CHAPTER 8

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“Grandpa!”

Akihito ran to the stooping figure watering the little peach trees in the garden, his face full of excitement. His grandpa turned around and ruffled his thick mop of hair.

“Where have you been?”

“I was helping Sato-san make the dragon’s boat.”

The old man’s face clouded over for a moment, but he managed to ( Read more... )

It was late afternoon when his plane landed at Narita. Akihito’s stretched the kinks out of his limbs, his face breaking into a smile.

It was good to be home.

Even though he had been away just three weeks and had gone willingly unlike last time... Still, nothing beat being home again. He planned to have a long, hot shower, then go to his ( Read more... )

Akihito’s alarm clock went off at nine. Groaning, he managed to disarm it without opening his eyes and tried to go back to sleep with a pillow over his head. It’s Sunday morning, after all, and after such a long and eventful night, he deserved a few more hours of rest... But 10 minutes later his bladder woke him again, and after the bathroom trip ( Read more... )

“Look, Akihito,” said Ryu-san cheerfully. “Your favorite foods!”

Akihito turned his face toward the table, which was heaping with his favorite dishes. Though he didn't feel at all hungry, he sat down in his usual place and let his friend feed him because he knew that was what he wanted. But after a few bites he stopped chewing and Ryu-san put ( Read more... )

“Hello Gorgeous, are you here alone?”

Akihito turned around and what he saw made his eyebrows go up in surprise. Despite his fluent Japanese, the man who had greeted him was a foreigner in clothes that belonged in a Hollywood costume drama  - velvet jacket cut close to the body over frilly fronted shirt that reminded him of the one Jun had worn ( Read more... )

The sound of agitated voices from the direction of Eriko’s bedroom made Akihito look up from the sinkfull of dirty dishes in front of him. A few seconds later a girl in Goth-style leather jacket, whom he recognized as Eriko’s makeup artist, appeared at the kitchen door, her hands fluttering wildly.

“Er...Mr. Dishwasher? Eriko-san’s feeling ( Read more... )

“Hey dude!”

Takoto took one look at the photographer’s flushed face and beckoned him in.

“You got the invite.”

“Yeah, finally.”

Akihito flashed the cream-colored envelope at his friend, then stuffed it back in his jacket pocket with a sigh.

“I still can’t believe it, but the guy tried to back out at the last minute, saying ( Read more... )

“Hey Akihito!”

The young man in ripped jeans and tee waved back at his friends and hurried to join them at their table. Putting down his camera bag, he plopped his lean, supple frame down on the empty seat next to his friend Takato and let out a huge sigh.

”Sorry I’m late again. Had to clean up after last night’s party.”

“Party? You ( Read more... )

CHAPTER 6

“Aki-chan....Aki-chan! Aki-chan where are you?”

The familiar voice calling his name made Akihito look up from the box of toys Ryu-san had just given him.

“Aki-chan! Aki-chan...where are you?”

He dropped his new favorite wooden toy on the floor and ran out in the direction of the voice, certain that his grandmother had come for ( Read more... )

The sound of twigs snapping told Akihito that whatever it was that had been stalking him was coming close, and there was more than one of them. Sobbing, he heard low growls and snorts as the menacing presence rushed toward him.

“Ryu-san help!!!”

All of a sudden the forest exploded into light as something swooped down from the air in a ( Read more... )