Kill the Embarassment

We quickly went through customs, showing the officers our fake IDs, and then we were rushed to a hospital. I felt the stares of everyone around me, it must be because of our injuries. A sudden gust of wind blew and I felt really breezy down there. I quickly used my hand to pull down my skirt. My face was a raspberry red of embarrassment. Right, a tall, tough man wearing a skirt, why wouldn’t they stare?

As per our request, both Red and I were put in the same rooms. Via examinations, I was found to have 2 broken ribs, a dislocated nose, broken leg, 3 dislocated fingers, bruised hip, twisted ankles and a minor concussion which I probably have Aoi to thank for. Meanwhile, Red passed out as soon as he got into the hospital. He was rushed to the emergency room to be operated on.

He came out the next day, he was on anesthetics. I was told one bullet had shattered two of his ribs, luckily, the doctors removed the fractured parts before it could do further damage. The other bullet pierced his thigh. The doctors aren’t certain if Red is able to use that leg again.

Aoi and Evan haven’t visited us since we came here… perhaps with Red and I out of action, they have been busy overlooking the Gray Wolves mafia. I can only hope that nothing serious is happening right now. I looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, it said June 3rd. Oh, only 2 days had passed, it felt so much longer though.

I stared out the window, today was a nice day. The sky was as pretty and blue as Aoi’s eyes, and the clouds looked soft and squishy like Aoi’s breasts… I stared outside in a daze.

“Someone looks rather happy today”

AH! Red! He had woken up from his anesthetics yesterday, he was in constant pain, however, he’s as lively as ever.

“I-I wasn’t thinking of anything dirty Red!” I stumbled.

“I never said you were thinking of anything… wait Gray could you be…” Red lost his words as he started snickering. Meanwhile I sat on my bed with a rain cloud looming over my head.

バカ　(idiot)

“So how’s your leg Red? You think it’s going to heal?” I turned over to face him.

“It should be fine.” Red turned to face me, and to my surprise, tender tears were streaking down his cheeks, they started from the corner of his eyes, traced around his nose and down to the outlines of his forced smile.

“R-Red…” He rarely gets like this, the possibility of being disabled must’ve really gotten to him.

“I’m sorry Gray. I’m scared right now, what happens if I can’t walk anymore?”

“You will always have a place in the Gray Wolves Red, and I will never abandon you.” These were my true feelings, however, I felt fake saying it. I’m still debating whether I should leave the mafia or not, which has my heart squirming in uncertainty and guilt.

“You know, Julius once had his leg shot just like how mine is right now, but he wasn’t scared at all, hell, I was the one who was scared! He told me over and over about how he will walk again” Red’s eyes looked distant as he reminisced about a fond memory. It’s not often that Red talks about his late father.

“Yeah, knowing Julius, he probably forced his leg to get better, the doctors had said it was completely unusable and were going to amputate it.” I let a smile spread to my face. Red’s father was someone whom I looked up to a lot, he was the former Gray Wolves underboss after all. However, he had met his end by my gun.

When I was little, Father abused my family constantly, and we were always hiding and running away. As the only man of the family, I had taken it upon myself to protect my momma and sister, so I would spend hours everyday sneaking around and secretly learning how to fight. I would hide behind abandoned tires, abused cars and do whatever I can to observe the mafia’s training sessions.

One day, the underboss of the Gray Wolves had caught me, this was when I met Julius. Julius had taken me under his wing and trained me along with his son Red. He found us a place to stay and made sure Father never found us. To me, Julius was an irreplaceable father. He was also too stubborn and damn kind for his own good, which would later spell out his demise.

“I’m feeling a bit sleepy now Gray, goodnight” Red’s mouth opened wide as he yawned, he turned around to face away from the window and fell asleep.

Goodnight? It was still midday!

I was feeling sleepy myself as well, talking about the past has made me weary. I closed the curtains and pulled up my blanket. Even though it was summer, the hospital was air conditioned, making it very cool. “Sweet dreams Red” I whispered as slumber overcame me.

…

…

…

A familiar rusted white ceiling speckled with mold. I was back in this little basement room. I looked around, the paint on the walls were peeling off and the air was stuffy. I went to open the door in order to let some fresh air in.

The air was warm and humid, it was uncomfortably hot, summer’s hell eh. I heard the ruckus of the cicadas and looked up to the sky. The sun was glaring intensely, as if trying to set the earth on fire. It was quiet, since the area we live in was an abandoned town.

I remember Julius telling me that it was in this town that the Gray Wolves first came to. Now that the Gray Wolves is much larger, they moved their headquarters to Tokyo. However, Father still has Julius come here now and then to patrol.

