Liquid Memory                                                            One-shot
by rainflower
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I know it’s here somewhere...” 

A hand fumbled around the top shelf of a closet, shifting dust and exploring long
forgotten regions. But there was nothing to be felt except the fuzzy surface.
Suddenly the hand reached further back and came in contact with a square-shaped
something. Unfortunately, this was not the object sought after; but it was pulled
down anyway.

“What on earth is this?” 

Blue-green eyes were now examining the gray box. Sliding the rectangular lid off 
revealed photos, and many of them at that. The hand now flipped carefully through
them, while the eyes noted a very distinct similarity; the photographs were
arranged chronologically, older ones in the front, newer in the back and each had
the same two people in them. In the front they were toddlers, a little boy with
dark brown hair, and a girl with golden blonde. The last picture was of the same
two people, but now it was a woman in a timeless wedding dress, with her husband
beside her. Suddenly, the woman looking at the photos hopped up and again
explored the top shelf, only this time a little more to the left.

It took little time for her to pull down a pink box that looked much the same to
the previous one. Sliding this not-so-dusty lid off also revealed photographs,
and rosy lips smiled recognizing the two people that they were centered around. 
A hand picked up the first picture, and there was an obvious recollection of the
time that picture had been taken. The little girl had bright red hair that hadn’t
been brushed since she got out of bed, the same blue-green eyes, and wore a
simple pair of jean shorts and a yellow tank top. Beside this girl stood a boy
about the same age; he had black hair that also looked like it hadn’t been
brushed in ages, since it stuck out almost every direction imaginable. His shirt
matched his hair, and he wore a pair of well-worn jeans.

Slipping this back into place, she pulled out the last photograph in her box.
This varied drastically from the last photo in the previous box. Instead of a
just married couple, it was of her and this man, both full grown, sticking their
tongues out at each other in front of a church. A smile formed on the woman’s
lips, remembering that scene at her eldest sisters wedding. Still grinning, she
replaced the lids on both boxes and stuffed them back where they had been, then
exited the closet, apparently forgetting all about the hair spray she’d gone to
get in the first place.

  

Nonchalantly she flipped through a magazine while waiting for dinner. Every other
page was an ad, and it must’ve taken her a good three minutes to find the cover
story. But right when she read the first sentence, the microwave started beeping,
announcing that dinner was done. Just as she was removing the plastic film from
the top of her TV dinner, there were two knocks on the door, and then it burst
open.

  

After barging in, he launched into a full-bore sprint toward the couch. Just as
he was about to smash his shins painfully into the side, he leaped up, spun 180
degrees and landed on his back. Then, adjusting his head on the arm of the couch
a bit, and stretching his legs out past the opposite arm, he closed his eyes. A
woman then walked into the living room, carrying a TV dinner in one hand, a fork
and glass of water in the other. 

“You know, it would be awfully nice if you knocked, or at least said ‘Hi’.”

He didn’t move, but just answered, “Hey, I knocked, and I’ll say ‘Hi Kasumi’ if
it really makes you happy.”

Kasumi sat down in the armchair just across from the couch, placed her hands
contents on the coffee table and sat between the two. The man that was still
lounging on the couch suddenly popped up and sat down normally, dragging the food,
drink, and eating utensil over to his side.

“Great! Dinner!”

Kasumi shrugged then stood up and headed off towards the kitchen again, “Yeah,
just for you. I’ll go make my dinner now.”

  

Around two minutes later Kasumi entered the living room again, carrying her
dinner, a glass of water, and a fork just like before. She sat down in the
armchair again, took a bite, and then glanced over to the man that was again
lounging on the couch. The cardboard tray that once held ‘his’ dinner was now
completely empty. 

“Satoshi, those dinners say they are meant to cook in three minutes, not be eaten
in three!”

He opened one eye, glancing at her, and replied, “You know I’ve always been a
fast eater.”

Kasumi just sighed and continued eating her meal, pausing once to take off her
shoes. The man on the couch continued to lie there, looking quite content and
barely moving. Kasumi attempted to wake him with some conversation. 

“So, any interesting clients today? Or were they all just those ‘I don’t have any
money, but I’ll show you what I purchased from Victoria’s Secret’ kind of people?”

