Our World

by Ash Mio

  “Let’s brush his hair a little bit more.” Shimura-san suggested. She gently brushes out Kuma’s fur until it grew big.

  Hikari watched as she fluffed his fur. “It’s the ultimate poof!”

  Honestly, he’s a dog fanatic. I’m glad he’s energetic even after the incident.

  “Hikari could you hold Kuma for a bit?”

  He obliged. “I’ll do it!”

  “I want to check the lighting. “ Which was just an excuse to take Hikari’s picture. The camera clicks as Kuma and Hikari smiles brightly.

  “Okay, now Choco.” He picks up Choco who licks him enthusiastically.

  “That’s a good shot! And let’s try Chibi next.” Chibi walks by but doesn’t stop. He comes to me instead. “Chibi. You have to learn to get along with other customers. Oda-san can you take the camera?” He carefully takes the camera. I pick up Chibi and scratch him under the chin. He looks happy.

  Oda-san takes opportunity to snap a picture. “That one came out really well.” He shows the picture to Hikari. “I bet this one would sell really well.”

  The customers were starting to pour in, so we postponed pictures until later. A young boy and his mother walked in. He had a bowl haircut and was wearing lace up sneakers. He looked around and immediately pointed to Chibi. “Mama that one. I want to walk that one.”

  We all looked at each other concerned. He was no more than five years old, which was a difficult age to tell someone no. “Chibi is difficult to handle outside. Choco here is also a shiba and loves walks, so would you like to take him instead?” I said.

  “No! I want that one mama.” The kid started crying in the middle of the store. The mother looked a bit stressed and a bit overwhelmed. “Kota, does it really matter which one we take?”

  “I want that one.” He started hitting her leg. She looked a bit defeated. Shimura-san did her best to intervene. “Look Kota-kun. Isn’t Choco a cute dog?” The kid looked at Choco, but wouldn’t give up.

  He ran towards Chibi and grabbed him around the neck. “Kota!” Chibi whimpered and barked. “Kota-kun, please let go of Chibi. If you do that….”

  The kid tugged and struggled to keep balance. He fell onto Chibi’s tail. Chibi whined and ran passed the opened gate and out the door. Kota was bawling on the floor now.

  “I’ll go after Chibi.” I quickly take off my apron.

  “Sorry Will-kun.” Shimura-san and Kota’s mother are trying to calm Kota down as I leave the café. Behind me, the door opens again and Hikari follows me out. “Will, let me help.” He looks frazzled.

  “Thanks.”

  We begin to call out his name and ask people along the street if they’ve seen him. The street is busy and many people have spotted Chibi running towards the riverbank. We searched for over an hour, but we couldn’t find him along the mile-long waterway.

  “We need to find him before the sun sets or we’ll never find him. What if he gets hurt?” Hikari looked like he was about to cry.

  “Hikari. I promise we’ll search until we find him. It’ll be okay. We’ll get flashlights if we need to. Plus Chibi is a spunky little dog. He’ll definitely be okay until we find him.” I put my hand on his thin shoulder.

  He nods and we continue searching. A little while later, an old man riding a bicycle approached us. “Are you the two looking for a shiba? I heard a good looking foreigner with blond hair and his friend were looking for a dog.”

  “Yes that’s us.” But what’s with that description?

  “The kids say there’s a dog who fell into a whole near the underpass. They weren’t tall enough to get him out.”

  “Thank you sir! We’ll head there right now.” We bow and start running towards the underpass.

  There were three kids there standing around the ditch. They waved us over.

  “Onii-chan over here!” We ran breathlessly towards the kids and where they were pointing. Chibi had fallen into a ditch and was whimpering. He was shaking badly.

  “Thanks kids. Leave it to us. We’ll get him out.” They stared at me for a bit.

  “If you stay, Chibi-tan will get more overwhelmed. We work at the dog café, so we’ll definitely save him.” They seemed a bit more reassured.

  “Okay, onii-chan. We’ll leave him to you.” They linked hands and walked up the hill.

  Hikari was looking down at the ditch. “He’s shaking a lot.”

