Raisins (Pt. 2)

A continuation of my first part.

I don’t want to think about the solution that I’ve come to, instead I’m running all around the city at my highest speed.

“Hibiki!” I cup my hands over my mouth and repeat his name multiple times, turning my head here and there. People are looking at me like I’m crazy, but I don’t care, and I continue. It’s getting really late now. “Hibiki!” I run through the park that we used to come to. It isn’t as pretty today. The sky is gloomy, and there is no light to show how beautiful the park really is. I run to the lake by the side of the park and squint my eyes to see if Hibiki is where he always would be. My face falls. He isn’t there. I exit the park and run towards the marketplace. We’d come here every weekend for groceries. Hibiki and my family. I haven’t been here in so long that I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the bustling about and loud noises. I wander around pointlessly for a while but stop when I see a familiar face. Mrs. Honda, an older lady that my parents were close to, seems to still be in business here. I run over to her, not knowing what else to do. She’s talking to a couple and so I wait, not wanting to appear rude. I’m a bit nervous since I haven’t seen her in so long and can only hope that there won’t be a wall between us.

Mrs. Honda and the pair have been talking for a few minutes, and I’m getting tired of waiting, so I abandon the idea of not wanting to appear rude and start to speak up. At that moment the couple leaves. I sigh, relieved that I didn’t have to be rude. I see Mrs. Honda flash the couple a smile and then return to her stall to tidy up.

“Mrs. Honda?” she turns around, “I’m--”

“Oh!” she exclaims, “Kaito!” she takes my hands, “how are you? It’s been so long! I was beginning to wonder if you and your family were ever going to come back and visit this old lady!” She laughs, but her laugh slowly subsides as she looks at my expression. “What’s wrong, Kaito? Where are your parents?” she looks behind my shoulders and into the crowds.

“They’re not with me,” I say. Mrs. Honda looks at me and seems to study my face.

“Well then why are you here? And so late at night too?”
“Mrs. Honda…” I look away to all the vendors and stalls. After a moment I look back at her, “I was just wondering if you’d seen Hibiki at all.” Mrs. Honda looks at me a while, her expression unreadable. Her stare makes me uneasy, so I look at the produce that she is selling: apples, oranges, pears and raisins. I start thinking about how much I liked the raisins that she sold and about the time Hibiki ate them for the first time. His smile was so bright and when he finished he’d begged for more. My parents bought more to stop Hibiki from crying and--

“Kaito?” I look to Mrs. Honda and smile. “Are you listening, Kaito?

“What?” I reply, still smiling.

“Kaito, are you okay?”

“Mrs. Honda…”

“Kaito! I asked if you were okay...are you?” Mrs. Honda looks concerned.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat what you said?” Mrs. Honda looks at me funny then repeats what she was saying uncertainly.

“I said that I saw Hibiki. He was wandering around. How come he was by himself?” she asks me. I don’t answer. When Mrs. Honda sees that, she sighs and then continues. “He came to me and asked if there was any work that needed to be done. When I asked why he didn’t say anything and left.” She eyes me warily. “Is something going on, Kaito?”

“Oh, no,” I say, “nothing’s wrong. It was getting late and my mom was beginning to worry about him…” I look to Mrs. Honda and she’s also looking at me. I glance away under the pressure. After a while Mrs. Honda looks away and turns to tidy her stall again. She must have nothing else to say to me because she's started to whistle a song, and so now I stand in front of her stall with nothing to do. I wait a while like that, just in case there is something that she forgot to say. She says nothing and so hesitantly, I begin to leave.

"He went towards the south exit of the market," I stop in my tracks and turn with a smile to the older lady. She's still turned away, and her hands aren't moving as fast as before. I say my thanks and turn to the busy market. "Kaito, the time that you have is shorter than you think... you have to make the best of it. Starting now," Mrs. Honda finishes. I don't hear her though, because I'm already running towards the south exit.

“Where is he?” I exclaim, running out the south exit and into an alley. I had hoped that on the way here I would see Hibiki, be able to go home, and save some time. But I didn’t see him. So I’m not able to go home, and I’m not able to save time. “Of all the days he could’ve chosen to disappear… Why’d it have to be today?” I say, grumbling along. Tomorrow’s the science pre-test, and now I don’t have any time to study. Urgh!

“HIBIKI!” I yell angrily. Two girls walking by on the other side of the alley flinch at my sudden outburst and glare at me. “What?” I say, shoving my hands into my pockets. But they don’t reply and send each other telepathic looks of disgust before continuing on their way. I ignore them and continue walking through the alley, kicking at the litter and junk in my way. From the alleyway, I walk into a street flashing with neon and warm yellow lights. I look around and see that the street is lined with little shops and boutiques with a few food booths here and there. Geeze...why are these places still open when it’s so cold out? Hmm… I dig into my pockets and find what I’m looking for. “Good,” I say, “at least I have some money with me.” I cram my hands back into my pockets, trying to save what warmth they may possibly still have and continue walking until I find what I’m looking for. “Ah,” I breathe out, “here it is.”

