Mina's POV
It's been a whole month since I found out that Sora is going to Harvard. And today, he's graduating high school.
I sat in the auditorium as I watched people being called up to receive their diploma. Just thinking about Sora leaving for the United States makes me wanna cry myself to sleep.
Right now, Headmaster Ebisu is calling out the names of the students who's last names start with "T". That just means that Sora's name is coming soon.
"Sakura Tachibana. This young lady is going to Japan University to become an elementary teacher!" Headmaster Ebisu announced into the microphone.
A petite girl with long, light pink hair came strolling up the steps with a bright smile on her face. She shook the hands of her teachers and the administrators and turned to the microphone.
"Hello! Thank you all for a great year, have an awesome summer guys!" Sakura said cheerily.
'Typical. Is anyone going to have a unique speech or what?' I wondered. I was honestly beginning to fall asleep from boredom.
"Next, our foreign exchange student from America, Amelia Turner! She will also be going to Japan University, but to study in business," Headmaster announced as a tall American girl with short, brunette hair came up the steps.
Amelia looked shy, and as she came up to the microphone, she only muttered a small, "Thank you," and walked away.
"Now, we have Siman Ung, another foreign exchange student from China! He's moving back to China to get his degree in computer programming."
A short Chinese kid came hopping up the stairs with a bright smile on his face.
"Hello and thank you!! IM COMING FOR YOU, TARYN-CHAN!!" Siman suddenly shouted into the microphone.
'Uhh... What? Is this "Taryn-chan" his girlfriend back home or something?' I thought. 'Well, I suppose this is unique...'
"Now, for the one you've all be waiting for. Well, some of you anyways... our valedictorian, Sora Usui!" Headmaster backed away from the podium and started off the clap, along with Cana-chan and I. Soon enough, claps boomed through the auditorium. "Sora will be attending Harvard in the United States to receive his bachelor's degree in law!"
Cheering yet again spread through the room wildly. I watched a tall, brown haired boy walk up the steps with a huge smile on his face.
"Hey guys," my boyfriend began before the cheering started up again, "umm... So I guess I'd like to thank my girlfriend, Mina, and all of my friends for always helping me out. And, I'm sorry that I have to leave Japan for four years. I love you." Sora walked down the steps on the other side of the stage and exited the building with his diploma in his hand.
My heart nearly stopped at those last few words he said. It never occurred to me that he'd be gone for four years. I had always thought that Sora would only be gone for a school year and come back for summer break.
'But I guess that would cost too much, huh?' I felt tears sting my eyes so I stood up and went outside. I stopped by my locker and got out my sketchbook. It's an old thing; many pages have fallen put, the spine is coming off and peeling. The pages have even turned slightly yellow. But, there are still many pages left to fill it up.
I took the sketchbook and pencils with me up to the roof. Since it's about 6 o'clock, the sun is starting to set. I lay down and just stared at the sunset beginning to form.
I just sat there on the rooftop for almost and hour when I decided to finally get up and walk to the park across from me and Sora's apartment building.
I sat down on the freshly cut, dark green grass and gazed at the stunning sunset. The sky was streaked with pinks, purples, light oranges, yellows, and blues at the top. The bench and enormous tree that were a little ways in front of me were just silhouettes.
I opened my worn out sketchbook and began to draw the breathtaking scenery.
So I drew this a while ago in my sketchbook for art class. Do you like it...? And trees are actually a lot easier to draw than I expected. xD Also, I'm sorry about the lines. I glued a paper down on the other side so yeah...
When I finished coloring the artwork, it was already dark outside. The only light was from the full moon and the street lamp that I was sitting near. I closed my eyes and laid down on the soft grass. I took in the crisp, evening air and started to nod off.
Just as I began to fall asleep, I felt someone place a jacket over my bare, chilly arms. A second later, they picked me up and started walking. I felt sparks wherever the person touched me and I knew it could only be one person. Sora.
I was about to open my eyes, but then I realized that he would probably set me down since he would know that I'm awake. Just thinking about Sora makes me wanna cry. I tried my best to hold back my tears, but I was only mostly successful.
"I know you're awake, Mina," Sora suddenly stated.
