sounded far away and faint, yet she needed to know who was speaking to her.
She opened her eyes to see some of her classmates hovering over her, she put her hand on her head and sat up. Everything seemed blurry and out of focus, the room filled with concern as Aika tryed to talk, but the only word she could utter was," Ichirou."
"Its okay, Aika!" a girl said as she grabbed and icepack and gave it to a boy, the boy put the icepack on Aika's forehead. "Everything's gonna be a-okay, Aika." he reasured, pushing the icepack gentlily against her head.
Her throat felt dry and she begain to cough heavily, shaking her body as she coughed even harder. Someone tilted her lips towards a glass of water, she gulped it down quickly, it felt cold and refreshing as it trickled down, making her throat feel moist. She muttered a, "Thanks." and sat back down.
"Do you remember what happened?" the boy asked, taking the icepack off her now numb forehead.
She shook her head no, even though she knew exactly what had happened, she didn't want to believe that it was true. Ichirou's here, she told herself, He's still here.
"Ichirou went to leave, I guess he's going to America, and you fainted. Or passed out, you could say." a girl explained, looking at Aika in the eyes, like she was searching for something.
"No." Aika croaked, trying to get up and out of the room, but her classmates slowly pushed her back down.
"You need to rest," a boy said, sitting next to her, "You're obviously not fine that Ichirou left."
She wanted to scream, I love him, duh! but she held it in. She didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already did.
A girl came close to her face, chewing gum loudly, "Were you guys like, going out or somethin'?"
Aika didn't answer, her head was pounding against her skull and she began to break out in sweat.
The boy sitting next to her glared at the girl, "Dude, she just woke up! I'm sure she doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, okay?"
The girl seemed shocked but remained calm, "Whatever."
The boy came slightly closer to Aika's face, "Hi Aika, I was a friend of Ichirou's, I'm Makoto."
Aika forced a smile, "Hi Makoto," she choked out, her throat was dry again. She didn't really care about anything right now, other than to get home as soon as she could to make sure her brothers were okay.
She got up, "I...need...to..go home...my brothers..."
Makoto grinned, "It's ok, I called their daycare center and the lady there said she could watch them a little longer."
"Oh," her head started to throb again, she put her hand on her forehead, she winced in pain.
"Does your head hurt?" Makoto asked, sounding concerned as he scooted closer to her.
"Yeah," Aika reponded bluntly, "I guess I hit my head on a chair or something when I fainted."
Makoto looked into her eyes, "I never noticed, but you have really pretty eyes."
"Um, thanks..." she said, feeling ackward as she moved away from him. What the hell?! she yelled in her mind, Is he hitting on me?! After I just regained concusiness?! What the hell?!?
Aika moved her legs so they where hangin off the side of the bed, she rose slowly to her feet. She felt a sudden burst of energy hit her legs and she ran, she ran out of the school's doors, feeling rain hit her cheeks. She ran and ran, her muscles aching as she pumped her legs harder and harder. She was frusterated and mad, her clothes were soaked and her hair flew out of its ponytail.
"What the hell!" she cried as she ran faster, she was completely lost but she didn't care.
"Aika!!!!!" a voice screamed behind her, she turned around, still running, and collided face-first into a street lamp. She flew backwards onto the wet street, she felt blood trickle down her face and flow down her shirt.
"Oh my God, Aika!!" Makoto screamed as he held her bleeding head, he begain to cry softly and his tears fell down, mixing with the rain.
Aika didn't move, her head stung horriblily and she felt scared. She was losing a lot of blood. Little memories started to fade away in her mind, she forgot who was holding her so tightly in his arms.
"Aika, don't leave me! Please!" Makoto screeched, wiping blood from her shcoked face, her eyes started to close and Makoto begain to cry even harder.
Then Aika's world went black.
Chapter 6
"Aika.....Aika....wake up Aika.....Aika!" someone yelled at her.
"Ichirou? Ichirou!!!!" she called back.
She woke up screaming, she was confused and started to breathe heavily as Makoto started to cry happily next to her. He caressed her hand and squeezed it tightly, he started to talk to her but she couldn't hear anything. She tired to tell Makoto that she couldn't hear him but no sound came out, she felt around her mouth. A cup like shaped thing covered her mouth, feeding her oxygen. On her right arm an IV gave her vitamins, on her left hand a hospital wristband occupied her wrist. To her right Makoto sat, along with flowers and some 'Get Well Soon!' balloons. To her left a heart rate machine beeped, and a bottle of medication layed open on an endtable.