  I pat Hikari on the back. “I’m going to go down there and calm him down a bit. I’ll hand him to you okay?” He nodded. When I got down in the ditch, Chibi limped meekly towards me.

  “Is he hurt?”

  “I’m not sure, but his legs look wobbly. We’ll have to be careful.” In my arms, Chibi is shaking terribly.

  “It’s okay now little guy. Were you scared?” He whimpers. I hug him carefully and he stops shaking a little. It takes a few minutes.

  “Okay, I’m going to hand you to him Hikari.” He looks unsure. “Chibi has never let me hold him though. What if he runs away?”

  “You’ll have to Hikari. I’m sorry just for a second.” Hikari nervously extends his hand out for Chibi. I lift him up. In Hikari’s arms, he squirms.

  “Please Chibi. Don’t struggle or you get hurt.” Hikari squeezes him a little tighter. “It’s okay. We’re here. You’re not alone anymore.” Chibi whines but he stops struggling. “You were scared right? Me too Chibi.” Hikari begins to cry. He looks like a little kid.

  “Thank goodness you’re okay.” His voice cracks. “Thank goodness…”

  Seeing someone who occasionally breaks into yakuza speech cry was a bit surreal. Although, he’s always been too cute for words. I instinctively hug him and Chibi when I get myself out of the ditch. We stay like this until Hikari stops crying. I wipe his cheek and give it a little tap.

  “Better?” He nods. We ran into the three kids that found Chibi and show them that he was alright. They were relieved. We returned to the café covered in mud but with Chibi triumphantly in our arms.

  Kota and his mom were still there waiting. The kid was so relieved he cried again while apologizing. “I’m s-sowry.”

  Chibi barks. “See that? He’ll be okay. Next time though, you’ll have to be a lot more careful okay?” “Okay.” They leave after apologizing again.

  “Shimura-san, I think we’d better take him to a vet. His leg was shaky.” She looked worried. “Oh my. Oda-san please close up the shop later.”

  “Roger.”

  Shimura-san takes Chibi, who is docile with the owner. “Good work today Will-kun, Hikari-kun. Sorry for all the trouble.”

  Oda-san suggested we leave early for the day since we’d been searching for so long. We say goodbye and take our leave. Hikari was a little reluctant to leave.

  “He’ll be okay Hikari. We can’t do any more for him.” He nods silently.

  On the train, the exhaustion hits us. We fall asleep for a bit. Hikari’s head is rested on my shoulders, and I lean against him. We woke up just in time for our stop. We got quite a few stares when we woke up. It might have been from the muddy clothes or from falling asleep on each other’s shoulders.

  In the stillness of the night, we walked home exhausted. He stopped walking.

  “What’s wrong Hikari?”

  “I’m just relieved….because you were there.”

  “In all honesty, I was scared too. It might not have worked out but it did.”

  Hikari shook his head. “No. It worked out because you said you wouldn’t give up on looking for him. Shit. I really want to cry again.”

  Honestly, how can you be so adorable?

  Hikari’s face was all swollen and puffy like a chipmunk. I rubbed his cheeks. They were soft.

  “We can’t have that now can we?” I squeeze his cheeks tighter and make his lips pucker. “Cute.” I let slip out and brush his lips.

  “You shink I’m cute?” he says with a lisp.

  “I do.” My heart starts thumping loudly. He looks down at his shoes but puts both of his hands around mi
ne. I can feel his cheeks grow hotter underneath my hands.

  “This …may be a bit presumptuous since I have a real shitty understanding of real life, but do you…like me?” So he throws a straight ball. The irony.

  “I do.” My heart flutters wildly. His hand is still holding onto me.

  “I like Hikari. I like the way your face looks when you’re embarrassed and how red you get. I like how much of a fanatic you are with dogs. I like that little smile you make when you’re reading a fluffy shoujo manga scene. I like it all Hikari….. How does Hikari feel about me?” I felt like I could ask somehow. In the moment, I felt like everything would work out. I waited anxiously.

  “I…I like you too. I like how you make the chaos peaceful. I like how bright your smile is…and how exceptionally kind you are…and other stuff too…”

  My chest explodes now. I pull him close to my face and I can feel his breath on my lips.

