Sugar and Pepper (22)
TWENTY-ONE
* TWENTY-TWO *
01.
Jun pushed through the crowd. Preoccupied with the fireworks overhead, the people did not notice and did not budge from his path. Once he broke through onto a bare patch of unfettered ground, he ran. He searched for both Kazunari and Satoshi among the hundreds of onlookers. His lungs burned and he felt exhausted, but even when his chest heaved, he did not stop. They were here somewhere. He couldn't afford to miss them.
Then his phone rang with a message from Satoshi. Inhaling in much needed air, Jun wiped the sweat from his brow and opened the email: [ I found Nino. We're going home. ] Jun stood in place, sweating, gasping, and head bowed to read the words on the screen of his phone.
He stood surrounded by a great number of people, and yet Jun was alone.
Another set of fireworks showered the night sky.
02.
"Jun-sama!" Miyuki screamed over the heads of the crowd. A few turned and stared at her as if she was crazy. She ignored the attention and called for Jun over the noise of the festivities. Her friends caught up to her and looked around in vain.
"Maybe he left," the president of her club said nonchalantly as he walked up to them followed by a group of their club members. He played with a keychain in his hand.
"We don't know. We can't just leave him!" Miyuki turned and shouted at him.
Her friend touched her arm in sympathy. "He looked worried when he left. Maybe he was in a hurry and forgot to tell us."
Miyuki's brows came together as she strained not to cry. She clenched her lips together. As her president threw the keychain he was playing with into the air and caught it, her eyes latched onto the item. She remembered the miniature paintbrush on a chain.
"Did you buy one, too?" she asked and sniffed. She pointed to the item in his hand.
"Huh?" Her president looked at her then the keychain he held. "No. Your friend, Matsumoto, dropped it."
In one sudden motion, Miyuki dived at him and her president dodged just in time to avoid a collision. She went for his hand and he allowed her to snatch the keychain away.
"What are you doing!?" he screeched, rubbing his hand as if she had burned him. The other gathered members of their culinary club surrounded him.
"Aiba-chan, are you hurt?" they cried even if his hand was uninjured.
A few said, "You're going too far, Ooshima."
"I'll be returning this to Jun-sama," Miyuki huffed and a lively gleam returned to her eye. She possessively examined the keychain Jun had dropped. She ignored the amazed expressions of her club mates and happily allowed the matter of Jun's sudden departure to finally drop.
03.
Their parents were also enjoying an evening out watching fireworks.
When Jun returned, he expected the house to be empty. He didn't expect Satoshi to already be fast asleep on his futon. He had predicted that Satoshi had walked Kazunari home and possibly stayed over for a late night.
In the quiet gloom, Jun stood just inside their bedroom doorway and stared down at Satoshi's peaceful form. The loneliness he felt while walking home slowly ebbed away.
He changed into his pajamas and then, without thinking too much about what he was doing and why, he squeezed into the futon next to Satoshi. His older brother's warmth eased into him. Jun relaxed. He chose to forget about everything that had happened that evening.
He fell comfortably asleep, lulled into peace by his brother's presence beside him.
04.
Late in the morning, Jun woke to the pure scent of a summer breeze blowing through the open window. The room was swathed in sunlight. He glanced down at his side and saw that where Satoshi had been was empty. Without washing, Jun made his way downstairs.
He saw his mother and father lounging in the family room. Satoshi was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, Jun-kun!" Mrs. Matsumoto said as soon as she caught sight of him by the stairs. "There's left-overs from this morning. I can warm it up for you."
"Where's Satoshi?" Jun asked.
"He left after breakfast. He said he was going to a friend's. Did you want your breakfast?"
Without answering her, Jun skipped upstairs again.
05.
The chat box on his screen flickered and Jun opened the window to find a message from his friend.
[ competing with the guys @ the batting center. U? ]
Jun's hand hovered over the keyboard and he hesitated to answer. No, he didn't want to go. He wanted to sulk and rage over Satoshi leaving him at home.
But he also did not want to be caught waiting like a love-sick puppy. He wanted the hole digging deeper into his chest to heal. He needed, somehow, to get away before he went crazy.
[ now? ] he typed in slowly.
[ meeting up now ]
He decided. [ b there in 10 ] he replied and turned off his desktop.
06.
They gathered outside the batting cages to run over the rules.
"Best two out of three. Whoever hits the most, wins."
"What's the reward?" one of the guys asked.
Jun's friend laughed. "Sai's stash of AVs."
Sai jumped in. "No fair!"
Jun stood back and coolly watched his friends argue and negotiate the prize. When none of them seemed capable of reaching an agreement, he stepped in.
"How about we scrap the prize? The losers get punished and the winner doesn't."
"Punishment game?"
"Losers," Jun started, "have to kiss a boy and take a picture as proof."
Silence ensued, broken only by the batters in the other cages. Jun's friends stared at him as if not quite sure he was serious or joking. Jun, after all, was not the type throw in such a dangerous challenge.
And then one of them erupted into laughter. "You're a genius!"
As one, they all came back to life. "Fuck, I'm not going to lose!"
