~This chapter is a tribute to my best friend, who is like a sister to me and inspired me to even start posting on Penana. It features herself (Anna), me (Rissa), and one of her own characters (Lucas) who we both love a lot. Hi Anna, I know you're reading this so I'd just like to tell you one little thing... You mean the absolute world to me and so much more.~
. . .
“I’m starvingggg!” Millie whined. We were still on The Train of Seikatsu, going who knows where. I guessed we were headed for the suburbs though because tall buildings became far and few between. Beautiful cherry blossom trees could be seen everywhere, and soft pink petals fell to the ground.
“You can’t be that hungry,” I said, kicking my legs off the side of the gleaming metal seat I was in. “If I were you, I’d just drink water.”
Tora dug deep into the pocket of her dress and tossed a candy bar at Millie. “Take it, sweetie. It’s the only thing I’ve got.”
My sister yelped ecstatically, unwrapping the chocolate bar as quick as she could. She took a giant mouthful and smiled at my aunt and I, giving us a thumbs-up.
“Well gosh, that’s a lotta grams of sugar, Millie,” I made a face, eyeing the candy bar she had practically devoured in one bite. “It’s not like we’ll be working that off.”
Millie shrugged and gulped the second half of her food down. “Since when did you become so concerned with calories?”
“I’m not! I was just scared you’d get a stomach ache.”
“Does it look like I have a stomach ache?” My twin retorted.
“You wouldn’t know! You literally just ate that!”
“MAYBE YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS THAT AUNT TORA GAVE ME THE CANDY BAR!” Millie threw the wrapper at my face.
“ENOUGH NONSENSE!” Tora screamed, cutting between our argument like glass. I had never heard her yell before, and I never wanted to hear it again. Her voice was frighteningly loud and it made me want to jump right out of my own body. She sighed, her fury left as soon as it had come. “Children, stop your fighting and look… We’re here.”
I didn’t even notice the train had stopped. Millie and I rarely ever argued, but this time it was I who had lost the temper. The fear of defeating a woman who had so much hatred towards my own mother had made me want to explode from the inside… Literally.
Tora left no time for our minor squabble, she opened the door to the train car and grabbed my arm, holding me like a leash. Millie tagged along on our way out wiping chocolate off her face and muttering how she had won the fight.
Flooding the streets paved with rocks and sitting on the grass overlooking a shimmering lake was the thing I feared most: People.
I waved one of my hands out sporadically from side to side to see if I’d hit any of them, yet my arm went straight through them all like a ghost. Tora had already walked directly through several people without even flinching, but I could see her face wasn’t quite so happy as normal.
“Did I make you upset?” I said in a quiet voice. She still hadn’t let go of my arm and was practically dragging me along the street. Maybe my aunt thought it was stupid that my sister and I had fought over something so unimportant.
“I just thought Jín would have raised you better. Didn’t we just talk about how kindness is worth everything?” Tora remarked.
Ouch, well that hurt. In my opinion I think my mother did a pretty fine job at raising us twins, she taught the same principles of niceness that Tora did. But can’t kids just be kids sometimes? I guessed not, adults were supposed to teach us how to live life the right way.
“Apologize to your sister,” My brain said. “Make things right.”
I sighed and stared at the paved ground of the street. I didn’t want to say it, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
“I’m sorry, Millie. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“It’s okay… I know you didn’t mean to be like that,” My sister took in a deep breath. Though she was on the other side of our aunt once more, I could hear that she felt a sense of guilt too. “I forgive you, Haru.”
My aunt looked down at me, she winked and mouthed the words, “Good boy.”
The three of us wandered aimlessly for a time, passing numerous stores and small businesses along the way. Millie occasionally stuck her head into a shop or two before Tora grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her out.
“But I wanna look at all the pretty jewelryyy!” My sister complained.
My aunt laughed. “I don’t think that’s why the train dropped us off here, silly goose.”
