Chapter Three: Disorder House:

Hours later, someone shook me awake. I slowly opened my eyes and looked over to my right. Akemi stared at me smiling.

�Oh good morning, Sunshine,� she said. �Finally to decide to join the world of the living?� I blinked at her.

�How long was I asleep?� I asked.

�Since we left Tokyo,� she said. I looked around confused.

�Where are we?� I asked.

�Hiroshima,� she replied. My face just dropped.

�Huh?� I asked.

�We are in Hiroshima,� Akemi repeated.

�Why?� I asked. My sister frowned at me.

�I live here,� she said. I looked out the windshield and realized where we had parked. It looked to be a large, vine-covered townhouse. The building itself looked out of place.

�And we�re in Hiroshima?� I asked.

�Yes,� Akemi said, nodding. I sat there trying to piece it altogether. We drove for about eleven hours from Tokyo to Hiroshima and I was out sleeping that long? I shook my head to myself. Akemi slapped me on the shoulder.

�Come on,� she said. �Get out. I want you to meet my friends.� She jumped out of the car as I rubbed my shoulder.

�Ow,� I mumbled to myself.

�Get moving, boy!� Akemi shouted at me.

�Okay, okay,� I grumbled. I pulled my backpack out of the back seat and stepped out of the car.

�Whoa, how long has this been here?� I asked as I looked up at the town house.

�Since after the war,� Akemi said. �Now come on already! I want to get this over with.�

�Okay, okay!� I said. �You don�t need to bite my head off.�

�Get moving!� she shouted. I raced up the stairs to meet up with her on the porch. Akemi shook her head and turned to the door.

�Hey!� she shouted as she pounded on the heavy wood. �Ayano! It�s me! Let me in!� I covered my ears over the pounding and shouting. Akemi only stopped when the door opened a crack. A bright red eye peeked out at us.

�You have a key, you know?� the owner asked. Akemi shrugged at him.

�Just let us in,� she said.

�I�ll let you in, but I�m not letting in another one of your boyfriends,� the owner of the eye said.

�He�s not my boyfriend!� my sister said back. �He�s my younger brother. Remember, I told you all about the nerdy boy.� A sweat drop formed on my head.

Nerdy� boy?

The door opened up wide. A man with long pink hair stared at us. Akemi gave him a small wave.

�Yo,� she said. The man turned his eyes on him.

�So this is the brother?� he asked.

�Yes,� I said. �I�m Akemi�s younger brother.� The three of us didn�t speak at first. The man broke into a huge smile.

�Well, hello!� he said. �Come on in!� I blinked at him. What�s with all the pleasantries all of a sudden?

�Thank you!� Akemi said aloud.

�Next time, use your key,� the man said. I followed after my sister. The man closed the door behind us. My face dropped when I first saw the living room. I felt like I had walked into a J-horror film. Dirty clothes littered the floor. Old newspapers were plastered on the wall along with magazine cut outs and well-skilled drawings. A pile of beer cans sat over in the corner. There was even leftover food on the coffee table. I cringed at the very sight. Two other men looked up at me from the couch and their desks.

�I�m home,� Akemi said. The men gave her a sharp wave.

�Yo,� a black man said at his desk.

�Welcome back,� a blonde-haired guy said on the couch with a bowl of cereal in his hand. Akemi looked around for a moment.

�Where are the girls and Isaac?� she asked.

�Well, Isaac�s out with his girlfriend again,� the pink haired man said behind us. �Yumi went to visit her mother. I don�t know where Sakura-hime and Romi went. Miki is in Kyoto until Sunday.� Akemi nodded as she took in this information.

�You don�t say,� she said.

�But I do,� the pink-haired man said. The cereal guy looked at me with a perplexed expression on his face.

�Who�s this dorky kid?� he asked. I felt myself getting stomped on again. Again with the dork stuff? Akemi put her arm around my shoulders.

�This kid is my baby brother, Kichiro,� she bragged. I gave them a little wave.

�Hi�� I mumbled. The black guy at the desk looked at me intently.

�Well, I�ll be damned!� he said. �It�s the baby boy in the flesh!� I looked at him with big, blank eyes. Baby boy? What�s with all of the nicknames? Akemi patted my shoulder.

�Just graduated from high school!� she bragged.

�Nice!� cereal guy said.

�Kichiro,� my sister went on. �These are a few of my friends. The charming gentleman at the desk is named Cassius.

�Hey,� the black man replied.

�The funny man on the couch is Yusuke,� Akemi said.

��Sup?� the blonde man said. My sister turned me to the pink-haired guy.

�And this charming man here is called Sunao,� she said. He smiled and bowed at me.

�Nice to meet you,� he said. Sunao looked over at my sister.

�Don�t think the ass-kissing makes up for you pounding on the door, yelling moments ago,� he said.

�Look, my bad, okay?� Akemi said. �Can you please let it go?�

�Nope,� her roommate said.

�Pardon me,� Yusuke cut in. �But what is exactly is your brother doing here, if you don�t mind me asking?� Akemi turned her attention back to the blonde cereal man.

�Kichiro�s friend committed suicide,� she explained. �So, I risked him out of that boring Tokyo hell to hang out with us for a while.� I made a face as she said that. The hell? I didn�t decide this. You snuck back home at insane hours in the morning and basically kidnapped me! Don�t make up lies! Cassius rose to his feet from the desk.

�We have a spare room that he can use for the time being,� he said. Akemi pushed me forward.

�He�s all yours, man,� she said. I looked back and forth between them many times. Akemi? What are you doing?!? Cassius gave me a huge grin.

�Don�t worry, I won�t bite,� he cooed. That did little to make anything better. He grabbed onto my arm before I had a chance to protest and led me down the hall, up the stairs.

�So when are Isaac and them getting back?� I heard Akemi ask from behind.

�Soon,� Sunao replied. �They come dragging in once they get hungry.�

�I see,� she said. �And what�s Miki doing in Kyoto again?� Sunao groaned aloud.

�A photography exhibit, remember?� he asked. �She�s the main attraction.�

�Oh yes,� my sister replied. �You know I can�t keep up with these things when were drinking!�

�Which is why you need to cut back, love,� he said.

�Don�t be such a killjoy,� Akemi brushed off.

�I�m only trying to look out for you,� Sunao argued. That was all that I heard when Cassius opened the bedroom door. Oh lord! What has my sister dragged me into? I want to go home.