Eli turns at the end of the hallway. You walk a little faster to catch up to him. He walks into the art room and approaches a boy with black hair and red highlights, painting on a canvas. Eli sits behind the guy and rests his head on the table. You assume the guy painting is Ren.
"I see your face is all beaten up again..." Ren says not taking his eyes off his painting.
"Mmm..." Eli groans, pulling his hoodie down to fully cover his face. You stand by the door, listening in on them.
"You know... It's probably best to just tell someone about what they are doing to you." Ren suggests while pouring more paint on to his palette.
"Go to who exactly?" Eli asks, lifting his head a bit to look at Ren.
"The police..." Ren mumbles.
"What's the police going to do? Even if I did go to them, I will only give them a bigger reason to beat me up." Eli sighs, shoving his face into his arm.
"Hi Yuki..." Ren says dabbing his paintbrush in water. "It's been a long time since you came to the art room..." He smiles and begins painting again. Eli lifts his head up and looks towards the doorway. You slowly walk into the art room. Eli squints his eyes at you and then sighs.
"Why did you follow me in here?" Eli asks.
"Who is Toman? And why are they beating you up?" You ask, fidgeting with your hoodie sleeve. Ren slowly looks at you and then at Eli.
"A gang..." Eli replies.
"Okay... and why are they beating you up?" Eli doesn't respond to your question. Ren chuckles and continues painting.
"Do you have a bad memory?" Ren asks you. You shrug. "A couple of months ago Eli accidently knocked over one of the Toman members bike... The bike had scratches on it and so they demanded two hundered thousand yen."
Holy shit... that's a lot of money... You thought.
"Yeah... and I can't even afford it, so they have been asking for money little by little." Eli concurred. You slowly nod, staring at the painting Ren is making. He's drawing trees and mountains. For the way he looks his paintings look so relaxing.
"So, they beat you up each time they ask for money?" You ask. Ren smiles and looks you in the eyes.
"Yeah... because he keeps running away or hiding." You look at Eli who's avoiding eye contact with you. "Your grandfather has taught you how to fight... right?" You nod. "You should take Eli to go meet your grandfather..." Ren says.
"You're saying that too?" Eli states listlessly.
"Eli... what's wrong with going to her grandfather's place and learning a little bit." Ren asks.
"..." Eli rests his head into his arms. Ren sighs and goes back to painting. You don't know why Eli is avoiding help but it's concerning.
"Eli..." You say, walking closer to him. He looks up at you. "Give it a try... at least..." You say. Eli's eyes dim and he looks down. "I can join you in your training if you don't want to be alone..." Eli's eyes lit up when you say that... which honestly surprised you.
"Really?" He asks. You nod and smile. He slightly smiles and nods his head. Ren chuckles quietly. "Why are you laughing..." Eli asks.
"Oh... No reason..." Ren replies. Ren looks at you and smiles and then looks towards the doorway and sighs. You lift an eyebrow and look towards the doorway to see Aimi and Hana standing by the door.
"SOOOOO YOU ARE GOING NOW?!?" Hana mocks Eli. Eli ignores her and puts his head back down.
"It really took talking to Ren for you to go..." Aimi says. Eli doesn't respond. Aimi sighs and looks at you. "I guess that means no karaoke tonight..." Aimi pouts and then smiles patting your head. You look at Eli and then back at Aimi.
"Next time." You say, smiling.
After school you wait outside for Eli. Even though you don't know what exactly is going on. You are starting to recall somethings about Yuki and her past life. Images of Yuki's mom slowly start appearing in your mind and faint memories with her are coming to light. Even though you aren't Yuki and haven't lived Yuki's life, you still remember her memories.
"Yuki." A voice calls out. You look up to see Eli smiling at you. He walks up to you and rests his hand on your shoulder. "How far does your grandfather live from here?"
"Not far..." You say pointing in the direction you're planning to walk in. You two start walking away from the school and towards your grandfather's house.
"Say... Yuki... Do you still go to practice with your grandfather?" Eli asks. You look towards Eli.
"Why do you ask?" You question.
