Welcome Party

After that little statement from Hana, and several more sighs from me, she offered to guide me to my grandma's place, which was the original plan to begin with. After I prompted her to wear some clothes of course.

"Do you always walk around wearing your swimsuit underneath your clothes?" I ask, slightly surprised by the fact.

"Yep. Feels comfortable enough, and besides, I can always jump in the water whenever I feel like it!" She grins to herself as she zips her sleeveless hoodie only halfway up.

I shrug and turn to look around me, taking in the scenery of the island.

I don't remember exactly, but it sure feels familiar. Really familiar...

"So how is Tokyo?" She asks while I give her a cocky grin.

"Way better than here that's for sure." I give a brief reply.

"Hey! Your mean levels are off the charts today! I mean you were always a little whiny but-"

"Me? Whiny? Please! You were the one always dragging me around to do crazy things!" I cut her off before she can finish.

"Yeah, as if you didn't like it! Mmmhh!" She sticks her tongue out mockingly. "And my point is, there's no way Tokyo is better! Just look at the ocean! You'll never find anything like it!" She gazes back to where we came from.

"That's fine by me. I don't like the ocean anyway." I shrug at her as she narrows her eyes, before...

"Ouch!" she pinches my arm. "What was that for?!"

"For saying stupid things!" Hana sticks her tongue out yet again. "There's no way you're leaving here, saying you hate the sea! Nu-uh, not on my watch!" She declares passionately.

"Yeah, yeah..." I reply while taking a turn to the right.

"Wait... you remember the way?" She asks, clearly confused.

"What? I do? I don't know... it was kind of a reflex..." I furrow my brows in thought.

"See? You can leave Ryusejima, but Ryusejima will NEVER leave you!" Hana exclaims.

"Pfft, what's that supposed to mean?"

As I say that, I turn to look at the familiar sights around me. We're currently walking down a road with palm trees lining the grass next to the pavement. In front of us are a row of small shops, selling various things. The wind blows behind us, carrying the taste of salt with it.

We take another small turn and arrive at an open-terrace café, named "Natsu Café", natsu being the kanji for "summer". While it says café, I heard from my dad that apparently not only coffee is served here. You can get anything from drinks to desserts and since my grandma is really good at cooking, there is also a wide variety of dishes.

"Ms. Natsuno! We're here!" Hana calls out to my grandma as we step on the terrace and slide open the window door to the inside, ignoring the closed sign.

The inside has a lot fewer seats and tables compared to the terrace and at the far back of it, there's a counter, separating the main room from the kitchen. My grandma's house lies just above it and is connected through a staircase in the far left corner.

"Where could she be-" Just as I'm about to ask, I see a cooking utensil fly towards me, heading straight for my face. Thankfully I duck just in time, as it flies over my head and hits the wall behind me.

I ALMOST GOT KILLED BY A FLYING SPOON!?

"What the!? Did you see that!?" I turn to Hana who shrugs, clearly having seen that before.

"That's Ms. Natsuno for you…" She shakes her head, as a grey-haired, short old woman makes her appearance from the staircase.

"Go away, delinquent!!" She shouts at me and prepares to fire yet another cooking utensil, as I throw my hands up in mock surrender.

"Wait, wait! It's me! Yukio!" I cry out in an attempt to stop my crazed grandma from hurling another object at me.

"Yukio..? It's you?" She narrows her eyes and walks closer to me, clearly confused.

"Yep it's me, long time no see, grandma." I say with a small smile as she narrows her eyes.

"I thought for sure Hana-chan brought over one of those troublemaking tourists!" She says as she walks to the kitchen.

"See? I told you you look like one!" Hana comments.

Not even a welcome, huh? As Hana said, that's grandma for you…

"But why are you here? I told your father I don't need any help! In 1 or 2 days I'll be right as rain!" She says with baseless confidence as she rubs her back.

Truth is, I came here to help my grandma, because ever since my grandpa died she had to manage this café all on her own, and that has been taking its toll on her back lately, with her age and all.

She is as stubborn as I remember her though...

"I can't believe I didn't recognize you... where is your hair?!" My grandma asks while looking at me, in shock.

