➿I Want to be Good at Something➿

She muttered, wringing her gloves once more. Suo furrowed his brow slightly. 

“As in…it’s not legible?”

He asked, trying to understand. 

Sana shook her head, expression solemn. 

“I just- I… knew ’im for a long time… it’s…tough.”

She admitted, a quiet volume amid the playful birdsong. She felt her chest drop into that all-too familiar place, one that she often had to distract herself to break free of. This time, however, she had her boss in front of her. Embarrassment joined her feelings as his expression became unreadable, his eye flickering upward and past her. 

His feet seemed to carry him on their own, although in Sana’s eyes he held a determination she’d not yet seen before. Suo stopped in front of the shed door, pulling the handle to slide it further over its tracks. The squeak was loud enough to echo, and he had to use some force to do so. 

‘How did she slam these earlier?’

He mused, entering the shade of the shed with his eye adjusting. He took in the way the interior had been organized with care, scanning until he saw it: pinned to a board was a large white diagram, notes scattered in English, Japanese, and Mandarin in various areas. There, indeed, was his master’s scrawled writing. 

The diagram depicted different options for trees and flowers, a corner specifically circled that contained a vegetable and herb garden, the arrangement similar to a floral bed. 

Sana had timidly joined him at the mouth of the shed, peering in to watch him. She was beginning to understand how deeply connected to him Suo must have been, wondering now what his thoughts might be to see his handwriting once more.

His eyepatch obscured his expression to her, however. Instead, she saw only the upturn of his lips that soon uttered bitterly,

“Who knew he could write so messily?”

He let out a little chuckle, Sana finally swallowing her shyness and stepping into the shed with him. She noted the way he said it, the tone less polite and more exposed.

“Did he write neat in the past?”

She asked, stopping as she stood next to him, eyes trained on the board with defeat. 

“Yeah. He was pretty strict back then.”

Suo shared tone changing back to its casual air. Images shuttered behind his eyelid of memories he’d forgotten while Sana’s remained trained on the characters,a finger brushing over one of them absently. They stood in their own noisy thoughts for a moment.

“…are the English notes yours, then?”

He asked her, making her head turn to face him. She nodded, eyes flickering over to where her finger pointed and dragging it upward toward a corner near the dojo. 

“He wanted that vegetable bed to go here. I said it wouldn’t work, mainly because of that forest behind there, rabbits… He took my word for it, so we were wondering where to put it until I started mapping it out, I figure… edible flowers mixed in like wild violets and melons next to each other, maybe some string beans or snow peas over here-“

She was pointing this way and that with her finger, forgetting the company she was with for a moment. The description created imagery for Suo who listened intently, noting the way her voice flowed so easily when the topic was familiar to her.

It made his smile grace his features a bit more as she rambled, his ears catching her rich voice and informal speech, the way her ‘R’s over-rolled just a tad, and her sentences clipped a bit awkwardly. He’d come to the conclusion that it took a moment for her to translate when she spoke, her curtness not meant to cause offense, but instead reveal the remains of a language barrier.

“Then, I was lookin’ into it and I found out that the place it would be better is around here-“

She slid her finger again over across the diagram, towards his direction, her arm crossing into Suo’s vision. When it didn’t quite reach the area Sana was talking about, he pointed to it himself, their index fingers meeting in the middle. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“…here?”

He asked, tilting his head a little. 

That soft ‘yeah…’ escaped her lips again, flustered by the way it felt to be in his space. She pulled her hand away as she said it, her hand joining the other that still gripped the gloves.

“Are you…lonely? Working on his property without him, I mean.”

He asked, facing her now. Suo knew it was really him that was the lonely one, but as she nodded again, it caused relief in him that he didn’t know could exist. 

“I wanna keep doing what he wanted… but, I find myself stopping midway. I…thought I needed his guidance, y’know?”

She uttered, eyes flickering away from him to the gloves in her hand again. 

“But… I don’t wanna do something you wouldn’t want. You inherited it, after all.”

She said, to which Suo nodded thoughtfully. 

“Miss Sana, let’s meet in the middle,”

He began, guiding her out of the shed with an ushering hand so as to keep their grief at bay. 

“We were both a part of his life… I don’t think it’d be too difficult to collaborate on something that honors both of our memories of him,”

He explained, eye drifting towards the plot that lay bare.

The area was clear, prepared and even had decorative mulch. Sana realized the excessive care she’d given the vacant plot and bristled slightly in embarrassment as they approached it. 

“I-uh…I guess I put more energy than I shoulda into keepin’ it clear…”

Suo chuckled a little in response. 

“Oh I’d say if it’s something you care about, why not put extra effort right?”

Sana nodded a little,eyes drifting to him once again. He always seemed to know what to say. He met her gaze with a pleasant smile before he turned away from her. 