I saw Momma outside, she was humming a cheery tune as she hung the laundry out to dry, there was a nice breeze blowing in.

“Momma!” I called as I ran towards her and gave her a big hug. Ever since Julius had managed to get ahold of Momma’s medicine, Momma has been looking much better. Today though, she was unusually cheerful, her pale skin was glowing with youth and her eyes twinkled like newborn stars.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, hugging her tight and not letting go. Her clothes were warm from basking in the sunlight, it’s as if it had trapped little suns in its fabric.

“Gray let go sweety, Momma can’t do the laundry if you’re hanging off of me” Momma was struggling to shake me off.

“Momma Momma! Let me help with the laundry, look I’ve grown tall enough to reach the laundry line now! Look, look!” I tippy toed as hard as I could as I reached my arm out to touch the laundry line. I managed to grab onto it, however, I had lost my balance and ended up falling, dragging the laundry and all the clothes Momma had hung down with me.

“AHHH!” I screamed as I rolled down the soft grassy hill. I hit the bottom and was a mess of clothes and the laundry line. When I opened my eyes, the sky was spinning and spinning, it looked like the earth had sped up its rotation. When the sky finally stopped moving, I saw Momma’s face as she towered above me.

“Now look at who's a naughty 12 year old!” Momma said with a smile as she helped me up. I was surprised and relieved, I didn’t get a scolding and Momma still looked happy. I stared at her, feeling a bit puzzled, why is Momma so happy today?! And did she just say 12 years old? I’m still 11!

Momma bent down and untangled me from the clothes, then she went back up the hill to rehang the laundry. I eyed her protectively just in case she had another one of her episodes.

Eventually, I decided to patrol the perimeters of the town, in case Father was coming over again. While looking around, I found my sister tending to our small vegetable garden. The vegetable garden was in the heart of the town, on land that was once a public park. It was well concealed by the many houses that surrounded it, and the trees that grew around.

Sister was also humming a cheerful tune. Today, her hair was braided the same as mother’s, a beautiful and fancy waterfall braid. It made her look really mature, despite being a 10 year old. She was busy admiring the tomatoes, some of them had already turned a bright cherry red.

“Eiko!!!” I called to her and waved wildly. Sister looked up and her eyes brightened, she ran towards me, though clumsily. She’s just so cute!!!

“Nii-Nii!!” She called as she kept running. Nii-Nii was a nickname she gave me. When she was 2 years old, she couldn’t say the word “兄(Ani)” which meant big brother, so she called me Nii-Nii instead.

ほんとにかわいいいいい ! (Too cuteeeee!)

Suddenly, she fell on the pavement and scraped her knee. A layer of pale skin was ripped off, revealing the underlayer of red. It looked pretty bad. I rushed to her.

“Eiko! Does it hurt? Are you alright?” I examined her knee, it was just a scrape, though a large one. I should bring her home and put some alcohol on it.

“Nii-Nii I’m alright! Lookie Lookie, these tomatoes are so red!” Eiko was still smiling, as if she hadn’t just scraped her knee. Now I was really puzzled, Eiko was frail so she gets hurt easily, however, this time she isn’t crying.

“Why are you so happy today Eiko?”

“It’s because today is Nii-Nii’s bir…” Eiko stopped herself mid sentence.

“Today’s my what?” I asked, genuinely curious. So there was a reason for why they were happy! Was today a special day? Is something going to happen? My eyes lit up like fireflies just thinking of the boundless possibilities.

“Umm today is Nii-Nii’s bird watching ummm…” Eiko was looking all around her. “Oh! It’s Nii-Nii’s bird watching debut!!”

“Bird watching debut?!” Now this was new to me.

“No more! I’m supposed to keep everything a secret from Nii-Nii.”

“Just tell me!” I was being driven crazy, just why are they so happy?!

“ひーみーつ‼" (Se-cr-et!)

“Aw fine, have it your way. Eiko, let's go home and have that scrape treated”

“Okayy!”

I took Eiko’s hand and led her to our house. She was skipping the entire way while humming. The leaves rustled as another cool breeze blew past us, it ruffled our hair as if playing and twirling it around. I saw a leaf riding the current of the breeze, it looked like a little boat sailing in the sky. I reached my hand out and grabbed it.

The leaf was flat, smooth and fresh. It also had the right curves, perfect!

“Eiko, wanna hear a new song?”

“Nii-Nii made a new song already?” Eiko was bouncing up and down, as if she would burst with energy if she didn’t do that.

“I call this song, An Ode to Summer days” I held the leaf up to my lips with both my hands, I folded it in a bit, and blew.