"Uhm... I cut it?" I shrug and look at Hana, who chuckles lightly. I know I used to have long hair, but that's no reason for you to throw stuff at me!

"And what happened to you?! Why are you soaked?!" She only now realizes the state I'm in. And as a flip has been switched I turn to glare at Hana, who looks away and whistles merrily.

"Ugh... Long story, grandma. I'm just gonna put my things up in the guest room..." I say as I pick up my suitcase and step forward.

"No, wait! You're gonna make a mess of everything! Just, stay in the terrace until you're dry!" Grandma states while waving me off to the terrace.

"What?!" I exclaim while the girl besides me snickers.

"Man, I can't believe this..." I say as I remove my shirt and wring it out on some outdoor greenery.

"It's nice to see Ms. Natsuno has still got some fight in her, though." Hana smiles nonchalantly while sitting on a chair across from me.

"Fight? More like full-on aggression! She's a hazard to my health!" I say in exasperation as Hana chuckles.

"Oiii!" Suddenly we hear a male voice calling out to us, and we both whip our heads around towards the main road, where a young man riding a bicycle is staring.

"Oh, it's Daichi." Hana states as she walks down the small steps of the terrace and I follow behind her.

Daichi? That rings a bell...

"Hey Hana, who's this shirtless dude?" He asks, as his eyes fall on me.

Wait... I'm still shirtless...?

"It's Yukio, don't you remember?"

"Yukio? Yukio... Oh, wait! THAT Yukio?!" He finally remembers who I am and wastes no time patting my shoulder. Let me add, with more force than is strictly necessary...

"Hey Daichi, it's been a while." I give him a small smile as I remember who he is too.

This tanned, brawny, black-haired dude is none other than Hana's older cousin, Tenma Daichi. He used to hand out with us back when we were kids, since he's only 3 years older than us.

"You don't say!!" He smiles brightly as he continues patting my shoulder.

Seriously, dude, stop this...

"How come you're back here, dude?" He asks and I shrug as I give him the rundown of the reason why I've been shipped off from Tokyo.

"Ohhh I see.. Well, Ms. Natsuno needs the help, so that's good." He gives a faint smile.

Naturally, on an island as small as this, every resident is bound to know each other, so basically, every unfamiliar face gets labeled as "tourist". And frankly, they aren't much from what I see, but I guess they are enough to sustain this island's economy.

After chatting for a bit, Daichi takes off in his bicycle to run some errands, and Hana and I go back to the terrace. Just then...

"Hanaaa!" A voice calls out from the building next to the café.

"Oh, that's my mum!" She realizes, following the source of the noise with her eyes. Before she steps out of the terrace though, she notices my confused look and sighs.

"I live next door to your grandma, remember?" She states and I fall into thought for a few seconds.

"Yeah... you... Yeah, you do." I say as it comes back to me. She did live next to my grandma, I think?

"Well, see you later, then!" She gives me a smile and a wave as she disappears into her house.

Just as she is out of view, I take a look around to see if anyone's watching and strip to my underwear, before going inside and up the stairs, with my luggage and bag in hand.

I'm done waiting to dry!

"Hey, no running!" I hear my grandma's fleeting voice say.

I go into the guest room and shut the door behind me.

"Phew..." I breathe out and stare into space.

"Almost a month of this... You got this, Yukio." I give myself a pep talk before I start sorting my stuff.

The day flies by unexpectedly quickly, as I sort out my stuff around the house and take a shower. After that, I had to go to the supermarket for the café with Hana, because apparently, this island is so isolated, supplies come once or twice a week in the supermarket and mostly everything is sold out quickly. And trust me, the bags were REALLY heavy when we finished. And trust me when I say REALLY HEAVY.

Without much else going on, the sun set, and it was time for a get-together in my grandma's café, for my welcome party (probably Daichi's idea). Half of the tables on the terrace were reserved in advance and everyone that knew me or my parents back when we lived here came to say hello. Although I'm pretty sure some of the adults here just wanted an excuse to drink.

"Here have some of this, Yukio!" Daichi hands me a platter with colorful sushi, as we're all gathered around a table as a group. The group consists of Hana, her little 10-year-old sister Chinatsu, Daichi, and another girl with dyed-blonde hair, named Minamoto Emi, who's a friend of both Hana and Daichi.