  “Wait, I want to do this when I can see your face.”

  He’s embarrassed. “You’re stopping at this point?!! Who does that?!!”

  “I don’t want to miss your reaction, so definitely be prepared.”

  “Stupid,” he squirms in embarrassment. I grab him in my arms. He’s small and soft.

  “I’m really happy right now.”

  “Dumbass.” He puts his arms around my back.

  We stay until we have to go home, but we agree to message each other.

  When I got home, Ryo greeted me as usual. “I’m home.”

  “Will-nii welcome home!”

  “What happened to your clothes Will-kun?” Mrs. Tachibana was worried. “One of the dogs ran away and fell into a ditch. I’ll be sure to wash my uniform properly, so don’t worry Mrs. Tachibana. I’m going to take a bath.”

  “Is he humming?”

  “He looks happy, wonder what happened.”

  Ch. 9 Hikari

  When I got home, I immediately sunk my face into a pillow. It’s too embarrassing. He actually said he liked me. He said it right? Yes, he said it. He knows I don’t have boobs right? My face is still red after all this time. I stuff my face into my pillow some more.

  “Hikari don’t just go to your room you stupid son!” Mom walked in with a giant green onion stalk. She stared at me. “Why is your uniform so dirty?”

  “One of the dogs at the café ran away.” She wacked me with the green onion. “Ow.” Mom was like me. Her personality and her looks didn’t match. She looked like a weak little woman, but she was crazy scary. Her love of yakuza movies influenced her quite a bit. Her favorite actor starred in a lot of yakuza movies, so she was always watching them.

  “Strip.”

  “No.”

  “You better fucking strip so I can wash it for you.”

  “I can do it myself you violent woman.”

  “I’m only violent because I haven’t had dinner. You want me to cook instead?”

  “No Mom! I’m sorry. Please don’t cook. I don’t want to eat burnt food again.”

  Mom turns everything into ashes. The last meal she made was burnt rice, with burnt salmon, with burnt veggies. The ingredients kept getting wasted, so I started cooking. Dad was so thankful, he cried. He’d been suffering for a long time.

  I take the green onion from mom. “I’ll make some green onion pancakes.”

  “Sounds wonderful.” She stalls at the door for a second. “Hikari, how are things at school? I saw your glasses got broken and you’re wearing contacts now.”

  “I’m kinda having fun Mom.” There have been and will be problems, but with Will I’m not afraid.

  “Is that so?”

  “Mmn.”

  I woke up early to make extra for my bento. I put rolled omelets and tempura shrimp for Will. Would he think this is weird? Am I acting too much like his wife? I feel embarrassed.

  Before I leave, I look at myself in the mirror. People might tell me I have a girly face, but I brush my hair to the side anyways.

  Some days, Will and I take the same train, but Will has morning duties so he might have taken an earlier one. There weren’t many people outside the school gate yet since it was still early. When I walked into the classroom, Will was cleaning the chalkboard. He was in there alone. Seeing him made my heart go “gwahhhhh.”

  He seems so different ever since I realized my feelings for him. Everything he does is surrounded by flowers and sparkles.

  He spotted me from the corner of his eyes. “Hikari?” He stared at me for a second and sank down to the floor, covering his face. I ran up to him.

  “Will, what’s wrong?” He had both his hands on his face, but I could see his red ears peeking out.

  “Your face…”

  “My face?”

  “It’s just too much the first thing in the morning.”

  “I thought you liked my face like this?”

  “I did. I said it but seeing it so suddenly is bad for my heart. You’re just too cute.”

  He says really embarrassing things.

  “That’s a bit exaggerated. “ Although, I do feel really happy.

  He peeked through his hands. “I don’t think I can look at you today. It’s too much.”

  “What kind of reasoning is that? I want to see your face”

  He gets up off the floor finally and comes closer to me. He touches my forehead to his. I can see his long eyelashes and grey eyes. My heart thumps erratically. We hear footsteps out in the hallway and Will turns around to wipe the already clean board robotically. I walk quickly to my desk and pretend to read.