I first started it off with a soft trill, mimicking the sound of songbirds. The music of the leaves was high pitched, smooth, and calming. The melody coming out of the leaf was a beautiful yet sad one, telling a story of summer. I snuck in breaths as I played, blowing my leaf.

The wind blows again, ruffling my hair, as if it was drawn in by the leaf’s melody and the sun was suddenly half covered by a passing white cloud, like it was being told to shush and listen. While performing, I was singing the lyrics of the song in my head.

The cicada singing it’s usual tune

Hoping for leaves to grow green

Hoping for fruits to ripen soon

And the leaves and the fruits, they grow and ripen

All to the cicada’s tune

The cicada sings, singing to the skies

Telling the sun がんばれ! Give us energy!

Telling the clouds がんばれ! Protect the skies!

The sun shines brighter as the clouds begin to play,

all is

To An Ode of Summer days

The cicada sings, a sorrowful tune

Bidding farewell to summer

For the grass is green, the days are long

The fruits ripen under the sun and moon

For summer has passed and fall begins

The cicada shall pass on too

But, summer will never forget

The cicada’s helpful tune

Next year, and the next.

Year after year, summers after summers

Again and again, summer will grow and flourish

All to the song the cicada sings

An Ode To Summer Days

We had almost walked home by the time my song was finished, and I was greeted to a large applause, I heard 4 pairs of hands clapping. I looked and saw Momma and Eiko, but also Julius and Red!!

“Julius! Red!!” Eiko and I both ran over to them. Red and I thumped our chests in greeting while Julius picked Eiko up and was carrying her around. I see now, Momma and Eiko were happy because Julius and Red were coming!

“I’ve brought in this week's groceries, they are extra special.” Julius smiled and winked at me. “I’ve also brought in new toothbrushes, some toilet paper and books. Shirase, I’ve found this new medicine, I think it should work better than the old one.”

“Thank you Julius!” Momma took the medicine and looked extremely happy, her cheeks were rosy red, and she looked and acted just like a little girl. Then, I noticed that Red was holding a bag of something.

“What’s that Red?” I asked him.

“Oh, don’t open it till later, it's special!” Said Red, he could barely contain his excitement.

“Aw mann, why is everything such a secret from me!”

“It’s your birthdays buddo!” Julius exclaimed while running around with Eiko on his shoulders.

Oh, right! Today is June 4th, our birthdays! Red and I were born on the same day, and for the last couple years, Julius and Red always visited on our birthdays.

“Julius, let's start baking that cake” Said Momma in a cheerful tone.

“Alright Shirase, let me give Eiko one more lap around the house then!” Julius yelled back as he raced off with Eiko.

“Jeez, I swear you will never grow up” Muttered Momma under her breath, though she smiled secretly.

Julius finished a lap around the house and put Eiko down to head inside.

“Eiko! What happened to your knee?” Red had noticed her scraped knee and was heading over to her.

“It’s nothing really, you don’t have to worry…” Eiko was trying her best to act tough in front of him.

“Well that looks like a really bad scrape! I’m not sure how you’re not crying Eiko, you must be really strong.” Red was genuinely impressed, maybe since if it were him, he would be bawling his eyes out right about now.

“Well… of course hehe!” Eiko looked really pleased with herself as she stood a bit taller.

“いたい！” (ouch!)

Eiko bent over in pain as Red rushed towards her and sat her down on a tree stump.

“Stay here! I will ask my daddy for a bandaid and alcohol!”

Red bounded towards the house while I sat myself down beside Eiko.

“Nii-Nii can you play your new song again? Listening to it makes it hurt less” Said Eiko, looking at me with wide and innocent eyes.

“Sure!” I grabbed a new leaf, held it between my hands, folded it a bit and blew. As I played, I wished that this melody could ease Eiko’s pain and help her heal faster. Meanwhile, Red had hurried back, he was breathless from his run but he wasted no time getting into action.

“Ok Eiko I’m going to spray the alcohol, it’s going to sting.” Red sprayed the alcohol and Eiko grimaced from the pain. Then, Red bent down to stick a large bandaid on her knee.

“There you go,” Said Red.

“Thanks!” Replied Eiko, who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh wait, looks like the bandaid wasn’t sticky enough, dang it!” Red proceeds to bend down again and this time he lowered his head to Eiko’s knee. I saw Eiko’s face flush a light cherry tomato red as Red licked her wound.

“There, saliva has disinfectant properties, and should also help your band aid stick on for now. Once we head back home, I will get you a new one.” Red was trying to act all cool, however his face was just as red as Eiko’s. Looking at them, I wondered when they’re going to marry each other. I smirked at that thought.