I sit near the windows and wrap my hands around the cup of tea that has just been served to me. It’s nice and warm. Instead of waiting for it to cool down I immediately take a sip to test the temperature and wince from the surprise. Setting the cup down, I look out the window. Ah...it’s so warm in here compared to outside...What’s Hibiki doing? He’s probably cold...but that’s his fault. Not mine. When will he ever learn, I think, shaking my head.

As I think, the soft hum of the cafe lulls my mind, letting me forget my worries for a few short moments.

“But I can help!” I hear a voice exclaim from the right. I sigh, irritated. Why now of all times? Can’t I at least drink my tea in peace? “Please! Anything!” the voice continues.

“But,” a new voice joins, “there is nothing that needs to be done and--”

“Nothing?” the first voice interrupts. “There’s always something, isn’t there? Dishes? Sweeping? Cleaning?” I’m tired of this. Of everything. I’m supposed to be at home in my room. With my books. And my music. But no. Here I am in a small tea cafe looking for Hibiki! The more I think about it, the angrier I get. The annoyingly high--yet familiar--pitched voice annoys me even more. Add that to my anger and--

“Be quiet!” I erupt, standing. “Do you not see all these customers that are bothered by your useless words? I’m in a bad mood right now, and you fighting here is not making it any better! So shut up!” There’s silence. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me and get a bit uncomfortable, but I don’t think much about it and look at the person who caused my outburst. He has on a look of surprise and I almost smirk, but I don’t. His face is small and ugly and is made worse with the red tint that’s starting to dominate. I say nothing and spill my money onto the table. It’ll be enough, I think.

It’s still cold out, but I don’t notice anymore. When I left the cafe, I quickly glanced at the time, and it was about 9:05 which fueled my anger even more. My anger has gone beyond the limit, and there’s nothing much, other than that, left in me. It’s what’s keeping me warm. It’s what made me oblivious to the footsteps that have been following me. Now noticing them, I walk faster and keep quiet, trying to ignore them. But my speed gets faster still.

“Stop following me!” I say, turning around. I see the same ugly face that I saw in the cafe. It’s even uglier now that it’s wet and shiny.

“But,” the high pitched voice complains, sniffling, “you’re walking too fast, Kaito.”

“Why do you think I’m walking fast?” I turn and continue walking, eyes cold. I hear shuffling noises behind me and am tempted to walk even faster. So I do.

“Wait,” I hear the younger boy say, “Kaito!” I ignore it and make a corner turn in the direction of my home. There aren’t much people out now. Well yeah, I think to myself, it’s late now.

“Why are you so mad?” I hear. “I didn’t even do anything!” The voice continues to shout. My legs stop, and I inhale.

“Stop talking,” I say turning around to him. “You don’t know how long I’ve been out looking for you so do me a favor,” I lean in towards him, my eyes narrow, “and shut your mouth.” I scan him over. He’s wearing his boots and the hems of his jeans are jutting out from the top of them. The buttons of his jacket are mismatched to their holes, and make him look scruffy. I take his appearance in. Disapproving. Next, I look into his eyes. They’re glimmering with tears. My hands find my pockets and I move my face from his. Standing taller, I look down on him. This time, I do smirk. What am I doing? I’ve finally found him...so why am I so mad? My train of thought is disturbed by the sudden movement of the boy’s arms. He’s wiping his tears. I wait for him to finish, but with cold eyes. After a moment of stillness, I hear him murmur something under his breathe.

“What did you say?” I question him, “Speak louder.”

“You don’t know anything!” he screams back. The sudden change of volume surprises me, and I lose my cool facade.

“What do you know!” I shoot back, “You’re just a little boy! You know nothing!” I take a step closer, but he doesn’t budge.

“I know more than you!” he says, “You don’t even care about us! About mom or me or Shun!” For the first time this evening I’m at a loss for words. What? Doesn’t he see me doing all that I can for us?

“I do care!” I yell back. “I care more than you!”

“No you don’t!” he yells to me. “You don’t even know that Shun is sick and that she has to take medicine, or that mom cries when you’re at work--”

“Hi--” I try to interrupt.

“Or that dad’s work is making him sad! Or that everyone is worried about you and that--that!” My thoughts jumble up, and I’m in a state of complete and utter confusion. Medicine? Crying? Mom? Dad?

“Wait,” I say, trying to calm the both of us down, “Hibiki what do--”

“I hate you!” That’s the last thing I hear from him before he takes off running.

“Hibiki…” I reach out for him. But he’s already disappeared down the street. My arm drops in despair and the unfamiliar trickle of tears begins.

Author's Note

*Sighh* If you read the first part, can you tell me if this part made it any "hotter" and fun/interesting to read? You're coolness is greatly appreciated!

Reviews

[callipygianphiltate]

Oh my god. This part was even better than the last. I love Kaito's character. It reminds me of a character of mine. I realized what Hibiki was intending to do at the cafe. I love everything about this story so much that it brings ghost tears to my eyes