“Yes-well… The next time you look at that shed so dejectedly, feel free to ask for my help… I’m always here, after all…”

—————————————————————————-

Working with Suo on the plans was far more insightful than his master, but definitely not as personal. 

On a surprisingly cool day later in June, Sana reflected, hands busy with a spade making holes for the shrubs. It was an early morning, the shade of dawn blanketing the garden. 

‘Despite everything…’

She mused as she dug,

‘I don’t think I’ve learned much about him…’

This was true, her mind drifting to the way her open questions seemed to create craters of missing information, even as he came to help her plant saplings and sprouts. Vague mentions of a city far away, friends and comrades of unknown origins, and teachings stemming from his master were all that escaped his lips as they chatted through June.

She understood it better than anyone, wanting to withhold things that failed to enrich her away from where it wasn’t needed. Who wanted to hear the sob story of the half-abandoned half-and-half girl with what felt like useless knowledge? Even so, he seemed to listen and remember. This closeness was completely one-sided, and it bothered her about as much as how much she thought about him. 

The sun rose over the trees, an arc of contrast sheening over the property as if a blind had been raised. As it did so, Suo’s shadow preceded him in her sight, that look adorning his face once again. Turbulent. 

Sana gravitated toward him, not far from the porch. 

“…you seem so lonely.”

She mumbled when she approached him, his eye shifting to meet her frame. 

“Lonely…you think so, huh?”

He asked, head tilting up with the same mask raised to her. The vacancy of it was soon replaced with curiosity as her next words surprised him.

Her chin rested on the hilt of the spade as she leaned on it lazily.

“I mean, there’s probably not a lotta people you know yet in town, otherwise they’d be coming to bug ya—-oh, but maybe that’s rude?”

She rambled, realizing she’d pried too obviously.

Suo paused a little, holding back emotions still much heavier than he’d had before. She was doing it again, clumsiness becoming so charming that he couldn’t help the smile that cracked on his features. This was still easy to break away from, which he was grateful for. 

“I’m hurt, Sana. You think I can’t make any friends?”

He joked, leaning back on his hands on the engawa floor. His sly eye watched her panic internally as she waved a hand at the wrist dismissively. 

“Not what I said, and you know it,”

She wagged her finger accusingly, nose scrunched in annoyance. He scoffed a laugh.

“Sounds like you’re lonely just as much,”

He said, rising from his casual position to stand on the engawa, the railing the only thing separating them. Sana had to look up at him from here, his expression provoking a change in the atmosphere to something more personal.

Her eyes were something Suo had had a hard time looking away from recently. Sana had a penetrating gaze, light like clear water, but hardly readable, even with all of his experience.

Similarly, Sana’s gaze was trapped in a pool of the darkest raspberry honey, there being so much to dig at, so many questions that were disrespectful to ask. Instead, she lets him win, giving a piece of her sorrow for him to do with what he will.

“How d’ya figure, smart guy?”

She grumbled, hiding her lower face in her forearms. 

She’d been caught off guard with his questions often enough to know he’d bite for this one, his eyebrow raising slightly.

“Isn’t it a bit irregular to work so hard so far away from town? The last time I was there, only high schoolers were anywhere near our age.”

Anyone could see what Suo really wanted to know with a question like that. Though delivered as a tease, his eye was keen. Sana huffed a little in response before turning  towards the hills backing the cypress forest beyond. 

“You think I work here all day long just to look atchya? Awfully confident,”

She quipped, irritation and defensiveness in her voice. 

Suo watched her ponytail dance like spider’s silk in the golden light. Unable to resist it anymore, he found himself subconsciously reaching for a strand of it, rolling the fair tresses in his fingertips. It was as soft as this moment, a tenderness overtaking the teasing edge of his words,

“I didn’t think that until you just gave yourself away,”

He said with a light chuckle, the hair he’d captured running through his fingers as she turned her head to look at him in annoyance. 

“No, it’s-“

“Hm? What, cat got your tongue?”

She scoffed. Her cheeks had dusted in a sweet fuchsia. Sana wondered how many others had seen the expression he wore now, evenness dampening the mirth and tenderness it carried. 

Her eyes lowered as if to conceal the mental gymnastics she was performing, unsure of what to make of what she DID know. In the end, she couldn’t stop her mouth from running away from her, heart racing with anxiety and some other force she knew nothing of.

“… It’s hard not to.”

His eye widened at the candor of her words, a rise in his chest at the break in her frigidity. Delight filled him as he saw the warmth in her cheeks. There was a spark of something knowing in her gaze for a moment that disappeared as she grew embarrassed and turned away, spade rising from the soil. Suo laughed as he watched her smooth gait before finally shouting after her,

“Well~ what would you do without me, then?”

She scoffed once more, her chin turning over her shoulder to give him a warning look before Hayase interrupted their verbal chess.