Satoshi sat up, grinned, and ran a hand through his thick black hair, “Luckily I
haven’t had any of those since last week! But you know I just refer them all to
Takeshi.” 

The red-haired woman grinned, knowing exactly who he meant, and took a quick sip
of water while he continued. 

“But actually there was something interesting, some farmer came in claiming that
his prize chickens were stolen, and some ‘axe murderer’ had taken them. I tracked
the guy down today and it resulted in a real ‘high speed’ car chase.”

Kasumi looked up, more attentive now, but Satoshi just laughed and reassured her,
“I’m just kidding! It was actually some senior citizen that I chased at around
25mph.”

She glared at him for this, but it quickly softened into a smile. “Don’t do that
to me! You could actually get into some real trouble, you know!”

Satoshi winked at her slyly then relaxed back in his usual form, while Kasumi
just shook her head, and continued eating.

  

Time for another search; Kasumi yawned while she walked into the closet again, a
towel wrapped around her head. The hand went up to the top shelf again, brushing
past the boxes this time. She took her hand down once to brush off the caked dust,
but it soon went back to searching. Her middle finger suddenly came in contact
with something partially hard and rubbery…? Standing on the tips of her toes she
managed to snatch whatever it was and yank it down, blinking quickly as the gray
fluff fell. Now why on earth had she kept her old pair of tennis shoes? The red
canvas was faded, and the laces stained off-white, but there was no mistaking her
shoes of many miles. They brought back memories just like the pictures; she
smiled remembering one time in particular:

  

She had been walking along, minding her own business, and was actually in the
midst of a pleasant daydream when a backpack was snatched from her shoulders. It
took longer than usual for her to react, and by that time the culprit was a good
six yards ahead. But she took off into a sprint nonetheless, knowing exactly whom
she was tailing: Satoshi.

It had probably been a good half mile run, when Satoshi abruptly stopped and held
the backpack high above his head, just tempting her to snatch it. And she tried;
only managing to grab his elbow and yank it down. But he quickly put the pack
into his other hand, giving her a smile. This obviously caused her anger to rise,
so with a running leap she grabbed onto his shoulders and hung on. Satoshi
stumbled at this, and continued to do so since his arms were still in the air and
he had an awkward weight to hold. It wasn’t much of a surprise when he fell down
backwards, right into a puddle of mud. Kasumi gasped and rolled off him into the
brown puddle, giving him a good, reprimanding slug in the shoulder. He responded
by yanking her hair down, giving the red strands a good coating of rich brown.


Kasumi slid her fingers over one of the shoelaces, reflecting on everywhere
they’d been. But when she tilted her head slightly, the towel dropped into her
eyes and reminded her of a pressing appointment; work. She quickly stuffed the
shoes under her bed, snatched up and clasped her fine gold I.D. bracelet to her
wrist, and rushed to the bathroom.

  

A small finger twirled around, barely penetrating the surface of the water. The
eyes that stared forlornly into the empty fishbowl stood out against the girl’s
red, puffy face. There was a slight sound as a boy approached, peering into the
empty bowl, then to the girl.

“Don’t cry Kasumi, there’s many more fish in the sea.”

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory. 

  

“Kasumi! You look awful!” Friend and co-worker Furura commented as Kasumi sat
down at her desk.

“Tell me about it. Satoshi kept me up late watching a movie.” She yawned briefly,
and then started sorting through the many memos stuck conveniently to her desk.
Furura shook her head, “Does he ever not? And why on earth does he always come
over?”

Kasumi took awhile to answer, “I really don’t know. And there has been a couple
days that he hasn’t come over, but those are few and far between.”

“Well, do you want him there?” 

She sighed, pondering, and then finally answered, “Satoshi is a good friend, but
I really don’t enjoy seeing him every day, so no. Not really.”

“Then ask him why he comes over so much, and ask him not to. You really need to
Kasumi, cause you can’t continue like this!” Offered Furura, reprimanding
slightly with her eyes.

“Alright. I guess I will.” 

  

The hat didn’t do much good, for taming his hair that is. If anything the black
locks seemed to stick out more. But the huge grin on the boys face showed,
undoubtedly, that he didn’t care.

Moving in an overly joyous lilt he poked his head around, staring into blue green
eyes. “What do you think of my hat?”

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory.

