2 The Prodigal sister

“You ever want to do anything after school? Like join a club or something?” Ichiro asked Hikari, bringing her humming to an end. The rest of the day had been uneventful, a quiet afternoon to end a busy midday. Kobayashi clearly did not want to talk about what happened and so Hikari and Ichiro didn't bring it up. And the three of them walked in relative silence until Ichiro finally asked.

“What? And break up the going home club!?” she shot back, her voice incredulous. “What would you two boys do without me?”

“Sleep better,” Kobayashi grumbled.

Ichiro glared at him. “Well, you can take the long way.”

“Nope,” the other boy tutted, shaking his head. “Cram school’s this way, and I’ll be late.” Ichiro was a bit dubious of that as the boy walked with a bicycle, a bit out of his way to keep them company to their small apartment before splitting off on his own.

“And I like when he walks with us,” Hikari chimed in. “He’s reliable, like… an old bicycle!”

Kobayashi shot her a baffled glance before looking down at the bicycle he was pushing, the other two walking freely. “Huh… like a bicycle…” His incredulous expression belied a likely questioning of the originality of Hikari's analogy.

“Yeah, and— Shizu!?” Hikari's face lit up as she spotted someone standing right outside of their apartment. She ran forward leaving the other two behind.

“Is that… Sato-chan's sister?” Kobayashi asked.

“Yeah, Shizuko... I haven't seen her in over a year,” Ichiro answered. The two stopped, watching as the smaller sister tackled the

“Well, good for her that she's back,” Kobayashi finally spoke up, “but I gotta get to cram school.”

“Ah, right, yes, uh, see ya,” Ichiro stuttered as his classmate was already throwing his leg over the bicycle. He took a sharp turn and headed down the side street, picking up speed and his shrank into the horizon.

Ichiro turned back to the sisters, grinning as he walked up to them. “Shizuko, it's been a while,” he greeted.

“Hey, chibi,” she teased, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Only after her hand touched him though did she appear to realize she was reaching over her own height. “Huh. Well that's new,” she commented, sounding impressed.

“Yeah, can't call me 'shrimp' anymore.” Ichiro smirked back at her, still not resisting the headpat that she was committed to delivering. Even as his neck tilted ever so slightly lower to look her in the face, it felt familiar, almost nostalgic.

“I didn't know you were coming back! You haven't called in a couple weeks!” Hikari exploded on her. “It's all 'I'm busy in America' this and 'America timezones' that!”

“Canada,” Shizuko corrected with a nervous chuckle. “It's not as glamorous as all that; it's actually pretty cold there this time of ye—”

“Oi, babe, ya sister show up yet?” a gruff voice boomed from inside. Ichiro craned his neck to peek inside at the unfamiliar speaker, only for him to step out. A foreigner. He towered over all of them, looking down his nose, his head not tilting in the least. The angle only enlarged his thick, scruffy, brown beard, the colour of it contrasting skin like a fresh pink peach. Dark hair clung to his head like it was wet, possibly rivalling Shizuko's in length if it wasn't tied back. The leather jacket he wore looked like Ichiro would be swimming in it, but it stretched tight over the foreigner's arms. He looked old, not in body but in spirit, with eyes that didn't rest too long on whatever they passed over. “Well, hello there!” he nearly shouted, taking a heavy step forward and reaching for them.

The two students jumped back, surprised by the man's appearance. “Who are you!?” Hikari asked in a small panic, tucking herself just behind Ichiro's arm.

“Oh, Liam, I didn't tell her yet. About you or, uh, yeah. He's a friend,” Shizo quickly said as she turned to the high schoolers.

The large man, Liam, kept his hand held out, patiently waiting. Ichiro was first, tentatively accepting the handshake. Liam crushed his hand with an innocent smile, making it also the last handshake as Hikari took his subtle wince as indication to keep her small distance. “It sure is neat here, in Japan land!” he said as he enthusiastically shook Ichiro's hand. “Very good to meet you, Japanese boy!”

“Ichiro,” Shizuko clarified.

“Aye, yes, Ichiro... kun? San?” he questioned, his boisterous attitude faltering as he appeared uncertain what honorific to use.

“San,” Ichiro clarified, wringing his freed fingers. Liam continued to look around, oblivious to the boy's minor pain. Ichiro didn't know how he felt being on a mutual first name basis with this strange, loud foreigner, but he knew well enough that first names was just how things were done in the west.

“Babe,” Liam said, turning to Shizuko before rattling off something in English that Ichiro couldn’t grasp but sounded like a question.

“Oh, yeah yeah,” she replied, quickly nodding as her lips tightened. “Ichiro, it’s so good to see you again. Hikari, are you hungry? I made curry.”

Hikari’s eyes lit up at that and she eagerly walked into the ground floor apartment. “Ok, I’ll be changed in a second. See ya, Ichichi!”

