Chapter Two: Move:

I wandered down to the door in a tired haze.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I mumbled. I peeked out the little peep hole. Of course, being half-asleep and it being dark outside, I couldn’t see a thing.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s me, baby bro!” a raspy woman’s voice said. It didn’t register to me at the time. I blinked at that statement.

“Who?” I asked.

“Me, Kichiro!” the voice whispered again. “Let me in!” I really looked confused now.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Just let me in!” the voice hissed. It took me a few seconds to start moving. I fumbled with the door knob as I tried to unlock it. Opening the door led to another shock from the past right in front of me. A woman about twenty-nine dressed in visual-kei style stood before me. My eyes widened as I stepped backwards.

“Nee-san?” I asked. The woman nodded at me.

“Yes!” she said. I blinked at her with a puzzled look on my face.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered.

“Never mind that now,” she said back. “Just let me in!”

“Can’t,” I said. Nee-san raised an eyebrow at me.

“Why not?” she asked. I threw up my hands at her.

“You’re already in, aren’t you?” I asked. My sister looked around.

“So, I am,” she said. I sighed and hung my head. What was all of this? My sister’s name was Akemi. I hadn’t seen her since I was six years old. She ran away from home when she was fourteen years old. My family and I hadn’t heard much from her in years. She didn’t even come to the funerals of our parents. I gave her a bottle of green tea as she sat at my kitchen table.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. Akemi glanced up at me with that twisted smile on her face.

“I was bored,” she said. I gave her a dumb look on my face.

“How did you find me?” I asked. “I didn’t give out my address to that many people.”

“I tracked you down through your school,” Akemi said. My face dropped as she took a sip of her tea.

“You’re kidding!” I mumbled.

“Nope,” she replied. “Gah! This tea is crap. This all you have?” I frowned and puffed up my cheeks at her.

“Well excuse me for being a broke high graduate!” I hissed. “Anyway, what are you doing here really? Is it money? Are you here to get money? If so, I’m not giving you a single yen. You can just get a proper job for that!” Akemi took another sip before she shook her head and sat back.

“I’m taking you away with me,” she said. I gave her a long, blank stare.

“Huh?” I asked. My sister turned around to me with a dull look on her face.

“I’m taking you away with me,” she repeated. I slowly shook my head at her.

“Why?” I asked. She set the bottle down on the table.

“Come on, man!” Nee-san said. “What can be so great in this shitty town that you would want to stay here?”

“I have to study for the entrance exam to get into Tokyo University,” I reasoned with her. Akemi made a razzie noise as she rolled her eyes.

“Pul-leeze!” she said aloud. “What’s so great about college? It’s pointless, anyway!” I puffed up my cheeks.

“Says the woman who had to pass high school equivalency test to keep from coming home,” I muttered. Akemi frowned at me.

“Anyway,” she brushed off. “You’re coming with me, right now!” I turned to her with big eyes.

“No!” I said. “What?!?”

“We’re leaving right now,” she said. “Get going!”

“But… I don’t even have my things packed up!” I complained.

“So what?’ Akemi asked. “Just get some clothes, a couple personal things, a little money, and toothbrush. You know what, screw the toothbrush. I can just buy you a new one at the 7-Eleven.” I stood there, still lost. I expected her to come here begging me for money. She caught me off-guard with all of this. Akemi clapped her hands at me.

“Move it!” she barked. “Get going!” She stomped her foot in emphasis on her words. I took off running to my room as if on cue.

“I’ll be waiting in the car!” I heard her yell. “Don’t pack too much junk!” I ran to my room and closed the door. What the hell? Why is she doing this and where are we going to go? I sighed aloud. Something told me she wasn’t going to let up on this. I looked around my room to see what I could take. I better make this quick. I walked over to my closet and pulled out my black backpack. I paused for a long moment as I stared at it. Damn, I haven’t seen this thing since junior high. I used this backpack when I first met Hitomi-chan in kindergarten. She said it was so cool. Hitomi-chan…

I shook my head of any empty sorrow. Right, Akemi is waiting for me. I better finish up here. In a minute, I stuffed in seven t-shirts, three pairs of jeans, my glasses case, my notes and study book for the entrance exam, laptop, my wallet, a picture of mom and dad, and my other pajamas. I was looking around for something to wear when spotted Hitomi’s diary and box of tapes. That feeling of empty sadness crept up in my throat again. Somehow, I could leave them behind. Something told me to take them to find out about why Hitomi died. The more I stared at them, the more the sadness twisted up in knots inside me. I forced myself to swallow hard. In the end, they, along with my walkman and earphones, went into my backpack.

Once, I got dressed, I began to follow through with shutting things off. I went from room to room unplugging and turning off everything. The first thing to be unplugged was my alarm clock. I went from my room, to the bathroom, the kitchen, and finally to the living room. Once I made certain I packed up what I needed and turned everything off, I made it outside to the parking lot where Akemi was waiting in her car for me. I quietly climbed in. She narrowed her eyes at me as she frowned.

“Took you long enough,” she muttered. I shrugged at her.

“Hey, I don’t want to waste energy while I’m gone,” I said. Akemi rolled her eyes at me.

“Whatever,” she mumbled. I looked her straight in the eye.

“So, where are we going?” I asked. Akemi’s face didn’t change.

“Does it matter?” she asked. My sister started up the car before I had a chance to speak. I looked down at my hands in my lap. I doubt that I had much of a say by this point.