Exploration

Aika had just left his apartment, making her way to the lift lobby of his apartment. The sun was well up in the sky already, golden hour having passed. The clear, crystal blue sky showed through, demanding the attention of any beholders; barely any clouds in sight. Wind still passed through occasionally, unsettling tree branches at street level. Aika stepped into the lift, taking her down to street level. So much had happened the past 24 hours, it felt surreal to her, but at the same time, her mind just stayed blank, not thinking about it.

The doors opened, revealing a new side to Oshiage. A busy residential area, people walking up and down the main street. The sun beat straight down onto the road, making its presence well known. But yet, the environment was still cold since winter hadn’t ended. Stepping out of the apartment complex, Aika took a look at her surroundings. The contrasting environment was one to behold, with street signs from Izakayas still outside from the night before. Looking further, she saw a towering object overlooking the area. Looking up, it was unbelievable,something she had never seen before. It looked like it could reach heaven.

Slightly curious, Aika started walking towards the tall structure; Tokyo Skytree. The closer she got, the busier the streets got. From the occasional person walking the street, to numerous commuters, all keeping to their lanes. The roads were busy as well. Plenty of cars passed each junction leading up to the Skytree. Starting to get familiar with her surroundings, she felt more at ease, knowing that she could easily blend in with the crowd, pretending to be a visitor.

As she got close to the main entrance, crowds of people appeared, hidden behind pillars and windows. Lots of visitors had flocked to go up to the observation deck, all with the same desire; the great view of metropolitan Tokyo. Aika couldn’t help but be curious about what makes it such a big deal, but yet, she wanted to know. Looking around, promotional posters showcased the sights that can be seen up there, drawing her in. Inside, all she could think about at that moment is the thing she could’ve done this whole time, but couldn’t.

Giving up, she decided to enter the mall section of Tokyo Skytree. Walking through the mall, she was greeted by numerous souvenir shops, selling gifts from simple keychains and shirts, to even anime merchandise. She looked on with envy, wishing that she was in a position to do such a thing. All of this exploration suddenly planted a thought in Aika’s mind.

“Mitsuru…”

Dejected, Aika decided to step outside of the mall into the open air where she was greeted by a small playground. Kids were playing while their parents watched. Aika couldn’t help but watch at the same time. There was something oddly soothing about observing how other people live their lives to her. She felt a sense of calm and warmth, but at the same time; Jealousy. Zoning out, she sat down on a bench to relax herself, still trying to blend in with the other visitors.

“Piang!” “Oh no!!”

Aika felt something hit her right leg. A bump on her foot. A strange sensation kicked in, causing her to refocus on the environment around her. Looking down, she saw a ball at her feet. It was white, with black spots and multi-coloured stripes. It was a football. Leaning over, Aika picked it up; curious what the object at her feet was. It was cold, but hard, all the while being surprisingly light. “Umm…” A weird noise played out in front of Aika. Looking up, she saw a kid standing in front of her, slightly embarrassed.

“Give it back!” The kid blurted, causing his parents to look in his direction. Aika was suddenly put on the spot. She had no idea what was going on, all she knew was the kid wanted his ball back, so she handed it back. Reunited with his ball, he ran back to his group of friends to go back to what they were doing before this minor incident. Aika heaved a sigh of relief. She doesn’t like standing out at all, she just wants to hide with the waves. Finally accomplishing the sudden assignment, Aika leaned back once again, beginning to zone out again.

Relaxing her mind, she began to dream; from simple things like what just happened, to other things she had on her mind for ages. Now that she was free, she could travel wherever she wanted, explore the entirety of Tokyo on foot even, but she can’t. She has a weird attraction to this area, and she couldn’t figure out why. Was it something to do with the area? Some sort of association with it, or a general liking to it. She couldn’t figure it out, no matter how hard she tried. Out of the blue, someone came up to her.

“Excuse me, miss.”

Aika came to her senses, processing the situation unfolding directly in front of her. The kid from before was back, but this time, an adult, a lady, stood next to him, presumably his mother. She just froze. “Am I in trouble? Did I mess up somewhere? Not good. Not good.” The second before panic set in, she continued her sentence. “Sorry for making such a request, but could you bear with it? I need to teach him something.”

Aika at, dumbfounded, but still imagining the worst case scenario. She could picture herself suddenly being abducted by the yakuza, or something along those lines. “You see, I saw and heard the encounter you had with my son. So I was hoping you could help me teach him some manners.”

Her panic immediately left her body. There was nothing to be afraid of the whole time. She still hadn’t spoken a single word while giving a blank face, as though her soul was removed mid-conversation. “Is that ok with you?” The mother asked. “Oh! Sure thing. How do you want me to react?” “My son here will, instead of demanding his ball back, ask for it nicely. Isn’t that right?” looking at her son with killer eyes, he obliged reluctantly. “Come on, this is necessary for your future! How you interact with others will carry over to your career.”

Aika couldn’t help but listen closely to the short lecture she was giving. It was so much new information to her, much of it unheard of. “Now then, let’s begin.” His mother passed the ball to Aika. Changing her gaze to the kid, he still looked very reluctant to ask, but he still did it. Embarrassed, he began. “Can I get my ball back?” Aika looked back at him, a little lost on how to respond. It was the first time engaging in this sort of interaction in a while. “Sure. Here you go.” AIka said, sticking her hands out, returning the ball to the kid.