Shizuko looked back at him and smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Ichiro. Excuse us though.” She barely waited for a response before pulling in Liam, stepping inside, and closing the door.

Ichiro half-waved, all that he could get out before they disappeared, before quickly turning and ascending the stairs to the apartment directly above.

“Yo, Ichiro, Shizuzu is back; did’ja see?” his little sister greeted him as he walked in the door.

“Yeah, I saw,” he said with a nod. He took off his shoes and stepped into the house proper. The scent of broiled fish filled his nostrils and he closed his eyes for a second to enjoy it.

“Ichiro?” his mother called out as she heard the two by the door. “Wash up, dear; dinner is ready.”

In a few moments, the four of them— Ichiro, Sakura, and their parents— sat at the table. “It’s been too long since Shizuzu has been here,” Sakura started as soon as they gave thanks and began to dig into the fish. “Wait, does that mean that Hikarin won’t be around for dinner?” she gasped.

Ichiro chuckled at his sister as the two of them glanced over at the fifth seat at the table where their unofficial guest irregularly, but frequently enough, sat, to the point that their mother no longer bothered pushing the extra chair back into its original corner.

Their mother nodded. “Yes, I would assume that Shizuko would want to spend all the time she can with her. She’s only here for a week.”

“Yes,” their father mumbled as he picked at his rice. “And she brought her boyfriend here, who’s clearly quite— …tall,” he finished.

“Dear, we talked about this,” his wife reminded him, her voice dropping as the word ‘dear’ took a very different tone than before. “Liam seems like a perfectly fine gentleman.”

“You met them?” Ichiro asked.

“Yes, when she got back a few hours ago.” She stopped, looking pensive as she twirled her chopsticks. “I think they said he’s from… Australia?”

“Canada,” Ichiro corrected.

“Hockey?” Sakura chimed in.

“Yes. No,” she addressed each of them.

“Well, in that sort of household, you never know,” her husband grumbled. “Ever since their parents passed away in that car accident, there’s been no strong father figure in that house.”

Ichiro bit his tongue, glad as his mother stepped in instead. “I think that he—”

CRASH!

All four of them stiffened as the sound came from underneath. Voices rose in volume, shouting sentence fragments that they could just hear through the floor. “…won’t do it!” they could hear Hikari shout, followed by Shizuko’s “…have to… choice! …week…” The door below suddenly slammed shut and they could even hear her running up the stairs before knocking on their door. Ichiro was already standing, stepping over to let her in.

“Hikari… You ok?” he asked stupidly.

“Uh, can I just… be here for a while,” she asked softly, the volume from a moment ago gone.

“Of course, of course,” Ichiro’s mother called from the dining room. “Come, sit. Did you eat? Here, have some fish,” she said, already with a bowl of rice and miso soup and plating the extra fish.

“Isn't that my lunch?” their father grumbled.

“Hush dear, I’ll cook another later,” she chastised as Hikari hesitantly wandered in. As her attendance at the table was no uncommon occurrence, it was an open secret that Shizuko sent the Yamada family some money monthly as thanks. But this time it felt less than typical.

“You ok, Hikarin?” Sakura asked as she poured the other girl a cup of water. Ichiro wondered how his little sister made the exact same question sound so much better.

“It’s my sister,” Hikari started as she took a sip of the drink and soup. “She and Liam, her boyfriend, are only staying for a week. And then she’s going back with him to Canada… and is planning for me to go with her.”

The table went silent. “So, uh… yeah,” Hikari said as no one quite had any words. “It’s just a bit tense at the moment. I’m sorry for the intrusion.”

“Probably quieter with you here now,” their father grumbled, earning him a shoulder slap from his wife.

“Don’t worry about it,” their mother told her. “You take all the time you need.”

There was a loud knocking at the door. Hikari tensed, slowly turning to it before pivoting back. No one moved to open up. “Do you mind if I stay the night?” she asked.

She hadn’t slept over since she and Ichiro had started high school, but no one questioned the request. “Of course, dear,” Ichiro’s mother told her soothingly as the knocking ended. “I’ll set up the futon in Sakura’s room.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Yamada,” she said, nodding gratefully.

— — —

Ichiro laid in bed when his phone dinged softly. He glanced over at it and saw the time, midnight, and then the LINE message from Hikari. [Are you awake?]

[😴] he sent back before [Nope. What’s up?]

[I don’t know. Just feel bad about earlier] she replied. Ichiro started to type but she beat him with a following [I know it’s not easy for Shizu, but I like it here. I don’t want to leave you guys]

Ichiro deleted what he had been typing. [I think she cares about you. I know you know she does. Maybe she thinks it will be better for you there?]

[You might be right…] then [It’s just complicated]

[Then how about we talk to her tomorrow after school? Maybe we can work something out?]

He stared at his phone as she typed, and typed, and typed. [Ok] she finally replied.