* *
TWENTY-THREE
* TWENTY-TWO *
01.
Jun pushed through the crowd. Preoccupied with the fireworks overhead, the people did not notice and did not budge from his path. Once he broke through onto a bare patch of unfettered ground, he ran. He searched for both Kazunari and Satoshi among the hundreds of onlookers. His lungs burned and he felt exhausted, but even when his chest heaved, he did not stop. They were here somewhere. He couldn't afford to miss them.
Then his phone rang with a message from Satoshi. Inhaling in much needed air, Jun wiped the sweat from his brow and opened the email: [ I found Nino. We're going home. ] Jun stood in place, sweating, gasping, and head bowed to read the words on the screen of his phone.
He stood surrounded by a great number of people, and yet Jun was alone.
Another set of fireworks showered the night sky.
02.
"Jun-sama!" Miyuki screamed over the heads of the crowd. A few turned and stared at her as if she was crazy. She ignored the attention and called for Jun over the noise of the festivities. Her friends caught up to her and looked around in vain.
"Maybe he left," the president of her club said nonchalantly as he walked up to them followed by a group of their club members. He played with a keychain in his hand.
"We don't know. We can't just leave him!" Miyuki turned and shouted at him.
Her friend touched her arm in sympathy. "He looked worried when he left. Maybe he was in a hurry and forgot to tell us."
Miyuki's brows came together as she strained not to cry. She clenched her lips together. As her president threw the keychain he was playing with into the air and caught it, her eyes latched onto the item. She remembered the miniature paintbrush on a chain.
"Did you buy one, too?" she asked and sniffed. She pointed to the item in his hand.
"Huh?" Her president looked at her then the keychain he held. "No. Your friend, Matsumoto, dropped it."
In one sudden motion, Miyuki dived at him and her president dodged just in time to avoid a collision. She went for his hand and he allowed her to snatch the keychain away.
"What are you doing!?" he screeched, rubbing his hand as if she had burned him. The other gathered members of their culinary club surrounded him.
"Aiba-chan, are you hurt?" they cried even if his hand was uninjured.
A few said, "You're going too far, Ooshima."
"I'll be returning this to Jun-sama," Miyuki huffed and a lively gleam returned to her eye. She possessively examined the keychain Jun had dropped. She ignored the amazed expressions of her club mates and happily allowed the matter of Jun's sudden departure to finally drop.
03.
Their parents were also enjoying an evening out watching fireworks.
When Jun returned, he expected the house to be empty. He didn't expect Satoshi to already be fast asleep on his futon. He had predicted that Satoshi had walked Kazunari home and possibly stayed over for a late night.
In the quiet gloom, Jun stood just inside their bedroom doorway and stared down at Satoshi's peaceful form. The loneliness he felt while walking home slowly ebbed away.
He changed into his pajamas and then, without thinking too much about what he was doing and why, he squeezed into the futon next to Satoshi. His older brother's warmth eased into him. Jun relaxed. He chose to forget about everything that had happened that evening.
He fell comfortably asleep, lulled into peace by his brother's presence beside him.
04.
Late in the morning, Jun woke to the pure scent of a summer breeze blowing through the open window. The room was swathed in sunlight. He glanced down at his side and saw that where Satoshi had been was empty. Without washing, Jun made his way downstairs.
He saw his mother and father lounging in the family room. Satoshi was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, Jun-kun!" Mrs. Matsumoto said as soon as she caught sight of him by the stairs. "There's left-overs from this morning. I can warm it up for you."
"Where's Satoshi?" Jun asked.
"He left after breakfast. He said he was going to a friend's. Did you want your breakfast?"
Without answering her, Jun skipped upstairs again.
05.
The chat box on his screen flickered and Jun opened the window to find a message from his friend.
[ competing with the guys @ the batting center. U? ]
Jun's hand hovered over the keyboard and he hesitated to answer. No, he didn't want to go. He wanted to sulk and rage over Satoshi leaving him at home.
But he also did not want to be caught waiting like a love-sick puppy. He wanted the hole digging deeper into his chest to heal. He needed, somehow, to get away before he went crazy.
[ now? ] he typed in slowly.
[ meeting up now ]
He decided. [ b there in 10 ] he replied and turned off his desktop.
06.
They gathered outside the batting cages to run over the rules.
"Best two out of three. Whoever hits the most, wins."
"What's the reward?" one of the guys asked.
Jun's friend laughed. "Sai's stash of AVs."
Sai jumped in. "No fair!"
Jun stood back and coolly watched his friends argue and negotiate the prize. When none of them seemed capable of reaching an agreement, he stepped in.
"How about we scrap the prize? The losers get punished and the winner doesn't."
"Punishment game?"
"Losers," Jun started, "have to kiss a boy and take a picture as proof."
Silence ensued, broken only by the batters in the other cages. Jun's friends stared at him as if not quite sure he was serious or joking. Jun, after all, was not the type throw in such a dangerous challenge.
And then one of them erupted into laughter. "You're a genius!"
As one, they all came back to life. "Fuck, I'm not going to lose!"
* *
TWENTY-THREE