Chapter 1: Akari

“How important is it?” One of his friends asks, totally enraptured. “Like, if it’s that other game where the company said choices matter but then nothing really happened…”

“No no, nothing like that!” The boys laughed. Akari sighed and put away the last of her books before picking up her bag. Maybe she should go visit that cafe today, sit down, enjoy a book. She looked through her purse, it was hurting, but a coffee would do wonders. Alright, she decided firmly, time to get a coffee. “In this game you can choose which kingdom you want to be in, you can even start wars! The whole game changes with your choices, although I was told that sometimes the game chooses for you.”

“Whaaat!” Another boy laughed with disbelief. “A game choosing for the player? That doesn’t sound fun!”

“Told? Sounds like a rumor. Who said it to you?” The first one asked.

“Gembu.”

“Pfaaaahahaa!” The other boys started laughing up a storm, much to the excited boy’s embarrassment.

Akari picked her way through the desks, overtly avoiding the boys. Her thoughts were mostly on the coffee and her book. It was a new one, borrowed from the school library. It was fascinatingly detailed and she often found herself blushing, especially when the two male leads were alone together.

She brushed through the classroom’s door and picked up her pace, her cheeks already tinged red. The hallways were packed with people hugging and saying goodbye, packing, or just hanging around with their friends. Akari paid no heed and expertly slipped through the crowd, not giving a single one a glance.

“Akari-chan!” She didn’t glance back. There was another girl in her class with the name Akari, that Akari often didn’t like it when they were mixed up. This Akari didn’t blame her, however today was going to be her, her coffee, and her book. Perhaps on a park bench too.

“Satou Akari!” Another voice, this one familiar. Akari stopped and slowly turned back. There, grinning, was the hopeless playboy of their grade, Yashinori (頼命), and unfortunately, one of her best friends. “We’re going to karaoke, wanna come?”

“Who’s we?” She asked, somewhat annoyed. Yashinori pointed to a suspiciously large group, a good chunk of which were girls. Akari stiffened, then threw a glare back at him.

He shrugged and walked over, still smiling. “Yes, I know, I know. In my defense, it wasn’t my idea. I thought I would at least ask. You never know, you know? Heh. Besides, there are a lot of boys this time.” Akari looked back at the group and sure enough, less than half were boys. Some of whom were her friends.

“Thanks Yashinori-kun, but you know how I get.” Bless him as he nodded respectfully. Akari smiled, but she bet it looked as hollow as she felt.

“Yeah, I get it. What are your plans today though? You’re not going home, right?” Yashinori asked, his brow wrinkling.

“No, no. I’m going to the cafe and read my book.” Her smile turned a bit more genuine as she held up her prize.

“Haha! That book is hilarious, totally wrong from the real thing!” Yashinori burst out laughing, much to her annoyance.

“Aw, come oooon. How do you always read the books before I do!? You don’t even like books!”

“Blame my sister.”

“Blame her for me!” Akari harrumphed, thoroughly miffed.

“Don’t worry, I already do enough of that.” Yashinori laughed and patted her on the shoulder. One girl called out to him and he waved to wait up just a bit. “Alright, I should get going. I should be done around 11-ish, if you need to come over to my place, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Akari went silent for a moment. “Thanks Yashinori-kun.”

“What are friends for?” He grinned. “See ya.”

“See ya.” Akari watched for a moment as he disappeared with the big group before wandering off herself. The halls had gotten considerably more sparse, making her job of getting out much easier.

With her thoughts interrupted, her need to read eased up just a bit, so she let her feet take her to where she needed to go. As the landscape around her slowly drifted by, her thoughts wandered, touching upon thought before floating to another. It was sea foam, she called these thoughts. Sea foam in an endless sea of nothingness. Upon which she sat on a lonely island that occasionally saw a boat.

“Ah, Satou-san!” Akari looked up, surprised to see she was at her destination already. A waiter, one she had come to know through their love of books, was smiling kindly at her.

“Ah, Kanno-san (甘野)! Good evening.” Akari walked up to the kindly man who politely gestured to an empty table. She sat down gratefully. “How are you today?”

“I am doing pleasantly well, thank you very much. You are quite early today, skipping school is not good for a growing young woman like yourself.” Kanno-san said sternly.

“Silly, school just ended early because tomorrow we have summer break.” Akari picked up the menu and scanned through the coffee options. It was merely a reflex at this point, she always got the same thing every time.

“Ah, my apologies then. The usual?”

“Yes please.”

The waiter bowed before wandering off to serve other customers. Kanno-san was right about her rarely coming at this hour. It was pleasant, the warmth, the breeze, the lack of people due to work. She sighed with content as she pulled out her book, but before she could open to her page, a new voice entered her consciousness.

“Hello dear customer, what can I help you with?” Akari froze at the sudden outburst, and slowly looked up. A woman with brown eyes. Eyes that seemed to peer deep into her very soul. Eyes that slowly but purposefully opened its maw to swallow Akari in her entirety. “Ma’am?”

“Aa…” Akari’s voice got caught in the back of her throat. Sweat started to drip down her forehead and her arms started to shake a little. She wasn’t proud to say it, but a tear or two slipped past as well.

“Ma’am?! Ma’am, are you okay?” Akari couldn’t focus on anything and even felt herself about to pass out. The panicked shouts of the waitress and other customers seemed to drift further and further away. How pathetic.

But, before the darkness could embrace her, a warm set of arms wrapped around her and a straw found its way into her mouth. She instinctively gulped the water down and her heart rate seemed to calm down just a tiny bit.

“Satou-san, breathe.” She did.

“I’m…I’m…” She choked out, tears flowing a bit more freely, but through the haze, she could just make out the kindly face of Kanno-san. Thoroughly humiliated and embarrassed, and a hundred percent sure that the other customers were staring at her, she just melted into Kanno-san’s hug.