She looked at Makoto and pointed to her mouth, he came over and took if off, watching her take ragged breaths.
"Aika, I'm so happy you're okay!" Makoto said cheerfully, "I thought you would never wake up!"
"Yeah," she slowly responded, her head started to throb and she reached to hold it. It hurt even worse when she touched it, it was wrapped in bandages and it felt as so it had stitches in it.
"What....happened?" she asked, "Is Ichirou here?"
"No," Makoto told her, "I called him though, you were running and you ran into a streetlamp. I was afraid you would die in my arms. You were bleeding pretty badly and I had to run you to the hospital."
"Why was I running?" Aika felt clueless, she didn't even know why she was running in the first place.
"I don't really know, but I think you were just so shocked and hurt that you needed to get away from everyone."
"I guess that makes sense," she wanted to remember what had happened but her mind was totally blank,"I wanna get out of here."
Makoto smiled, "Don't worry! I'll check you out of here as soon as I can, then you can go home and rest with your brothers."
Her brothers would be coming home from daycare any minute, but how would she take care of them if she couldn't even take care of herself?
A nurse came in moments later carring a clipboard, Makoto signed some papers and help Aika out of her bed. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders, he guided her out of her room and onto a elevator.
They stood there in silience for a while until Makoto spoke up, "I'm kinda glad Ichirou left...It's given me a better chance to get to know you."
Aika begain to feel uncomfortable, she removed his hands off of her and walked out of the elevator. She didn't have a ride home so she decided to use the hospital's phone to call a taxi.
"Wait!" Makoto shouted running up to her, "I'll take you home!"
"No, it's okay, I wanna be alone for a while." She dialed the taxi company and was soon saying goodbye to Makoto as she entered the taxi.
She fastened her seatbelt and looked out of the window, it was geting dark outside and she saw couples huddled against the rain. She cried softly, thinking of what had happened.
"What the hell.." she sobbed, pressing her face against her hands, "Ichirou's gone, Makoto is a creeper, my brothers are probably scared and my head hurts!"
The taxi stopped infront of her house and she ran, almost slipping on her driveway. Aika went inside and shut the frontdoor tightly, walking over to check her house phone for messages.
3 MISSED PHONE CALLS, the machine read, showing Ichirou's phone number twice and the daycare's number once. She listened the the daycare's call first, it was telling her that, because she was hurt, her brother's daycare lady was going to be taking them home.
Aika braced herself as she pressed a button on the answering machine, Ichirou's voice rang through her mind. "Aika, I'm so sorry about today, but you'll be my strong girl, right? America's great, I'm in California and the weather's amazing. There are palm trees everywhere and there are tons of beaches, maybe I can take you with me here someday. I start school tomorrow but the administrators wanted to make sure they had everything in order. I'll try and call you every chance I get. I love you."
Aika started to cry again as she listened to the second message, "Oh my God, Aika are you okay? I tryed calling your cell but you never answered. Makoto called me a few hours ago saying how you fainted when I left...Oh, Aika, I'm so sorry! I never meant to cause you-" Ichirou's cell phone went off in the backround, he pulled away from the phone for a second and came back crying softly, "Aika..! Don't die..please! If you died I don't think I could live with myself! I love you Aika, I just love you so much...! I need to come home...I don't want you to get hurt anymore! I'll cancel my scholarship...I'm gonna try and get a flight back to you as soon as I can..Stay strong Aika!"
Aika dialed his number into the phone and tried to call him, but no one answered. She left a message, "Ichirou...I'm okay! You don't have to come back, you need to go to school, it's so important to you! Don't let me get in the way of your dreams, they're as important to you as they are to me. I love you so much, I'll try to be stronger. I'll sing for you, I'll sing so that even in America, you'll be able to hear me!"
Chapter 7
Aika paced the floor, swinging her cellphone in her hand, trying to figure out what she would say to Ichirou if he did come back to Japan. The doorbell rang, disrupting her thought and she scurried to the door.
The daycare lady's smile faultered briefly as she looked at Aika's head, which was still wrapped in bandages, but her smiled remained strong. "Hello, Aika! I'm glad to see that your out of the hospital! Your brothers have been great today, they've been worried sick about you!" she gently pushed the kids towards their sister and walked to a car, "Have a great rest of the day, I'll see you tomorrow boys!"
Aika closed the door and brought her brothers in for a hug, "I missed you guys," she said softly, patting each one of their heads.
"We missed you too sissy," her youngest brother mumbled, trying to hold back tears, "We thought you were gonna die like Mommy."