"Well, lately you have been housing yourself at home. That or you're cramped in the corner in the school library studying." Eli says.
"What's wrong with that?" You ask. Eli sighs and scratches the back of his head.
"Well, I used to remember how you would always go to his house after school. We would all go and watch you train with him. Then your grandma would give us some tasty sweets and we would goof around while studying." Eli chuckles. You space out a bit. Memories rushing through your mind.
That's right... Yuki lost her mother not long ago. After she passed away, Yuki stopped going to visit her grandfather after school. You thought to yourself.
"After my mother passed away, I lost interest in visiting my grandpa." You say looking down as you walk.
"Why though?" He asks.
"I only practiced martial arts so I can protect my mother." Eli looks at you. You notice him looking but you choose to avoid eye contact with him.
"Your mother... How did she pass away?" He asks. That question makes your body shiver. Sudden sadness floods your mind.
"She died from brain damage." You quietly say. Memories of Yuki starts flooding your brain. Her mother's funeral day, the news about her mother's death, and being told of what caused her death. You remember how devastated Yuki's grandparents were. "She was beaten badly by her boyfriend. She had called my grandfather before she passed out. By the time the ambulance got to her she was already brain dead. They said something about swelling in the brain and a crack in her skull..." You lamented.
"Is that why you stopped practicing? Because you could no longer protect your mom?" The thought of that made your heart hurt. Your eyes start to fill up with tears and your throat starts to hurt. Eli notices and his eyes widen. "I'm sorry... I should of never said that... Actually, I should have never asked you any of this... that was-" Eli gets cut off by a guy.
"AYO... ELI" A group of guys walk up to the two of you. You furrow your eyebrows, and you clenched your fists.
"Who is that?" You ask. Eli sighs as the guy walks up to the both of you.
Are those the Toman guys... You thought to yourself.
"Kensuke..." Eli responds sluggishly.
"Who?" You look at him, puzzled to who that is.
"Is that your girl...?" Kensuke says.
"No... she's just a friend." Eli listlessly responds.
"Oh really... Nice to meet you..." Kensuke says holding his hand out. You look down at his hand, hesitant to shake it. "I'm Kensuke Mori... Eli's cousin." You look at Eli and then back at Kensuke. The guys behind him smile at you. You still didn't want to shake his hand.
"What do you want Kensuke?" Eli asks.
"Are you going to Aunt Anya's for dinner tonight?" Eli slowly shakes his head. "Why not?" Kensuke asks.
"Because... I'm just not going..." Eli grabs your hand and pulls you away.
"WOW! REALLY? JUST GOING TO LEAVE LIKE THAT? HEH... SO STUBBORN AND CARELESS... NO WONDER YOUR MOTHER LEFT YOU." Kensuke jeered. Eli stops walking and squeezes your hand. Then he turns around to face Kensuke.
"Why the hell-" Kensuke cuts Eli off.
"HAHA... DID SOMEONE BEAT YOU UP?" Kensuke snickers pointing at Eli's face. Eli grits his teeth and sighs.
"I have to go Kensuke... tell Aunt Anya I won't be there for dinner." Eli says, while pulling you away. After silently walking a bit, you look at Eli in concern.
"What did he mean by your mother left? When did that happen?" Eli doesn't respond to you. You quietly nod to yourself. Not long later you approach your grandparent's house.
"It's been a while since I've visited here." Eli says. "6 months now... right?" Eli looks at you, waiting for you to respond. You slowly nod and approach the front door. You grab the metal door knocker and slam it down a few times. Then you back away and wait for your grandfather to answer.
You and Eli stand outside the door for about 5 minutes before Eli spoke up.
"No one's home... You can stop knocking on the door." You stay quiet and grab the door knocker again, slamming it down a few times. Eli sighs and stands up from sitting down on the stairs.