  

There was a slight struggle to get in, juggling a small bag of groceries, the
mail, and her purse, whilst trying to turn the key. But eventually Kasumi managed
to enter her house without dropping anything. She quickly dropped both the
groceries and the mail then sunk down onto the sofa, looking completely exhausted.
There was a magazine on the coffee table, and she pondered reading it, but
eventually even just the thought of moving brought a headache, so she decided to
just lay there, sluggish. Eyelids closed, and she relaxed for the first time in
days, almost drifting asleep when there were two short knocks, and the door
handle rattled.

“Who is it?” Kasumi called, grinning at her own brilliant idea to lock the door.

“Who do you think? It’s Satoshi!” She giggled slightly, twisted the lock, and
almost immediately the door flew open, Satoshi running by and performing his
usual acrobatic stunt towards the couch. He then smiled back at her and said
“Hello Kasumi!” so gleefully you’d assume that everything was right with the
world. 

And in direct contrast with this, Kasumi asked, “Why do you come over here
every night for dinner, without even asking? For heaven’s sake, you’re a private
investigator! It’s not like you’re poor or anything!!”

Satoshi sat up, removed his black jacket, making himself look even more at home,
and replied casually, “I guess I like your cooking!”

She scowled at him, and raised an eyebrow forming a puzzled expression. “But, I
rarely ever cook.”

“Well, whatever you make, it’s good!”

Kasumi shook her head while walking into the kitchen and taking out two bowls.
She then shook some flakes into each.

Meanwhile, Satoshi was nonchalantly flipping through a magazine and reclining
perhaps a little too comfortably. But he quickly got up when Kasumi placed two
bowls on the coffee table, and actually waited until she came back with two
spoons and glasses of water. She immediately started eating, but Satoshi looked a
little puzzled. “No milk?” He also noted that her bowl seemed to be properly
wetted with the white liquid.

“I forgot to pick more up at the store today, so no.” 

This didn’t seem to faze him though, he picked up his glass of water and poured
it onto the cereal, flakes sopping it up and turning soggy almost instantly. He
then took a large bite and seemed to make a spectacle of the chewing process.
Kasumi stared almost awestruck, and appeared to gag once or twice. But this
attitude soon changed to one of disgust. “Do you take anything in your life
seriously?” She asked, tapping the rim of her bowl with the spoon.

Satoshi for once paused, and looked at her while pondering his answer. “Yes. I
take my job seriously…” Both hands went behind his head, and Kasumi instantly
remembered this as a sign of nervousness. She too became a little uneasy seeing
him this way, because this attitude was rare; he, for once, was serious.

It looked like he wanted to continue, but she interrupted him with a question of
concern, “Satoshi...did, did something happen at work?”

After some slight hesitation he finally put his hands back down to answer, “Well,
something did, but it’s not that important.” Kasumi gave him a stern reprimand
with her eyes; not only was he to continue, but tell the whole story. “Alright. I
got a threat from a former client, and not just one letter like the ones I
typically get, but around 40. I got phone calls too.” Satoshi paused, shifting
slightly on the couch. “He was a client quite a few years ago, wanting me to
track down someone, but in the process I found out that he himself was a criminal,
and had him prosecuted.” He sighed, “I suppose he was less than thrilled with me,
and now is vowing to ‘make me pay’.”

Kasumi didn’t hide her cringe and concerned expression; “I think you should take
this to some higher authorities. You don’t want to mess with people like this!!”

But he seemed to brush it off, taking another bite of the soggy mush before
answering, “I get these so often, and rarely does anything ever come of it. Don’t
worry Kasumi!” A quick drink of water washed down the flakes, “I will be fine.”

Satoshi didn’t lie. 

  

Her feet were planted firmly on the chair; problem is the chair wasn’t set firmly
on the table, and the table wasn’t very sturdy to begin with. Arms outstretched
at their fullest, the woman attempted to reach a forlorn knickknack, perched
lazily on the topmost shelf. But, try as she might, she still wasn’t quite able
to reach. Heels slowly lifted off the chair, leaving only the balls of her feet
to be connected to the ground in any way. The item almost in hand, things began
to shift, as balance suddenly fled from the obscure structure. With a slight gasp
the woman fell backward, cringing for the split seconds in which she awaited the
ground. But that didn’t come; instead, arms wrapped around her shoulders and
beneath her legs, while her ear heard a faint grunt. Smiling, she flicked the
worn hat off his head, dark hair springing upwards and out, before joining him in
laughter; what a spectacle it must’ve been.