Sana watched a natural smile grace his face as he spoke with Hayase, though his eye flickered back to her once, closing in what Sana could only assume was a wink.

What she didn’t see was the tick in his brow, the way he stewed on her words, both the compliment and the unintended criticism. 

———————————————————————————————————-

 A week later, the sound of low voices arguing surprised Sana as she raked up trimmings, heavy footsteps crunching on gravel unceremoniously. As was the case with Suo’s arrival, Sana peeked from behind a shrub to see four young men crowding up the path, varying in heights and hair colors. The ringleader seemed to be the grumpiest, shoulders slumped and hands in his pockets. 

  His gangly gait led the other three, varying in his same confidence, through the winding path, whereupon a blond young man pointed with a whisper toward the set of violet eyes that were seemingly…glaring? The bicolored haired man quirked an eyebrow, calling out to her, 

“Hey, you!”

   Truthfully, Sana hadn’t been glaring but more so peering out at them, her eyesight poor from far away. She jumped at his tone, spooked as she disappeared back around the corner. She was unaware that Suo was waiting after hearing that familiar terse tone his best friend had. She simply found out when he stopped her by her shoulders mid-step. 

  She went rigid, then, shoulders tense as she locked eyes with him. 

“There’s a flock of guys out front-“

His eye widened in surprise, 

“What? Who?”

He asked, though he stayed paused, hands remaining in their place as he heard hurried shoes on gravel. Before they could get within earshot, however, Suo’s face moved, lips close to her ear.

The tassel of his earring had brushed her cheek, making her face twitch and ears burn. Sana could sense the apple of his cheek rise in a low-eyed smirk.

“…Didn’t you say I had no friends, Miss Sana?”

“I didn’t mean—“

He laughed a mean little chortle before he slid past her with light feet, so fast that she didn’t have time to scold him in broken words. Shouts of ‘Suo, what the hell?!’ And ‘you scared us to death! Again!’ among other things resounded through the garden in her own voice’s stead. She chose to slink away into the kitchen in the chaos, where Hayase leaned on a counter lazily. 

  It was comical, Sana’s disheveled hair and heaving chest making her look as if she’d seen some sort of ghost. 

“There’s people here— like, waaaaay more than we’ve had since the master was here.”

She said tensely, oddly dramatic given how mundane the event seemed to be. 

Hayase nodded. 

“Yup, I prepped the rooms yesterday… didn’t Mr. Suo say anything?”

Sana paused, shifting her weight. 

“…no,”

She said sourly, the thought of their conversation last week making her sigh. He couldn’t have been thinking about her offhanded comment…could he?

“Ha-ha! You didn’t even notice all this running around we’ve been doing? You tasted the practice dishes for dinner!”

Sana panicked a little, reflecting on Hayase’s point before blushing a bright red. She swears before running a hand down her face. 

“Yeah. Yeah- I did that…”

She paused before prying,

“Did he— Uh- Did he ever say who it was he was inviting? He really didn’t say nothin’.”

“He said it was some close friends of his. That’s about all. He did mention that he was trying to make sure we weren’t worried about his social life, though…”

Hayase explained, eyebrows furrowing at the end.

Sana felt dread bubble in her chest, eyes shifting away from Hayase’s form in guilt.

“I may have said something…” 

————————

Sakura huffed as he flopped onto the floor pillow, chin balanced on the heel of his palm, elbow resting on the low table in which the five friends had gathered. 

“Now are ya gonna tell us why you moved out to the middle ‘a nowhere or am I gonna have to kick yer ass?”

Suo laughed a bit, eye jovial. There was a sparkle in it that had been missing, seemingly only emphasized by the presence of these once boys that he had spent so much time with through high school and their twenties up until now. Their faces were filled with a maturity that graced them so wonderfully, their spirits the greatest quality in which he felt he’d never manage to emulate. Sakura, Nirei, Kiryu and surprisingly, Sugishita all came running to see him as if it was second nature. 

“Oh, c’mon Sakura, you couldn’t hold down the fort while I was gone?”

He poked, earning him a sassy response,

“Hey! This ain’t about me, you’re the one that took off!”

Sakura’s eyes, though his brows knitted, mirrored the others’ worry. Despite the exterior, Sakura knew better than anyone that Suo’s actions weren’t without reason… And, given the suddenness, it had to be emotional.

Suo’s eye lowered away from Sakura’s face slowly, looking out the window. 

“You know… tigers can’t pace in the same cage forever.”

The darkness stirring in his stomach returned with a vengeance as he turned his head to see the five unconvinced faces around him, but he’d learned he couldn’t simply worm his way out of things with them anymore. Suo’s expression became resigned as he drew breath to speak, to tell them everything.