"Darnit... I was hoping for a free ride, too..." I groaned in response as a stray tear began to streak down my cheek.
Sora wiped it away and he started climbing the staircase.
"Aren't you gonna put me down, Sora?" I asked him in confusion.
He smiled and said, "Didn't you say that you wanted a free ride?"
I kept quiet and let him carry me up the seemingly endless stairs.
Aiko's POV (Mina's little sister)
I winced in pain as I felt the sudden sting on my cheek. I looked up at the one who slapped me. He was almost just a silhouette in the dark night and the full moon rising far above him.
"Stop it!" Isamu, my brother, shouted at the man towering over me.
"Is someone there? Oh, I didn't see you there. Skinny-ass weaklings like you are always so short, they're so hard to see!" the man responded as he turned his attention to Isamu-chan.
"You little bastard... Take your filthy hands off my sister!" my brother yelled at the man.
"Tch. And what's a little weakling like you gonna do about it?" the man asked with smirk that was almost shouted by the darkness.
He took his freehand and and squished my cheeks together to make my face look like a fish. I gritted my teeth and tried to break free from his grasp. But since his dominant arm was holding onto my waist, I couldn't free myself. His grip only got stronger the more I struggled.
"Oh come on little girl, I'm not gonna hurt you, just tell me where Sora and Mina are."
"Tch," I chuckled, "not gonna hurt me, huh? What do you call this slap, then?" I asked as I pointed to his stinging red hand print on my right cheek. The man claimed to be Sora's dad and slapped me when I refused to tell him where he or Mina are. "I'd say this is hurting me."
"Oh please, that was just a warning. I barely put any strength into that blow!" this 'Makoto' responded.
"I'd hope that's not your full strength. With a weak blow like that? An ant is stronger than that!" I reply with a soft laugh.
"Oh stop pretending to be a tough little bitch now, will ya?" Makoto said, gracing me the honor of another strong blow. It hurt like hell, but no way am I gonna let him know that!
"You call that a slap? That literally felt like a tiny butterfly landing softly on my face, dude," I lied with my best poker face on. I shook my head in faked disappointment. "Ehh, can't expect more from a man," I muttered under my breath.
"What was that now?"
I motioned with hand for him to come closer so I could 'whisper' in his ear. Luckily, he obeyed.
"I said, 'Ehh, can't expect more frOM A MAAAAN'!" I said, getting louder as I spoke quickly. Makoto jumped back in surprise and his grip loosened tremendously.
I leapt back against a wall in the alley that we were currently standing in.
"Why you little..." Makoto shouted as if he had headphones set to a dark heavy metal song and it was on full blast.
"Geez, no need to shout," I said calmly. I watched as he grit his teeth together and lunged at me. I glanced over to where Isamu-chan was standing and saw his anger boiling up inside of him.
I smirked and looked back at the man who was currently flying through the air at me. His empty hand stretched out and saw that he was aiming for my neck.
A second later, my neck was in his grasp as he held me in place. I watched with a bored expression as he put his clenched fist in the air.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Isamu-chan said once he grabbed Makoto's forearm as soon as it started to move in the direction of my nose.
I glanced at my brother and saw that he had a sharp shard of glass held up to the man's neck. My eyes widened with fear. I had never expected that.
I looked up into my brother's eyes to see a murderous and raged look.
"Isamu..." I whispered.
"Go, Aiko!"
I simply nodded and I ran towards our sister's apartment. I sprinted all the way home and repeatedly knocked on the door. I panted and tried to catch my breath as I waited for the door to open.
"What's wrong, Aiko?" Sora tried to get me to come inside, but I motioned for him to come with me.
"Just come with me and I'll explain on the way. We need to run though, Isamu-chan's in danger!" I rushed out the words and grabbed his hand to pull him along.
"Mina, I'm going out with Aiko-chan, but I'll be back soon!" Sora yelled into the apartment before he slammed the door shut behind him. Then, we began to sprint down the stair as fast as we could.
We were near the bottom of the stairs when we began to hear pounding steps above us every few seconds. The footsteps got louder and louder with every passing second. Sora and I reached the lobby and we both simultaneously turned around to see who was causing the ruckus above.