Eiko and Red sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G!

First comes love

Second comes Marriage

Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!

At first it was weird seeing Red make moves on Eiko, however, if I want anyone to marry Eiko, it would be Red. I always tease them about each other, it's hilarious.

“Ahem!” Said Red, his face still red. “That was a nice song you played there, was it a new one?”

“Yeah! I worked on it for a month, want me to teach it to you?”

“Sure thing!” Red perked up as he went to find a leaf to blow.

“Eiko, this song also has lyrics too! I have it written down here, wanna learn to sing it?” Eiko also perked up as I handed her the crumpled piece of paper stuffed in my pocket.

Red came back with a handful of handpicked leaves, and we headed to our favorite hangout spot, it was on the roof of the abandoned school.

Instead of using the stairs, all 3 of us climbed the trees to get there. Red got to the top first, makes sense since he was skinny and nimble like a monkey. I got there next, while Eiko came last.

On the roof, there was a consistent cool breeze, which made the summer heat and humidity bearable. We were also surrounded by tall and ancient trees, which made it look like we were in another world! It was in this scenery that I taught Red the song while Eiko practiced singing the lyrics.

The first person to teach me leaf blowing was Red’s dad Julius. He taught both Red and I this at the same time, though I’ve always been a bit better than Red is, Julius says it’s talent.

Leaf blowing it turns out is used for more than just music, I can use it to mimic bird and animal calls, which helps me hunt them. I can also use the leaf to communicate long distances.

Once we wore ourselves out from making music, we laid down on the roof, basking under the warmth of the sun and enjoying the coolness of the breeze. It was already noon, turning into afternoon. Usually we’d have lunch by now, however, it had become a tradition to have just one large birthday feast at night. This way, the food tastes twice as good, and we can eat way more!

“Anybody hungry?” Asked Red.

“No eating before the feast!” Said Eiko as she gave Red a friendly punch.

“How about let's go exploring into the woods, this time to the north side, and since we have basically an entire day, we can go in way deeper!” I was pretty excited about this, since we almost never go to the northern woods, so it’s basically unknown territory.

“Great idea Gray, we can also update our map!” Exclaimed Red.

Two years ago, Red and I decided to make a map of this entire area so that we can go to places quicker. Red is really good at drawing, and I was good at navigating. Together, we had mapped out a large portion of the area. It made us feel like pirates plotting out the best routes to sail.

First, we headed back home to collect our tools, which were: Baskets, large paper, pencil, eraser, crayons, large flasks of water, butterfly net and hats. While collecting them, we heard lots of laughter coming from the kitchen, so we went to check it out.

We saw Julius and Momma pretty close together, they were cutting up a large turkey! Julius had wrinkles under his eyes from laughing too hard, and Momma as well.

“Julius, that's not how you do it!” Complained Momma as she elbow jabs Julius.

“Trust me Shirase, this works almost all the time!” Retorted Julius as he elbow jabs Momma back.

I’ve never seen Momma like this around anyone but Julius, she’s really really happy!

“When’s your mom going to ask Julius out?” Whispered Red, his face was flushed.

“When’s your dad going to ask my momma out?” I retorted back at him, my face was flushed as well.

“In books , it’s always the man who asks the lady to marry!” Whispered Eiko, whose face was as flushed as ours. Us 3 children were very curious about love. We peeked over again and listened in.

“Oh, Shirase, you’ve got something on your lips.” Said Julius, he started blushing a bit now.

“Really?!” Said Momma as she blushed as well, she was frantically trying to brush it off.

“I don’t see anything on her lips!” Whispered Eiko.

“Just wait, Julius is going to do his thing!” Said Red, whose ruby red eyes sparkled so brightly, I was afraid they might give us away.

We all leaned forward a bit more.

“Let me get it for you.” Said Julius just as he leans in and presses his lips against Momma’s. Their faces were both bright red, filled with embarrassment, love, and happiness.

Meanwhile, all 3 of our faces were even more red! We slowly slinked away and snuck back outside.

きゃあああああああああああ！　(kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!)

All of us collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. We had just witnessed something incredible! Though we always joke around about love, when we see it actually happen, we can’t seem to take it all in.

“Red! Your daddy is such a playboy!” I told him, I felt happy and embarrassed.

“Yeah, he’s incredible!” Red said, he was in complete awe.

“I wish they would just marry already, I want Julius as my daddy!” Said Eiko, she looked very embarrassed, and a bit worried for some reason.

“Yeah, and I want Shirase to be my momma!” Said Red.

Red’s momma had died when she gave birth to him, so Julius had to raise Red all by himself. Red grew up never having a momma, and I know it was one of his wishes to have one.

