Chapter Two: Move:

I wandered down to the door in a tired haze.

�I�m coming, I�m coming,� I mumbled. I peeked out the little peep hole. Of course, being half-asleep and it being dark outside, I couldn�t see a thing.

�Who is it?� I asked.

�It�s me, baby bro!� a raspy woman�s voice said. It didn�t register to me at the time. I blinked at that statement.

�Who?� I asked.

�Me, Kichiro!� the voice whispered again. �Let me in!� I really looked confused now.

�Huh?� I asked.

�Just let me in!� the voice hissed. It took me a few seconds to start moving. I fumbled with the door knob as I tried to unlock it. Opening the door led to another shock from the past right in front of me. A woman about twenty-nine dressed in visual-kei style stood before me. My eyes widened as I stepped backwards.

�Nee-san?� I asked. The woman nodded at me.

�Yes!� she said. I blinked at her with a puzzled look on my face.

�What are you doing here?� I whispered.

�Never mind that now,� she said back. �Just let me in!�

�Can�t,� I said. Nee-san raised an eyebrow at me.

�Why not?� she asked. I threw up my hands at her.

�You�re already in, aren�t you?� I asked. My sister looked around.

�So, I am,� she said. I sighed and hung my head. What was all of this? My sister�s name was Akemi. I hadn�t seen her since I was six years old. She ran away from home when she was fourteen years old. My family and I hadn�t heard much from her in years. She didn�t even come to the funerals of our parents. I gave her a bottle of green tea as she sat at my kitchen table.

�What are you doing here?� I asked. Akemi glanced up at me with that twisted smile on her face.

�I was bored,� she said. I gave her a dumb look on my face.

�How did you find me?� I asked. �I didn�t give out my address to that many people.�

�I tracked you down through your school,� Akemi said. My face dropped as she took a sip of her tea.

�You�re kidding!� I mumbled.

�Nope,� she replied. �Gah! This tea is crap. This all you have?� I frowned and puffed up my cheeks at her.

�Well excuse me for being a broke high graduate!� I hissed. �Anyway, what are you doing here really? Is it money? Are you here to get money? If so, I�m not giving you a single yen. You can just get a proper job for that!� Akemi took another sip before she shook her head and sat back.

�I�m taking you away with me,� she said. I gave her a long, blank stare.

�Huh?� I asked. My sister turned around to me with a dull look on her face.

�I�m taking you away with me,� she repeated. I slowly shook my head at her.

�Why?� I asked. She set the bottle down on the table.

�Come on, man!� Nee-san said. �What can be so great in this shitty town that you would want to stay here?�

�I have to study for the entrance exam to get into Tokyo University,� I reasoned with her. Akemi made a razzie noise as she rolled her eyes.

�Pul-leeze!� she said aloud. �What�s so great about college? It�s pointless, anyway!� I puffed up my cheeks.

�Says the woman who had to pass high school equivalency test to keep from coming home,� I muttered. Akemi frowned at me.

�Anyway,� she brushed off. �You�re coming with me, right now!� I turned to her with big eyes.

�No!� I said. �What?!?�

�We�re leaving right now,� she said. �Get going!�

�But� I don�t even have my things packed up!� I complained.

�So what?� Akemi asked. �Just get some clothes, a couple personal things, a little money, and toothbrush. You know what, screw the toothbrush. I can just buy you a new one at the 7-Eleven.� I stood there, still lost. I expected her to come here begging me for money. She caught me off-guard with all of this. Akemi clapped her hands at me.

�Move it!� she barked. �Get going!� She stomped her foot in emphasis on her words. I took off running to my room as if on cue.

�I�ll be waiting in the car!� I heard her yell. �Don�t pack too much junk!� I ran to my room and closed the door. What the hell? Why is she doing this and where are we going to go? I sighed aloud. Something told me she wasn�t going to let up on this. I looked around my room to see what I could take. I better make this quick. I walked over to my closet and pulled out my black backpack. I paused for a long moment as I stared at it. Damn, I haven�t seen this thing since junior high. I used this backpack when I first met Hitomi-chan in kindergarten. She said it was so cool. Hitomi-chan�

I shook my head of any empty sorrow. Right, Akemi is waiting for me. I better finish up here. In a minute, I stuffed in seven t-shirts, three pairs of jeans, my glasses case, my notes and study book for the entrance exam, laptop, my wallet, a picture of mom and dad, and my other pajamas. I was looking around for something to wear when spotted Hitomi�s diary and box of tapes. That feeling of empty sadness crept up in my throat again. Somehow, I could leave them behind. Something told me to take them to find out about why Hitomi died. The more I stared at them, the more the sadness twisted up in knots inside me. I forced myself to swallow hard. In the end, they, along with my walkman and earphones, went into my backpack.

Once, I got dressed, I began to follow through with shutting things off. I went from room to room unplugging and turning off everything. The first thing to be unplugged was my alarm clock. I went from my room, to the bathroom, the kitchen, and finally to the living room. Once I made certain I packed up what I needed and turned everything off, I made it outside to the parking lot where Akemi was waiting in her car for me. I quietly climbed in. She narrowed her eyes at me as she frowned.

�Took you long enough,� she muttered. I shrugged at her.

�Hey, I don�t want to waste energy while I�m gone,� I said. Akemi rolled her eyes at me.

�Whatever,� she mumbled. I looked her straight in the eye.

�So, where are we going?� I asked. Akemi�s face didn�t change.

�Does it matter?� she asked. My sister started up the car before I had a chance to speak. I looked down at my hands in my lap. I doubt that I had much of a say by this point.