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory. 

  

Shivering, Kasumi crawled into bed, pulling the excess of covers up to her nose.
A small lamp that sat on her nightstand dimly lighted the room, causing a halo of
light to form on the ceiling. You could tell she was tired, by the ‘off in the
distance’ look in her eyes, but she didn’t turn off the light and drift to sleep
just yet. Instead she chose to use this time to ponder, think, and just debate
with herself in general. Mainly, why was her life considered so perfect?

Sure, she had a successful job, a home, friends, and was still young, but was
this perfect? Everyone else complained about troubled love lives, money problems,
or difficulties finding decent babysitters, all the while telling Kasumi how
lucky she was. Well, she had her share of problems too! There was the occasional
leak in the kitchen sink, that dog of the neighbors that constantly yapped,
and…well, Satoshi.

What was Satoshi anyway; a friend, problem, acquaintance? He was just always
there, like a childhood pet that didn’t die. But he was human, and probably
considered equally as ‘lucky’ as her. Success didn’t matter though; it was the
fact that he didn’t act normal. Most friends call, or come over occasionally, but
he came day after day; invited or no. But then again he’d never really been the
‘normal’ one, pursuing odd jobs, and his talent of annoyance always getting in
the way. Eventually he harnessed this though, and managed to partially eliminate
it; except when he was around her.

She didn’t mind him in general, and his ‘unique’ personality didn’t seem to faze
her either. About the only way she could properly describe him was to say that he
was Satoshi, period. And when he wasn’t around her, he acted quite respectable;
Furura even threw herself at him once, exclaiming way too loudly that he was
‘Quite Cute’. That’s the thing; he was cute. Black hair, deep brown eyes, and a
well-toned body; anyone would go for him. So why didn’t he settle down? She had a
reason not to; her work was her life, and there wasn’t any room for dating.
Satoshi on the other hand controlled his schedule and could make time.

This seemed to puzzle her even more, and all the thinking was starting to make
her eyelids drop lower. Finally giving in, she flipped off the light and was
quickly engulfed by sleep.

  

A couple more words were apparent as lead ran across the paper. But this pencil
clattered beside it soon after. Red hair sprawled over the desk as she rested her
forehead against it, sighing.

“Take a break, Kasumi, you deserve it.” 

Two hands rested on her shoulders. 

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory. 

  

Satoshi knocked twice, and then twisted the handle to the door, flinging it open.
But instead of taking his usual sprint to the sofa, he paused. The whole
atmosphere of the house was eldritch, even the air seemed positively eerie. He
slowly walked in and shut the door, suddenly noticing a few small puddles of
blood on the floor. This sight caused him to reach for his gun, holding it ready
as he followed the path. Shimmering caught his eye a few feet away, and as he
neared, the broken links of a once gold chain grew apparent. The I.D. plate of
the bracelet was nestled in it’s own pool of blood, and the cursive engraving of
‘Kasumi’ was filled with the sticky substance, causing it to almost glow. After
prying his eyes from this foreboding sight, he allowed the drops of red liquid to
lead him to the kitchen, where he gasped, finding Kasumi.

Almost instantly the gun clattered to the floor as he rushed to her side. She sat
propped up against the cupboards, clutching her left arm and shaking because of
the loss of blood. There was a long gash from her shoulder down to her elbow, and
it still bled, causing her red hair to take on an even more apparent shade as it
hung down past her shoulders.

“Kasumi...what happened?” He brushed the tangled strands of hair from her face,
pressing his hand on top of hers and adding pressure to the wound. She winced at
this, meeting his eyes with her bloodshot ones.

“He said he was a friend of yours, so I let him in.” Her voice was shaky, “Then
he attacked me, saying ‘Tell Satoshi that it’s revenge’...all the time...”

His eyes narrowed, as it suddenly clicked, but he kept his strong and caring
composure, wrapping his free hand around her shoulders, “You’ll be fine, he
could’ve done much worse by the looks of it. Let’s just get you to a hospital.”

He carefully scooped her up, carrying her outside to his car. Through the car
ride, the hospital visit, and returning her home, an inferno of anger burned
inside for the known culprit; Shigeru.