We waited about three seconds and the person came into view. Mina. With a metal bat in her hand.
"I'm coming too!" Mina insisted as she slid down the rail and landed beside us.
"Umm, sis?"
"Yeah, Aiko-chan?" Mina asked as she turned towards me.
"I can't let you come," I said simply.
"And why is that?" she asked in a stern tone and crossed her arms in front of her.
"Umm... B-because he's after you. I don't want you to get hurt, big sis!" I replied frantically.
"It's him, huh? Grr, that butt!" Mina said through gritted teeth and took off through the front door.
I watched as she ran out. I knew I couldn't stop her now. She's just too mad right now, not even Minorin could have stopped her.
"Who's she talking about?" I asked Sora as we followed Mina.
Sora stayed quiet for a few seconds, but finally answered, "My father."
"Wait what?? Why does your dad want to anything to do with my sister?" I asked confusedly.
I heard Sora take a deep breath and spoke. "Well, he's a man that needs to be in jail. When I was younger - before I moved here - he would hit me and my little sister if we did anything he didn't like. A few weeks ago, he happened to find me after school. He started to beat me up, I don't even know why exactly. Then Mina came along. She drop-kicked him in the face and he blacked out. Later that night, he came back and she fought him again. This time, she was the one being knocked out," he explained as we ran.
"Wow. So that's why Mina's so mad about your father being with Isamu-chan?"
"Exactly."
Mina's POV
I turned that last corner and saw them. Isamu and Makoto. I watched silently as Makoto punch Isamu and he flew a few feet away.
I clenched the metal bat and started walking fearlessly towards Makoto. More rage washed over me in an instant as he picked up my brother and began to speak to him. I couldn't hear anything because my rage was too intense. It blocked out any noise.
I was too busy cursing at Makoto inside of my head to bother listening to anything anyway.
"Set my brother down. Now," I said in an extremely stern and angry voice.
"Just who I was looking for. The high and mighty Mina Yamanaka. Or should I say Princess Mako."
"How many times do I have to fight you for you to stay away from me and my family?" I asked him.
"Since when were you married to my son, hmm?"
My cheeks turned red and Aiko asked in an alarmed voice, "Yeah, since when have you been married?"
"Wha? N-no! Umm... Sora's my boyfriend. My boyfriend is my friend. And my friends are my family is all," I explained quickly.
"Yeah, whatever. Anyways come with me, little princess, or else your precious little brother gets it," Makoto threatened as he picked my precious baby brother, Isamu, back up and pointed his gun to his temple.
I immediately tensed up. 'If I go with him, who's gonna be the heir to the throne? Isamu and Aiko aren't trained for it! What're my friends gonna do if I go with him? What's going to happen to me if I go with him? But I have no choice, if I don't go, Isamu is going to be killed. I can't let that happen!'
I dropped my metal bat on the concrete ground in the alley and started to slowly walk forward.
"No, Mina! You can't! Please, just let me die!" Isamu pleaded.
I shook my head in refusal, "I won't let you die. I can't let my precious little brother who means half of the world to me just die in front of me! I won't ever let that happen."
"Stop right there and set the gun down!" a voice from behind everyone shouted.
I looked up at Makoto to see him stunned in place.
"Drop the gun and the boy and put your hands up!" the voice demanded.
Makoto did as the female voice said just dropped the gun and Isamu in an instant. My brother was too weak to stand on his own and tumbled down as he almost passed out. Luckily, I swiftly lunged forward and caught his head with my leg before he got a concussion.
"You okay?" I whispered after I rested his head on my shoulder. He simply nodded.
I switched my attention from him to the voice from just seconds before. Even in the dark, I could see that it was a woman from her long hair in a bun. I guessed that she was a cop.
She lady cop started to walk forward cautiously with her gun aimed at Makoto.
"Cuff him," she spoke.
I was confused at first, but then I heard a man's voice say, "Yes, ma'am." The man came out from behind the corner and jogged towards us.
"Sir, you're arrested for threatening to kill and attempting a kidnap," the man cop spoke as he cuffed Makoto's hands behind his back. He started to lead him out of the alley. I guess they parked nearby?