“Woah, look at that!” I cut between their chatter, stopping in front of a business called, ‘空手’.
“Doesn’t that say ‘karate’, Aunt Tora?” Millie asked.
“Yes, child, I used to do karate! It wouldn’t hurt to go look for a moment, would it? ” The woman replied.
We opened the doors and walked in, it’s crisp air-conditioned ambience made me shiver. Millie rolled her eyes and whined something about how “We can go into a karate facility but not a pretty jewelry shop”.
Sitting behind a small front desk was a woman reading a book. Her skin was light brown and her short hair was shimmering black, curling around her face. She wore a simple green T-shirt with the business’ name labeled on the front, and her dark eyes concentrated hard on the pages that lay before her.
“Uh….Kon’nichiwa?” Tora said, raising an eyebrow. The small woman jumped up from her seat and stared at my aunt in surprise.
“Oh, Hello!! How may I help you?” She chirped, throwing the book down as she fumbled to straighten herself.
“We just wanted to look around a little bit… Is that alright?” Tora said as she gave a polite smile.
“Oh of course! And where are my dear manners,” The woman chattered. “I’m Anna… Anna Sofia.”
Millie stretched her arm out to shake the woman’s hand. “Hi Anna! That’s a nice name you have!”
Anna beamed at the compliment she was given and sat back down in her chair behind the desk, crossing her legs formally. I stared in disbelief, was no one else noticing this? This woman could see us, she really saw us!
“Are you one of those…. ‘Guide characters’ here to help us in Tengoku?” I inquired.
Anna Sofia nodded like this was a normal occurrence for her. “Yeah, we knew you were coming. We’re here to help you defeat Miss Nilsen!”
I blinked. “Um… We?”
Abruptly, Anna turned behind the desk towards another room and yelled, “RISSA! They’re here!”
Another woman popped her head out of a doorway and wandered over to us, she was taller than Anna and had dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail, freckles scattered her face like paint carelessly thrown upon a canvas.
“Oh look, they really are here! It’s been so long since we’ve had a visitor.” She said.
The girl named ‘Rissa’ went behind the desk and wrapped her arms around Anna as they shared what I assumed was some sort of inside joke. The chemistry between them was oddly pleasant, and if it wasn’t for their different races I could’ve sworn they were sisters.
“What are you guys, partner in crime?” Tora joked, giving them a goofy grin.
“Nah, more like karate teachers that are best friends!” Rissa laughed. “We’ve known each other since childhood.”
Anna smiled. “Ah, yes… Memories. Anyway, you guys can look around if you want, we have punching bags and other things in the back if you want to learn how to kick or hit!” She pointed towards the direction of the room her friend had come from.
“You bet! Do you think if I learn how to do karate it would help me conquer Wren?” Millie asked as she held Tora’s hand and jumped up and down like an excited dog.
Rissa and Anna nodded in unison. “Come on,” They said. “Follow us!”
The back room was filled with punching bags just like Anna had said, and the floor was lined with soft foam. I assumed it was there incase someone got hurt.
“So what would you like to learn first?” Rissa asked as she took off her shoes and slid them in a cupboard by a set of chairs.
Millie did the same and gave her pink jacket to Aunt Tora. “Teach me how to kick!” She said.
Rissa went up to one of the bags lined up next to the wall and round-kicked it faster than lightning. The room echoed a loud “BAM”.
“Woahhh,” I murmured. “Does it hurt?”
Rissa shrugged and readjusted her ponytail that had gone loose from the force of the blow. “Eh, you get used to it. Come here, I’ll let you try now!”
I gulped and walked up to the punching bag, it was so tall and it looked firm, maybe it wasn't the best idea to hit it. “Now lift your leg up and tilt it to the side, then you kick!” The brown-haired girl motioned.
I did just that, yet it felt so weird. My foot hit the side of the bag in an awkward position and I tripped on myself, falling to the safely padded floor. “OW!” I yelped as a shock of pain went up my leg.