  Emi and Mei walk into the classroom.

  “Hikari, what’s with that look?” Emi covers her mouth in shock and so does Mei.

  “This is just how my face is.”

  “It’s like a completely different person. That gloomy aura isn’t there anymore.”

  “You look super cute,” Mei said.

  “Your skin’s so nice.” Emi rubbed my face.

  “Don’t rub my face.”

  Will dropped the chalk eraser he was holding.

  “Oh Will, good morning.”

  “Good morning.” He said towards the chalkboard. He can be really cute too sometimes.

  My new look surprised quite a few people apparently. They were asking Emi what happened to me. I tuned most of it out though. During class, I was more focused on the back of Will’s neck more than the lesson or anything else. I was really looking forward to break. I think I had a really creepy smile on my face.

  When we finally got some free time to head to the roof, it was raining. We couldn’t find anywhere else to be alone together. At lunchtime, Will got mobbed by guys trying to get him on their dodgeball team. Lunch ended without us getting a chance to talk.

  Since it was raining, we walked indoors and had to play dodgeball in the basketball gym.

  “Hikari, let’s play.” Will extended his hand out. The sparkles around him lit up.

  “I’m not so sure,” I say quietly. His imaginary tail and ears turned down.

  “Alright.” His face brightened. Will has some strange persuasive gift. My chest squeezes. I guess it’s not so bad to play and make him happy.

  Yamaguchi was on the other team. He didn’t throw the ball at me even when I was right in front of him. Will caught all the balls that were thrown at me. It was like watching someone play fetch.

  “Will’s so nice.”

  “He’s like a knight.” Damn. His popularity is still increasing. There was already too much competition to begin with.

  After a lot of volleys and back and forth, only Yamaguchi , Will, and I were left. Yamaguchi and Will volleyed back and forth, but no one got a hit. Yamaguchi looked at me and at Will. He aimed but didn’t throw the ball very hard, so it landed right into my hands.

  “We won!”

  “Good job guys!”

  I looked at Yamaguchi. He did it on purpose. “Don’t get the wrong idea Hikari. It’d be bad if you caught it with your girly face.”

  “Yamaguchi…you reall
y ….”

  “Don’t call me Yamaguchi idiot. It’s weird. Call me Shun like when we were kids.” We’re making progress really quickly. Wasn’t he trying to beat me up a few days ago?

  “Okay, Shun.”

  He walked away all embarrassed.

  “I don’t think I like your new hairstyle. People will start falling for you left and right.” Will pouted as he watched Shun walk away.

  “What are you saying? Shun’s been in love with Emi for years.” I laughed. “You’re usually so calm but you get jealous too.”

  “Sorry…” he pouted. His face was flushed. I wanna hug him and squeeze him so much. Gahhh. Why can’t we be alone?

  We changed back into our uniforms. “It’s sunny again!” someone shouts. “Yes!”

  The clouds outside were breaking fast. It was like it hadn’t rained at all.

  “Yamamoto sensei is sick, so the next period is study hall.”

  We finally have an opportunity. I look at Will.

  “Hikari, come to the roof with me.”

  “Okay,” I said trying to keep my voice from shaking.

  When we got to the roof, there were still some pools of water gathered. “I-I made some extra food for you if you want it. I didn’t have a chance to give it to you at lunch.” He looked at me, but I couldn’t look at him in the eye. My hands were the color of cherries. He gently held them in his hand.

  “I like you Hikari.” He repeated.

  “I-like you too,” I mumbled. He lifted my face and lightly pressed his lips on to mine. His breath was sweet. He kissed me tenderly at first and them firmly. One hand cupped my face and the other slid down by back and made it tingle. He pressed his forehead against mine and smiled.

  “Sorry…if I suck. It’s my first time.”

  He placed his head on my shoulder. “Don’t say such cute things all of a sudden.” He hugged me. “I’ll make sure you get plenty of practice.

  “Stupid. Don’t say that.”

  “You didn’t call me a dumbass. Someone’s losing their edge.” He chuckled. I couldn’t respond.

  We sat down on a dry spot. “Now what?”