  

A couple days later Kasumi was working and functioning at home in her normal
fashion. The only evidence of her ordeal was a bandage on her left arm, and the
fact that she used it less. Satoshi had been sleeping on the couch each night,
saying that he would until he caught Shigeru. With such a comparatively minor
wound inflicted, there was no doubt in his mind that he would attempt a second
and more severe attack.

  

Pulling a chair out, she sat down, placing a cup of tea on the table before her.
After taking a couple slow sips she sat up, eyebrows coming down in a concerned
expression.

“Smells like something’s burning…” 

The man across from her jumped up, toppling his own chair in the process of
dashing off towards the kitchen. After giving the oven a good spray with a nearby
fire extinguisher, he looked back, only to find a woman standing there, laughing
bubbles in her tea.

“Please tell me this is a normal part of the learning experience…” 

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory. 

  

Kasumi had retreated to her bedroom, leaving Satoshi to lounge on the couch. All
the lights were off, leaving it to be lit only slightly by the street lamps
outside and any moonlight that felt inclined to drift in. Silence was also
present, save Satoshi’s breathing and a gentle hum that came from the dishwasher
in the kitchen. But this soon changed as a gentle knock was heard on the door.
Black hair being brushed back anxiously, Satoshi yanked his Ruger 25 semi-
automatic from the coffee table, walking up to the door cautiously as the handle
rattled.

“Who is it?” He called, in an uncharacteristically low voice. 

There was a surprisingly quick answer, “It’s just me, Takeshi. You said you were
staying here at night so I thought I’d drop by.”

The gun was lowered and it seemed that all Satoshi’s muscles relaxed, now well
aware of who had come to call. He unlocked the door and opened it; in walked a
man significantly taller than him, sporting well-styled brown hair along with a
noticeable tan. After re-locking the door, Satoshi joined the new arrival on the
couch, sighing as he sat, and slouching his shoulders.

“You know, I just can’t believe how dense I’ve been; never realizing that she
could be in danger.” Satoshi drooped even lower, if that was possible.

“There was no way for you to predict it!” Takeshi offered a friendly slug on the
shoulder, “Cheer up, man!”

But he didn’t. In his same monotone state, he placed each elbow on a knee and
slouched forward. “Easy for you to say. You haven’t endangered your best friend
just by being around.”

“It’s not really your fault though.” Takeshi then started to chuckle, “We just
need enemies that aren’t so smart, ones that go for our throats,” His laughter
subsided, suddenly turning serious, “instead of the ones we love.”

Satoshi rested his head in his hands, raking through his black hair with slightly
shaky fingers. He stayed silent, nodding lightly in agreement, when there was a
sudden gasp followed by a gunshot, and the distinct sound of glass shattering.
The two men bounded up, and rushed towards Kasumi’s bedroom, the source of the
sounds, guns in hand.

The door slammed against the wall, being opened so quickly. Kasumi was lying on
the floor, shards of glass along her back and all around her body. Above her was
what remained of the window, which now resembled more of a gaping mouth, lined
with jagged and abstract teeth. One of the large canines suddenly dropped from
the top, hitting the windowsill and causing even more glass to rain down on the
carpet.

Both of them ran into the room, Takeshi stopping and kneeling beside the woman,
while Satoshi continued toward the window. Glass crunched under his shoes,
causing even the larger pieces to be broken up. He didn’t stop until he reached
the now open window, stretching both arms through the square jaw. He shot once,
twice, and then leaped through the window, ripping the shin of his black cargo
pants on one of the many teeth, drawing blood. After running about 40 yards he
caught up with the limping enemy.

Shigeru was dragging a twice-shot limb, but wasn’t succeeding in moving very fast
with this injury. His face felt the dampness of the grass as Satoshi tackled him
to the ground, roughly pulling each hand back and securing handcuffs around each
wrist.

“You should’ve known better to mess with me, let alone Kasumi!” Satoshi dug his
knee into the enemies’ back, while he attempted to grumble a response. What came
out sounded like, “I’ve got more guts than you...” But it was so muffled against
the grass you couldn’t make it out properly.

Satoshi didn’t give him much time to reply anyway, growling, “You know what? I
don’t want to hear it.” Before slamming his fist into the back of Shigeru’s head.
His body went limp as he was forced into unconsciousness.