"Yeah," the oldest brother grumbled, squeezing his sister's shirt, "I thought we wouldn't have anyone left."
"Don't worry, I'm here," she said, feeling sad herself but tryed to muster a grin, "You wanna go to Auntie's house?"
"For how long?" the oldest asked, and the youngest tilted his head slightly.
"Not too long, just for a couple of days, that's all."
She dialed Ichirou's number and left a short message: "I'm taking your advice,the boys will be with my Aunt for a while, wish me luck."
Then she left a short message to her Aunt and explained to her that the boys where staying with her.
She clapped her hands, "Alrighty boys! Go pack your bags,get ready to go, we're going on a trip to the toy store first!"
The boys ran to thier bedrooms while Aika ran to hers, she packed quickly, stuffing money and clothes into a little dufflebag.
Soon she was packed and was standing outside with her brothers, waiting for a cab to show up.
"I going to a big music company to see if I can become a singer,that's why your staying with Auntie, but first I'm gonna go and buy you guys some things."
The cab pulled up the driveway and they all piled in the back seat.
"Fun things?" the oldest asked, sitting next to her.
"Yupp!" she answered, as her brothers grinned excitedly.
The car ride was short, for town was only a couple miles away, she paid the cab driver and told him to wait. She and her brothers ran into the busy toy store. The boys each got one toy, small enough to carry around but occuping enough for them while they were with their aunt.
The drive to their aunt's house was a noisy one, with gun shot noises and explosions. The cab soon arrived at her aunt's house, Aika ran to hug her aunt and thanked for watching her brothers. She kissed her brothers on the foreheads and handed them their bags, then climbed into the cab once more.
The music coporation buliding was huge, cars filled the parking lots and people flanked the sidewalks. She greeted the resptionists with a warm smiled and headed to a large room. There was a lot of other girls there, all were trying to get the next spot as a new idol. Aika twiddled her thumbs nervously, lowering her head when she felt someone looking at her.
She waited for someone to call her name.
"Aika Suzuki? Is Aika Suzuki here?" called a woman's voice.
She sprang out of her seat, "I'm here! I'm Aika Suzuki!"
"Okay Aika, if you'll just step inside this room, please." the woman said, opening a door that led to a table of judges and a microphone in the center of the room.
"Hello, I'm Aika Suzuki, 16 years old and participating in high school!" Aika said cheerfully to the judges, trying to hide her nervousness.
"Hm...16, eh?" one judge mumbled, shuffling music sheets,"Well, Aika, are you going to do your best today?"
"Yes!" she responded, grabbing the mircophone and nodded at one of the judges.
"Alright, show us what you got!" said a judge, and started Aika's music.
You can do this Aika
, she told herself, for Ichirou!
She took a deep breath and let the notes flow out," The town is filled with brilliant light
The chill of anesthetic ether
2 AM, and I can't sleep
Everything is changing so fast."
Her nerves flew out of her as if escaping and she smiled slightly.
"The lighter's out of oil
The pit of my stomach is on fire
If everything is such a lie
Then it really would be better."
Aika sang with all her might, for Ichirou, for everyone she loved.
"I dreamed of wrapping my hands 'round your neck
On an early afternoon, overflowing with light
I dreamed, with eyes full of tears
of cinching your narrow throat."
The beat started to quicken and the notes were shorter, but Aika followed them flawlessly.
"I want to dive into
a nuclear reactor
Surrounded by beautiful blue light
If I dive into
the nuclear reactor
then I can let it all go."
She thought of her family, and all the pain she had been through her whole life, her voice fell flat for a moment but gradually became strong once more.
"On the other side of the balcony
The sound of someone climbing the stairs
The clouding sky falls into the room
through the window panes."
Aika thought of her and Ichirou singing in the choir room, the memory flashed in her mind.
"In the scattering twilight
The sun is red, like teary eyes
Bit by bit, as if dissolving
Little by little this world is dying."
She thought of her mother lying in a hospital bed, breathing her last breaths. Tears started to form in her eyes.
"I dreamed of wrapping my hands 'round your neck
'Neath curtains rustled by a breeze
The words overflow from your
dried up lips, like bubbles."
She thought of all the people who hurt her, all the people who hated her just for being herself. The tears began to slowly fall off her cheeks.
"I want to dive into
a nuclear reactor
So the memories melt away to white
If I dive into the nuclear reactor
Then I'll be able to sleep as I did long ago
That's how I feel."
Aika finished the song, with shaking hands she put the mircophone back on it's stands. She felt herself hit the ground and sob, feeling lost in her own sorrow.
Impressum
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 14.11.2011
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