“Well, I swear they won’t marry anytime soon if their love is slow as a turtle’s!” I was a bit angsty about this. After knowing each other for so long, they are only at the kissing part!

“Let’s head out now, we have to make the most of our time!” Red said as he dashed off.

“Last one there is a dead octopus!” I yelled while chasing after him.

“Heyy guys the hell! Making me carry everything!” Screamed Eiko as she hobbled behind us while holding onto everything.

Eventually, Red and I tired ourselves out while running in the heat, so we stopped underneath a tree to rest. We decided to wait for Eiko, since she was carrying our water flasks. Our throats were dried and our saliva was sticky, we were so damn thirsty.

Half an hour had passed and still no sign of Eiko! Red and I decided to head to the northern forest to check, and to our surprise, Eiko was sitting there, drinking water from her flask. She had a smug look on her face as she eyes us boys slogging our way towards her.

“Fufufu! That’s what you get for having me carry everything. I took a different route to come here” Exclaimed Eiko, who looked as proud as a chicken who had just laid an egg.

“WATTERR!” Moaned Red as he reached for the flask that Eiko had been drinking out of. He took it and drank from it, all while Eiko stared at him, wide mouthed and blushing.

“Red! That was an indirect kiss, you idiot!” Screamed Eiko, who proceeded to take out Red’s flask and chugged from it.

“Eiko! That was an indirect kiss, you idiot!” Screamed Red, who had stopped chugging on Eiko’s flask.

Then both of them started coughing, they choked on the water when chugging it.

バカ　(idiots)

Meanwhile, I sipped my flask, as calm as a Tibetan monk. It’s great to not be stupid. Now, Red and Eiko were quiet, they were staring at each other, their faces were red and both were fidgeting.

“Well, I’m sorry,” Said Red. “I took your flask first.”

“I don’t mind,” Replied Eiko. “Plus, I drank from yours as well, so we’re even.”

“Alright, love birds, let's get exploring already!” Watching those two be so hopeless had made me uncomfortable, so I wanted to change the subject fast.

“No fair,” said Red,” you always tease us about us two, don’t think I won’t get you back for this!”

“I will never fall in love!” I declared to Red, it’s way too complicated and embarrassing anyways. I can live just fine as a single man.

“We’ll see about that, and if you do, you will never hear the end of me! Gyahahahahah!”

Red being stupid again. After that was over, we finally headed into the woods. We were quickly enveloped by the shade, it felt several degrees cooler here. The grass slowly turns into dirt as we tread deeper in.

I heard the calls of various birds and animals. This forest was ripe for picking. I saw large black feathers, they looked like they were from a wild turkey, I heard the steady drumming of a grouse, it sounded like the heartbeat of this entire forest. However, what got us most excited was the sight of swans and geese flying overhead! Not only are they huge and have lots of soft down, seeing them meant that there is a body of water close by!

We all looked each other in the eyes, we knew what each person was thinking.

Water!!!

Now that got our blood pumping, the discovery of a lake or river would be a massive gamechanger, really! We scurried just a bit faster, making the squirrels and snakes scamper and slither out of our way. Soon, I started to smell the scent of water nearby. We followed it, and eventually found ourselves at a creek.

“Let’s cool off in this creek” Said Red, he was sweating profusely.

We all took off our shoes and dipped our toes in the creek. The water was cool, and I felt refreshed as the current washed away my sweat, grime, and fatigue. I cupped my hands together and scooped up some water, it was clear, looking like diamonds as it reflected the sun’s light. I brought it to my mouth and drank it. The water had the sweet taste of the thousands of minerals that had washed into the creek over millions of years, it was revitalizing.

“The water is good to drink!” I called. Soon, we were all bent down, filling up our flasks with our new discovery.

“I feel youthful again!” Exclaimed Red.

“What are you? An old man?” I retorted and smirked at that thought.

“If I’m an old man, then you’re an old woman!” Said Red, laughing at his own nonsense.

“You both are old” Signed Eiko.

After playing around the creek for a bit, we decided to follow it downstream, curious to see where it leads to. Soon, the terrain changed as the forest thins out, the ground of soil slowly became carpets of grass and flowers. We saw three more creeks up ahead, they had intersected with the creek we were following, merging together.

Suddenly, a large fish jumped out of the creek, which made Eiko scream in surprise.

“Whoaaa! Could that be a salmon?!” Screamed Red, who was completely in awe.

“Idiot, Salmon migrate in fall, otherwise, they’d be in the ocean!” I said, however, no one was listening since we were all entranced by what laid ahead.

凄い！(awesome!)