  

His hair blended perfectly with her dress as he laid a head on her shoulder.
Every sob was undeniably apparent as his back heaved up and down jerkily.

“Cry Satoshi, she was an irreplaceable fish in the sea.” 

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory. 

  

He had black sweat-soaked hair, and a black tee shirt; his loose cargo pants were
also the exact same hue. A five-inch gash was apparent on his right shin, and was
still bleeding, although the flow was slowing. This time, the man moved carefully
through the window, crunching the glass on the other side when he stepped. His
head hung low along with his shoulders, giving the overall appearance of a
mortally bruised being.

“Satoshi...” A female voice called to him, as if from a long distance, when in
reality she was only standing a few feet away. His head moved up at the sound of
his name, and when he saw her, unharmed, looking as graceful as ever, his eyes
showed nothing but relief.

Takeshi then spoke up, answering the question that was obviously on Satoshi’s
lips, “She got down just in time. The bullet never even hit her.”

The solid blue nightgown that was draped over her form swayed while she walked
toward Satoshi, “Don’t look so surprised,” She attempted to lighten the moment,
“I know better than to stand there and get shot.”

Brown eyes never left her face as he took a couple steps to her, placing a hand
on her shoulder and whispering, “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

Glass crackled yet again under his shifting weight. 

  

Potatoes, carrots, and parsley bobbed up as the liquid they were steeped in was
stirred. A lid was then placed on the pot, allowing the contents to simmer while
waiting to be eaten. Kasumi then procured two bowls from an upper cupboard,
placing them carefully on the small table near the kitchen. After finishing the
setting with spoons, napkins and glasses, she sat down on the sofa, awaiting his
arrival.

It had been a full five days since that eventful night, and much had to be done
to get her life back to normal. But finally her window had been repaired, and the
glass had been cleaned up, along with a short hospital visit to make sure that
there weren’t any pieces lodged into her skin. Now it was time for things to get
better, to return to her ‘perfect’ life.

A good half hour had passed, and still, no Satoshi. She kept expecting those two
familiar knocks, and the handle rattle, but it never came. Finally, growing
hungry herself, she served up the soup, eating while staring at an empty bowl.

  

“It’s been a full week.” Kasumi explained to Furura, looking a little uneasy. Her
brown-haired, blue-eyed friend replied perhaps a little too quickly, “Maybe he’s
just busy,” She paused, licking and sticking a stamp on an envelope, “I’ve had
boyfriends disappear for months, then call back pleading for forgiveness.”

Kasumi gaped, flabbergasted at the poor attempt at comforting words, “Well number
one, he’s not a boyfriend, and number two, this just isn’t like him!” A red
strand of hair dared to get in her face, but it got it’s punishment, being swiped
back furiously, “You’ve never seen the goofy smile he gets right after he flings
himself onto the sofa, or the way he eats my pathetic excuse for dinner with such
style you’d think he was enjoying it!” Kasumi flew her hands up and began
babbling in a sort of hyper twitterpation.

Furura stayed calm though, placing a hand on her shoulder and staring her
directly in the eyes. She enunciated her next words, as if talking to a small
child or someone from a foreign country, “Kasumi, call him.”



The wall had an accusing finger pointed directly at it; well, perhaps it was at
the writing ‘Happy Birthday Kasumi’, that was scribbled in dark blue crayon.

“So, you mean to tell me that a five year old just happened to sneak in, find a
crayon, and know it was my birthday?”

A full-bore chuckle was heard.

“No! I told him it was your birthday!” 

A shutter snapped; a frozen memory. 

  

Papers and sticky notes floated to the floor as they were picked through, one by
one. None of them held the phone number she was looking for though, so they
continued their quest to the carpet.

It was funny; she’d known him all her life but had never purposefully initiated a
conversation. Was that a bad sign? Was it a sign at all?

A plain white sticky note was in her hands now, a phone number apparent in blue
ink. Sure enough, it said ‘Satoshi’. She snatched up the nearby phone, staring at
both the number and the receiver before finally pressing the proper buttons.

There was only one ring before the phone was picked up, a voice saying “Hello?”
on the other end. Kasumi was a little startled, but finally squeaked out, “Is
Satoshi there?” Immediately regretting it, when noting how stupid it sounded.