Aunt Tora ran to my side and picked me up from the ground. Her face was genuinely concerned as she held me in her arms. “Are you okay sweetie?” She questioned.
“I can’t do it! I’m too weak to even kick it!” I huffed and covered my face with my hands, hiding my frustration from everyone but Tora.
“Don’t be like that Haru,” My aunt crooned as she stroked my hair. “You just have to learn how to do it the right way, that’s all!”
Meanwhile during all of my problems, Millie had already slammed the punching bag numerous times, getting pointers from Anna and Rissa as they taught her how to round kick correctly.
I sighed and let Tora put me back on the ground so I could test if my foot was alright again. It indeed was, but it was sore and red after I had tripped on it.
“Hey, does anyone have ice around here?” My aunt looked up at the owners of the business. Anna nodded and went back to where the front desk was, facing a hallway that turned towards a storage room. “LUCAS, COME HERE! And bring an ice pack too, won’t you?”
For a few moments, all I heard was rummaging in the back until a kid around my age walked out holding two things: A bag of Cheetos and an ice pack. He was pale as could be with red hair cut short around his head. On top of that he wore glasses that were way bigger than they needed to be, and his figure was almost funny in a cartoonish way.
“What’s the deal this time Annaaaaa?” He said as he wandered over to where the cupboard we had put out shoes in was.
“The deal is you give Haru Motoyo his ice pack, and give me one Cheeto.” The black-haired woman laughed.
“Fine, fine. But only because you’re giving my mother a paycheck.” He snorted as he threw a Cheeto at Anna and came towards me. “Here,” He tossed the icepack at Tora carelessly. “It should stop his foot from swelling.”
“Thank you, young man. And who are you?” My aunt asked.
Rissa left my sister to keep kicking the bags by herself and came to put her arm around the red-headed boy. “This is Lucas! His mom works for us as you’ve probably already figured out, and he hangs out here when he’s not eating his Cheetos.” She laughed.
“Oh, well um… Thanks for the icepack Lucas! My foot is feeling a lot better.” I coughed awkwardly. Talking to kids my age or any age for that matter made me uncomfortable. Yes, this is why I don’t make friends easily, but… I’m glad I have a twin.
For the next few ‘hours’, Millie and I were taught how to do basic karate skills. We learned how to punch correctly and do various kicks, and at the very end Anna even taught us how to get out of a headlock.
“Now you should be able to have more confidence in conquering Wren. If you ever need our help, we’ll be here!” Rissa had grinned.
Tora thanked them all and gave Millie her jacket back as we left the place. “See, wasn’t that fun Haru?” She said, holding my hand in hers.
I giggled, trying to hide my happiness. “Yeah, it actually kinda was fun…besides hurting my foot.”
Millie was ahead of us, picking up random pieces of trash she saw laying on the street. They all disappeared as soon as she touched them and the only thing left in her palm was a diamond. Once she had collected ten of them, her phone buzzed. When my sister looked at what the screen read her face lit up in both joy and surprise.
“Look, Aunt Tora! Look!” She exclaimed, waving the phone in our faces. “We got to level two! We did it! We’re gonna finish this game in no time!”
Our aunt high-fived Millie and gave her a big hug, proceeding to kiss her cheek. “Awww, sweetie. You make me proud!!”
I smiled, enjoying how much the two of them loved each other. It reminded me of back home and how much Mama used to hug me all the time. “I can’t wait to get out of here.” I murmured. “I can’t wait to see Mama and Papa again.”
At that moment a young man stepped out from the crowd of people walking around us. He looked frightened and confused, like he was about to cry. He looked to be around eighteen or twenty, and he was staring directly at Aunt Tora.
“…Mom?” He murmured.
Tora looked up from hugging and spoiling my sister with love, her eyes were wide with shock.
“Son?” She whispered back to him.
ns 172.70.126.80da2
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