"Hey, are you two alright?" Lady Cop asked Isamu and I. She had knelt down in front of us and put her gun back into her utility belt.
We both nodded, but I knew that Isamu was bluffing.
"I'm alright, but my brother isn't," I responded.
She smiled and asked, "Alright, may I please take a look at your wounds?"
He nodded and sat up. Lady Cop magically pulled out like this big high tech first aid kit from I don't even know where! Like, it just came outta nowhere.
I just stared in astonishment as she began to patch up my brother's wounds.
"Alright, as good as new!" the lady exclaimed once she finished.
"Thank you," I said to her as Isamu fell into my arms and passed out.
"It's pretty late, you guys should get home. Do you want a ride?"
"We probably should, thank you!" Sora spoke up from behind me.
"Of course, anything I can do to help," she responded and she led us to her police vehicle. I walked with Isamu on my back since he was fast asleep. Sora offered to take him off of my hands, but I refused. I just felt like he was my responsibility.
We reached her car which was just around the building and Sora sat in the passenger seat to give directions. Aiko, Isamu, and I sat in the back. Isamu was still asleep even though I might have accidentally bonked his head on the top of the door...
We made it home that night without any more problems. Aiko admitted that she secretly called the cops, and we were all assured that Makoto was put in jail.
Three months later
"I can't believe you're leaving, Sora..." I whined. Cana, Ms. Takeda, Sahara, and I were all at the airport to see Sora off. He's leaving for the states today. School at Harvard University starts in one week and he still has to get settled.
"Yeah, but I'll come home whenever I can, alright?" he responded with a small laugh.
"You better!" Sahara demanded as she tackled him with a bear hug.
"I will, I will! I'll visit every year!" Sora spoke as he hugged Sahara back.
Cana and Ms. Takeda hugged him next. They gave him a small going away present. Then they all looked at me expectantly.
What was I supposed to do? I didn't even think to get my own boyfriend a present! I walked forward anyway.
"I'm gonna miss you," I told him as tears rolled down my cheeks. I hugged him tightly and he did the same.
"I'll miss you too, Mina. I'll call, text, email, or video chat you once I get settled, okay? But that's only if my phone will take long distance calls and stuff."
A small chuckle came out and he wiped away my tears from my cheeks.
"Goodbye, Mina. I'll see you soon," Sora reassured me and gave me a kiss.
I could feel the comfortable sparks where he touched me. I would miss these sparks so much. Then, he pulled away and I already missed his touch.
"Bye everyone!" Sora almost shouted over his shoulder since the airport was actually pretty loud. I watched silently as he walked away without looking back.
I watched him board the plane. He was the only person I really noticed that was boarding the plane. He's the only one that mattered to me, so maybe that's why.
I even watched the plane take off and fly off in the distance. Deep down, I got this small feeling that Sora would never so much as text me. He would only visit maybe once or twice during his four year education at Harvard.
I suppressed those feelings because I had to feel happy for him. I needed to be happy that he's pursuing his dreams.
Finally, I turned around from the window to see everyone waiting for me. I figured that they had left already judging by how long I had stood there for.
"Ready to go?" I asked and faked a smile.
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I know, I know. It's a really crappy ending! But deal with it anyways. This is the last chapter! Well, besides the epilogue but yeah.
IM SO SO SO SORRY THAT I DIDN'T UPDATE SOONER I WAS JUST REALLY BUSY EVEN THOUGH ITS NOW SUMMER! I also kinda had a bit of writer's block...
I know, it's like a super early update. Yesterday, I got two new brackets for my back molars since they grew in recently. The stupid orthodontists can't learn to do things quickly and left the wire off of my braces for too long. Because of that, my teeth feel like they're dying. I slept for like three hours and now I'm writing this. Like, I literally cried because of the pain and that I couldn't sleep. Update: I somehow fell asleep for four hours and now this has been updated. I still had to take a pic of that sketchbook drawing so I couldn't update this quite yet.
I really don't understand how people can continue a football game with broken ribs or stand a gun shot wound. Like, I can barely handle this pain. T_T Maybe it's because I'm not used to feeling pain in my jaw?
~Sara
6/10/2016