"Thanks?" I say with a questioning look, taking the platter in hand.

"My mum made this! She went all-out when she heard you came back!" Daichi smiled as he took a bite of his own sushi.

"Hey! We serve food here too! You can't bring your own!" My grandma's voice can be heard from inside as everyone present chuckles.

"Trust me, you won't get a second warning..." Hana snickers as Daichi gulps nervously.

Seriously, what has my grandma done to those kids?! No, on second thought, I don't wanna know...

"What am I gonna do with all this, then?" Daichi asks as he opens a bag that is full of food packed in plastic containers.

"Damn, how much did your mum make?!" I voice in surprise.

"Oh, auntie gets like this every time there's some special occasion..." Hana shakes her head.

"You should see the New Year's Eve table." Chinatsu, her younger sister adds in the same tone.

I can only imagine.

"Well don't mind me, then!" Emi, the blonde-haired girl, says as she snatches what looks like a pack of karage (something like fried chicken).

"Hey this looks nice..." I say as we all peek over the opened plastic container.

"Maybe we can... have a bite?" Hana whispers lowly.

Suddenly, we all here a voice...

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU!" Which was none other than my grandma's battle cry.

"WE'RE SORRY!" Everyone shouts at the same while bowing their heads. Everyone except Daichi that is.

"I'd like a serving of spicy noodles please!" He gets up and raises his hand like a real customer.

Seriously?! After all this?! You're ordering extras now?!

"To Yukio's return!"
"Cheers!"

We all voice simultaneously as our glasses make the familiar, clinking noise.

"Drink up, drink up, Yukio!" Daichi says as he pours me more apple juice.

"You tryna get me drunk, dude?" I chuckle as he fills up my glass.

"Oh don't mind him, he's just happy there's another man in the group." Emi comments as she takes a sip from her own glass.

"Ohhh, to be young again!" A somewhat drunk-looking lady says as she joins our little group.

"Oh hey, Ms. Yui." Hana greets her as she sits down.

"Who's that?" I nudge Emi who's sitting next to me, while Hana and the woman sit across from me.

"She's our English teacher, Arisaka Yui, or as we call her: Ms. Yui." She replies casually, not caring to whisper.

"Wait, you call your teacher by her first name?" I ask, visibly confused.

"Hey, she's the one who said so. Makes her feel younger, she said..." Emi's voice trails off as if that story is some kind of taboo.

Instinctively, I turn to look at the others. Hana, Daichi, and even little Chinatsu are nodding with grim expressions on their faces.

Yikes! Don't tell me she's one of those middle-aged, single ladies that can't accept they're getting old!

"When I was young like you..." Ms. Yui starts up a really old tale of her youth and everyone turns to look at one another, clearly fed up with this.

Oh no! She actually is!

"Hey Ms. Yui, sorry to interrupt, but we've got plans after this..." Daichi says as he gets up from his seat.

"Yeah, we were about to check out..." Hana joins in but her voice trails off in thought.

"That abandoned cabin in the woods! They say it's haunted and Yukio loves things like that! Right, Yukio?" Daichi looks at me pleadingly.

"Oh yeah, I do. I so love haunted and creepy things!" I say in an attempt to solidify our excuse.

I REALLY DON'T THOUGH!

I don't really hate horror stuff, but I'm not a fan of them either, but if it gets me out of THIS situation then I'm all in!

"Haunted cabin...? Haha, yeah..." I can notice Hana from the corner of my eye, turning a little pale.

Be brave, Hana! Be brave! We're getting out of here!

"Yeah, I mean if we're talking about things of the past, they at least have to be scary right?" Emi states with a forced smile as we all get up to leave.

"Okay, so we'll be off then, Ms. Yui. Ms. Natsuno, put it on our tab, please!" Daichi announces as we all take our leave.

"Wait up! I was just making your spicy noodles, you brat!" My grandma comes hurriedly out of the café but we're already too far away.

And just like that, a trip to the haunted cabin in the woods begins.

"Thing of the past? Did she just call me... old?" Meanwhile, Ms. Yui was pondering on what has just been said to her.