“I know. Shhh, just, take your time. You’re safe here, shhhh.” Her terror melted away after hearing his calm and soothing voice, but it still took a moment before her tears dried. “There, there. Are you doing better, Satou-san?”

“M’sorry Kanno-san. I got your outfit wet.” Akari felt ashamed, she didn’t dare look anywhere else but down. “She…she just came out of nowhere.”

“I know, shh. She’s new here.”

“New?”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry that I didn’t properly warn either of you.”

“She’s…been told then?” The pit in her stomach fell just a bit deeper.

“No. I gave an excuse about haunted house trauma.” She could feel the gentle smile in his voice and that gave a choked laugh out of her.

“I’m sorry.” Akari sighed heavily, weakly and unsuccessfully putting her book back into her bag. “I should probably go… I’ve made a mess of things and your customers are probably disgusted or scared…”

“Customer service is a staple here at our cafe. That means all customers. You can stay if you want.” Kanno-san took a step back and stooped down to her level. She could barely just see his face from the angle she was looking, but it had one of acceptance and kindness.

“Really?” He nodded.

“I’ve spoken to the manager as well. You can sit in the spare room, away from everyone if you want. You can stay as long as you want, until closing time of course.” Kanno-san took her hand gently and smiled gently. Akari could barely hear the murmurs around them, wholly focused on the angel in front of her. “Entirely your choice, Satou-san.”

“I’ll…I’ll take your offer then.” She let him take her book, gently placed it in her bag, then took her by the shoulders and lightly guided her to the back, always mindful of the crowd and any obstacles in front of her. Akari was entirely grateful as she couldn’t bear to look at the discomfort she wrought reflecting back at her with pitying eyes.

Kanno-san left her in the spare room, promising to return ever so often. Alone, it took a moment for Akari to calm down enough to bring out the book she was so excited for, and read it, if only a bit less enthusiastically than before. Kanno-san made good on his promise and visited four times, the first time bringing her coffee as well as a stale muffin. The fourth was when the cafe finished closing up and he was with the waitress that had surprised her earlier, but this time Akari was mentally prepared.

“He…hello. I’m Satou Akari. I’m really sorry about what happened earlier.” She whispered as she bowed low, never glancing up.

“I’m…I’m Sogiyama Yukari (侑伽莉) and I’m the one who should be apologizing. I didn’t take your feelings into consideration and I’m truly sorry. Please forgive me.” There was a woosh of fabric and it wasn’t hard to guess that the waitress was bowing just as low.

A silence filled the room as Akari struggled to figure out what to say, but thankfully Kanno-san came to her rescue. “It’s getting kind of late, do you need help getting home Satou-san?”

“...N…no. I can get there myself. Thank you again Kanno-san.” Akari slowly rose up but kept her gaze cast downward. “I’m…sorry, again, Sogiyama-san. I for…I forgot that the cafe just closed. Sorry for staying so long, I’ll go now.” Bowing once again, Akari hurried past the two waiters and fled the scene.

It was a lonely trudge back. Looking at her second-hand phone, a gift from a friend of hers, the time said it was nearly nine in the afternoon. Tears pricked her eyes. They let her stay an hour and a half past closing. The walk back usually took half an hour, so she let her thoughts drift once again.

Without much prompting, her little sea foam coalesced near the retreating boat of her favorite cafe. She needed to make a painting to thank them again. Maybe the art teacher will allow her to bring some supplies home. But what should it be? Yukari, the waitress said? Yukari can mean purple, caregiving, pear tree, and jasmine.

Her thoughts went into overdrive. Perhaps, a low overcast purple dusk and in the foreground, a bountiful pear tree atop a grassy hill. The hill could have smatterings of jasmine flowers. Maybe the hill overlooks a dusklit valley with a homey looking town. Beyond the town, maybe golden crops as far as the eye could see. Yes, she could see it. It would be the perfect gift.

A loud crash disturbed the sea foam, bringing Akari back to a dreary reality. Her house was just beyond the bend and she was sure the crash came from there. Her pace slowed, but she kept on moving. It was dangerous to stop at night, especially in this area. Slowly but surely, her house came into view. It was your standard low-middle class house and it looked pleasant enough on the outside. It was on the inside that the rot pervaded everything it touched.

Akari was now walking at a snail’s pace and her body just felt even more tired than usual. She creaked open the gate and slipped through the alley that led to the backdoor. She kept on moving until she found the window she was looking for. A window that sat on the third floor.

It was a few years ago that she pioneered this path in and out of her house and over time she had managed to make it as safe as possible without making the route obvious to any discerning eyes, lucid or otherwise.

With practiced ease, but still with effort as her weak body struggled with the exertion, Akari scaled the trash can, then teetered on the fence, then atop the air conditioning unit, before managing to hook her arms on top of the window frame. With a massive grunt and a heave, she scrabbled upwards and came to a rest next to her windowsill.

Once she had caught her breath, Akari fondled with a stick that kept the window open at all times inconspicuously and slowly and quietly lifted the window. She slipped inside, bag first, then closed the window behind her. However, due to the tiring day and painful climb, her fingers slipped and the window came crashing down.

Silence.

Akari breathed a quiet sigh and tiptoed to her mattress and slipped underneath the ratty blankets. Her heart was pounding so violently, she irrationally feared that it was louder than the crash earlier. But that eventually slowed down to a peaceful thump. Sleep will come, and with it, temporary release.

As her eyes closed, the door to her room slammed open and a thin silhouette stood in the doorway. A whimper escaped her lips right before shining brown eyes loomed over her now shaking figure.

“My my, what a troublesome daughter I have. What a poor mother I would be if I didn’t discipline her, wouldn’t I?