"Here, hold my phone. I'll knock on it harder... " Eli says handing you his phone. You look at his phone and notice he was playing snake. You flip close his phone and put it in your hoodie pocket. Eli grabs the metal knocker and looks at you before slamming it. "See... Yuki... you have to slam it harder... that way even a deaf person could feel the vibrations." Eli states. Eli lifts the metal door knocker preparing to slam it down really hard, but before he slammed it someone opens the door. It's a woman. She looks familiar...
"Yuki... It's you..." The woman says. Then it clicks. It's your mom's little sister, Hikari... Hikari is 5 years older than you. Being the youngest sibling amongst your mother's siblings.
"Hi Hikari... do you know where grandpa is?" You ask. Hikari's eyes sadden when you ask that. She looks behind her and then back at you, giving you a sheepish smile.
"He's sitting on his chair in the living room. Do you want to come in?" You nod and walk in behind her. Eli follows behind you. Hikari leads you into the living room where your grandpa is leaning back in his chair, staring off into the distance. "Papa... Yuki came to see you." Hikari says. He slowly turns his head to look at you. His eyes look sad.
"Hi... my sweet little Yuki." He smiles. You smile back. Hikari turns to Eli and whispers to him to give you and your grandpa some space.
"Hi grandpa..." You quietly say.
"I thought you were never going to come back. I felt like you hated me... after you yelled at me... you were right though... I should have been-" You interrupted him before he finished his sentence.
"I'm sorry- I should have never yelled at you... It wasn't your fault. I would never hate you." You quietly say. Your grandpa stands up from the chair and hugs you.
"I should have came to visit you. I was being so stubborn... When your grandmother told me you were in the hospital after you tried taking your life... I had thought about your mother and cried. I didn't want to lose you. I felt like it was all my fault. I yelled at you and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry my little mochi... I should have been better." He sniffles as he squeezes your cheeks. Making them red. Your eyes fill with tears and he wipes them away. You hug him and he holds you tightly.
You stayed at your grandparents for a few hours before finally leaving. You and Eli ride the bus together since it's raining outside.
"I'm sorry Eli... for not asking my grandpa to teach you some martial arts." You quietly say to Eli. Eli smiles and looks at you.
"It's okay... You spending time with your grandfather was the better option... He really needed it... and so did you." He sighs and looks out the window. "I wish I knew you were suffering Yuki...I could have helped." He says, giving you a sincere look.
"Yeah... but those guys..."
"Yuki... It's okay... I really do appreciate you trying to help." He smiles, making you smile. The bus announces your stop, and you get up. Saying bye to Eli, you get off the bus. You walk into the bakery your grandmother owns, preparing to go upstairs and get ready for bed. Your grandmother is cleaning up and preparing to close shop.
"I heard you visited your grandfather..." She says to you, smiling and cleaning the tables.
"Yeah..." You say slowly walking to the back of the bakery.
"Thank you... Yuki... It meant a lot to him... and to me." You look at your grandmother and smile. You walk up to her and hug her.
"I love you..." You sniffle. Your grandmother hugs you tightly back. Then you feel vibration in your pocket. You back away from your grandmother, pulling away from her hug and you pull the phone from out your pocket. It's Eli's phone.
"Didn't your phone break? You got a new one?" Your grandmother questions. You shake your head and answer the phone call.
"Hello? Eli... I know you said you wouldn't come to Aunt Anya's but it's an emergency..." The person on the other end says.
"Sorry... Eli left his phone..." You respond.
"Oh... Well, when you see him, can you tell him to hurry and come home... It's about his dad." You nod and say okay. The phone call ends, and you put the phone back into your pocket.
"Grandma... do you have an umbrella I can borrow?" You ask. She nods and points towards the back of the bakery. You walk to the back, and you grab the umbrella by the staircase. You quickly walk to exit the bakery.
"When you get back, there's a bento box I left for you in the fridge in the back. If you heat it up, you can have it for dinner." You nod and smile as you leave the bakery. You open the umbrella, and you jog your way in Eli's direction to catch up to him.
You choose to take a shortcut through the park to catch up to him but as you jog through the park you see Eli kneeling on the ground coughing up blood. He's surrounded by guys. They must have beat him up... which can only mean one thing...
"Toman..." You whisper.