“What should you say when someone does something for you?” His mother asked. “Thank you.” the kid said, still reluctant over having to put up with this ordeal. Aika could sense his discontent with what his mother was asking of him, but she completely understood the reasoning for it. “See, that wasn’t so hard was it? Come on, let's go. Thank you, miss.”

Without saying another word, the pair walked back to their group where the others waited. Aika just watched them leave, the distance growing further every second. It felt like with each step they take, she’s being pulled further away from something.., or someone she wants. Aika turned around, walking in the opposite direction of the two. She’d already grown sick of this area. It produced too much noise for her enjoyment. She did want tranquillity after all. The issue with that was; It was a Saturday, and it was very close to the holiday season, which meant loads of crowds everywhere she went.

Walking through the streets, she turned onto a boulevard filled with massive crowds. There were Christmas decorations on the trees and street lamps, pop up stores lined up neatly, all with queues of their own. Laughter and chatter filled the air wherever she went. She could clearly see the smiles and laughter of others for herself. It was clear that she stumbled into the wrong area, but she couldn’t help but explore the area, checking out what they had to offer. The selection at stores varied from food, such as skewers and candied fruits, to Christmas themes trinkets. It was a place Aika had always wanted to visit, or something similar.

The smell of charcoal grilled food items wafted from one end to the other, adding to the lively atmosphere. Aika managed to catch a whiff of the scent, causing her stomach to growl in hunger. The aroma was calling to her, but she couldn’t get it. She didn’t have any money on her. Dreams of tasting the delicious skewers dashed, she began walking down the boulevard. Meanwhile in another part of Tokyo, approximately an hour earlier, Mitsuru’s phone suddenly rang.

“Mitsuru! We’re going to the Christmas fair near Tokyo Skytree! Come join us!” He did not expect them to call and invite him today. In fact, his plans for the day included gaming til night. “I don’t really want to.” “Please? At least spend today with your parents!” He’d been hit with a power move. A little guilt soaked in. “Fine, Mom I’ll go.” “Yay! We’ll meet you at the fair.” Reluctantly, Mitsuru went to get dressed. Walking into his room, he still couldn’t get over the events of the previous night. It just sat in his head rent free, no matter what he tried. Just one question lingered; “Is she gonna be alright?”

Moving on, Mitsuru got dressed making his way to the fair.

Arriving at the planned meeting spot, he leaned against a street lamp, beginning to browse the internet. Literally 5 seconds later, someone tapped his shoulder. Looking over, his parents stood there, greeting him. “Hi.” Mitsuru said, rather enthusiastically. “Come on, let's go.” His mom practically grabbed his arm and dragged him along. Walking down the boulevard, they kept their eyes fixated on the decorations almost the whole time, taking time only to watch where they were headed. “This fair has a food street, as well as gift shops. Let’s go check it out!”

Reluctantly following along, Mitsuru’s father could tell his son wasn’t in the mood for it. Stepping up, he pulled Mitsuru aside, creating a little distance between them and Mitsuru’s mother. “Look, I know you don’t want to be here, but at least humour your mother for today. Okay? We won’t drag you out like this for the rest of the holiday season after this. Sounds good?” “Yea.” Mitsuru agreed to the deal. They quickly caught up with Mitsuru’s mother, as though they never fell behind at all. “Look! It’s over there! Oh wow the food smells amazing!”

Somehow, Mitsuru could imagine himself being here with a girl, perhaps Chisato. He’d quite like that actually, but unfortunately, he can’t. However, there was someone he wouldn’t mind being here with strangely enough, and that was Aika. Somehow, someway, he could imagine himself being at the fair, walking up and down with her, exploring what they had to offer. As he tagged along, he kept that thought fresh in his mind, constantly updating the scenario as he went.

He imagined getting street food for himself and Aika, getting a small trinket, or even just enjoying the Christmas spirit. It was enough to keep him entertained. Suddenly, his mother stopped, looking at something intently. His father walked up next to her to check out what’s going on. “This looks like a really good gift doesn’t it?” “Yeah, it does. Mitsuru! Do you think my friends would like this?” Mitsuru looked over and saw what looked to be a tiny woven reindeer. “I guess.” That’s all Mitsuru could come up with. In his mind however, he could easily find himself agreeing with Aika that the reindeer was indeed a great gift idea. “We’ll take this one.”

Looking around, Mitsuru just wanted to go home already. He wanted to go back and start playing games, but he was forced into this. “Come, let’s go grab something to eat." Continuing to follow along, Mitsuru looked around, finding more ideas to add on to his imaginary scenario. At the same time, he crafted photographic scenes of what was happening around them; Happy couples, cheerful Christmas vibes and landscape shots of the idea.

 In the end however, he just pulled his phone out and began surfing again, occasionally looking up to check his surroundings.

Looking up again to make sure he isn’t separated from his parents, he spotted someone that looked familiar. Same hairstyle, similar clothing to what he saw previously, and a scrunchy to give it away. “She’s… here?” Intrigued, Mitsuru put his phone away and gave chase. He felt like one of two occupations; one, a stalker. Two, a concerned individual. Aika seemed to have a destination in mind, but realistically she just wanted to find a way out of the market.

Mitsuru on the other hand thought she was just browsing the different food options, but it didn’t seem very realistic. She did spend the night at his place after all with an aggressively growling stomach.

Aika suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on something to her right. Curiously, Mitsuru approached, still trying to blend in with the crowd. Her curiosity became interest. She took a step forward, taking a closer look at the object that attracted her attention.