“This is Satoshi.” 

Of course it was, he was the only one living in his house. 

“Hi! This is Kasumi.” Again, she took note of how idiotic it sounded, but just
listened to the reply.

“I don’t think you’ve ever called me before.” He laughed half-heartedly. 

“No, I haven’t.” Kasumi paused trying to decide how to continue, “Um, I wanted to
invite you over for dinner. That’s...that’s why I called.”

There was a long and uncomforting silence on the other end, before his voice came
back with an answer, “Alright. There is actually something I needed to talk to
you about anyway.”

She too took a long pause, wondering and fearing what he could mean. “Well I’ll
see you soon then, I guess.”

“Yes. Bye Kasumi.” There was a slight click as he hung up. She did the same, but
scowled slightly; there was something different about him.

  

Two knocks were heard, but no rattling door handle. An apron clad Kasumi unlocked
and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Satoshi, but he waited for her to
step out of the way and invite him in before entering.

“Hi Kasumi.” He greeted plainly, walking over to the sofa and sitting down
normally. She followed, sitting on the opposite end.

“Dinner should be done in about twenty minutes.” 

He nodded, turning to her, “Kasumi, I won’t be coming by anymore,” She looked
stunned and was about to interject, but he continued promptly, “I have so many
enemies, and seeing you every day just gives them the opportunity and victim they
need to hurt me.”

She couldn’t believe it, here was the ‘normal’ man she wanted, saying himself
that he wouldn’t be coming by every day anymore. This was the friendship she had
longed for, one that was minor and typical. But here it was, and now the prospect
sickened her, almost to the point of anger.

“No.” She started, unaware of tears forming in her eyes, “This isn’t like you,
this isn’t how you are!”

Scooting closer he placed a hand on her knee and tried to meet her eyes, “I can’t
bear it Kasumi. It’s dangerous.”

“There you go again!” She stood up, “Acting all serious and concerned!” Satoshi
followed suit, standing and narrowing his eyes as if observing something while
she continued to rant, “Why never before? Just answer me that!” Slender arms were
thrown up and her eyes watered, “I thought you’d be better this way...” Satoshi
then started slowly walking towards her, while her voice began to soften, “But no,
you’d leave...” He was now about two feet away, staring into eyes that were
wandering from his face to the ceiling, the sofa, carpet, and back again. “Just
like a...lemming.” Satoshi placed his hand under her chin, making her look at his
face.

“A lemming?” He asked. “Those follow.” 

Kasumi sniffled, and shook her head. “I don’t care...”

He smiled back, then moved down and prevented any more ranting on her part by
covering her lips with his. Closing her eyes she grew relaxed, almost in a sleepy
state. She sunk back down to the sofa with him, parting lips soon after.

“Why never before?” Red hair contrasted with his black shirt as she rested her
head on his shoulder.

“You never asked before.” 

Her eyes remained closed, yawning, “I haven’t ever asked.” 

“You did just then. Maybe not out loud, but I could tell by the look on your face.”
Glancing down he watched her head move up and down slightly with each breath
taken, “But when you compared me to a lemming, I knew for sure.”

Kasumi sighed, “Messed up pretty good there, I guess...”

“Nah, I’d follow you off a cliff.”



“Come on! It’s like a fairytale romance; best man and the maid of honor!”

Brown eyes, and aqua ones peered at each other questioningly before
simultaneously sticking out their tongues, clearly defying anything that others
may have wanted to happen.

A shutter clicked; a frozen memory.

  

They now had ample reason to call her life perfect. The only problem left was the
occasional leak in the kitchen sink. And that could be fixed by what used to be
her second problem. But unlike what people commonly think, so called ‘perfection’
isn’t come by with ease, it’s much like the smell of the world after a rainstorm;
you have to fight through the problems before you get to the sweet scent of
success.

But success, as we know, is short term, and she’ll find many more problems to
ponder over while looking at the halo-glow on the ceiling. More significant
faults will be found in Satoshi, along with new strengths. Her life will be
better, but change also brings hardships. Put simply, it’s literal fiction;
playing with irony back and forth. Take it as truth, take it as lies; either way
you’ll get to the end.

Kasumi slipped a last photo into her pink box; now it matched the gray one
perfectly. A shutter clicked; a liquid memory.


End