—----------

The hour passed in whispers and quick hands for Sana and Hayase, gossipping about who the men were to Suo. They deduced together that they were Suo’s friends from the mysterious city where he had come from. They seem to have known each other since high school and been in some sort of club together. 

“Sounds like… maybe a gang?”

Sana had mused, nectarine between her teeth as she held a bag open for Hayase to put pie scraps into the trash. Since there was company, Hayase had gone straight to work, mulling over the suburbia-style clothing choices of their guests. Despite sitting in his own home, the master’s refinement is out of place.

“It very well could be… 

Hayase remarked with a judgemental expression, hands busy trimming pastry with a butter knife.

“ You know, his sensei ran in similar circles…”

Sana raised an eyebrow, one hand leaving the bag to chew the fruit and swallow before answering.

“What? Naw… Wouldn’t he be all tatted or somethin’?” 

She reasoned, pointing the fruit at Hayase with incredulous eyes. There wasn’t a lot of it left to point, the ripeness of the nectarine too soft to eat slowly.

“Not necessarily!” Hayase remarked with raised eyebrows and wagged the butter knife in response. 

“I met a guy who was on the borderline involved in the Yakuza, no tattoos or clan name but knew a lotta ways to keep outta trouble… Sketchy…”

Her eyes sparkled at the memory–as if she had a preference for such excitingly dangerous stories. Sana caught onto her expression easily and snorted in response, the whole thing just sounding like a light novel cliche.  

“Yeah, or he’s a hot CEO with a lotta time on his hands…”

She trailed sarcastically, rolling her eyes and giving Hayase, who was chuckling at her, a nudge. Her hips leaned off the counter and she washed her sticky hands, the pit of her juice-dripping nectarine thrown into the trash before she put her wide-brimmed hat back on and disappeared into the side yard—far, far away from any guests.

———————-—————

What followed the group’s conversation was sounds of struggle in the dojo, sparring finally taking place inside. The floors creaked under the weight of five extra sets of feet, the gentle tai chi movements Suo usually did by himself now hardened like steel. It was just like old times for them, switching sparring partners occasionally, the pairs working just perfectly.

Sana, nosy as can be despite herself, peered through the shade of her sun hat as she pulled weeds around the young vegetable plants. Keen eyes watched as the six men threw punches, kicks and parries, though not at full strength by any means. She felt as though she was watching the MMA fights that were pay-per-view when she lived in an American apartment building as a child. This piqued her interest, arms folded and attitude relaxed as she fell back to sit on the grass behind her. Who knew it would cause such nostalgia?

Hayase had also made her way across the garden path from the house, a pile of towels and a pitcher of water carried most expertly. She was full of enthusiasm, a smile beaming on her face as she watched them. 

She noticed Sana there on the ground, giving her a nudge with her foot. 

“Here— take the towels, it’s heavy!”

Sana rolled her eyes. It definitely wasn’t that heavy. She stood anyhow, dusting her clothes off and taking towels, her focus still elsewhere.

Suo moved with such familiarity and poise it was almost damning, as if the surprise on his friendly opponents’ faces was fate itself, the only outcome to pair with their new place off-kilter or on the ground. 

Nirei had a determination about him that wasn’t new to Suo, but one he had not seen in a while. The movements Suo had taught him were embedded in his style,  but there still existed a skipping fluidity. His fist rose to punch where Suo’s would normally block and parry. Suo’s reaches were granted low ducks and positioning changes. Nirei had learned more in his absence. Suo was impressed. 

Nirei threw another punch at Suo’s face, toward the side in which his eyepatch sat. As he did so, Sana’s clumsy clunk of a step made Suo’s gaze wander to her. It strayed long enough that when he looked back, he almost didn’t have time to shift out of the way, Nirei’s sleeve grazing his cheek just barely.

Instead of looking towards Sana, Nirei watched Suo’s face. What he hadn’t expected to see was the cherry color his friend’s ears had turned as the girl with the silver hair and garden clothes entered the threshold of the dojo, towels in hand. The stillness always locked in his features did not break, but this rare sight of Suo’s body betraying him was enough to understand. 

This. He’d thought, the excuses Suo had made in the house earlier seeming too simple, this is what’s keeping him here. 

—-------------------------

As the sun set, Suo waved at his friends as they descended the path to the bus stop, past the stream and gates. Nirei gave him one last accepting look before he joined them. Suo couldn’t relax until they were gone, even Hayase being too much to maintain the heavy mask he still wore. 

“Aren’t you gonna walk ‘em?”

Sana asked as Suo let his hand join the other behind his back. Suo snickered a bit.

“Nah, their navigator never fails. Besides, you seem far too shell-shocked to be left to your own devices.”

He joked, disposition cheerful. 

Sana’s eyes lingered on his side profile, the images of Suo’s foreboding grace as he’d sparred with them, the way his limbs became harder than stone and then easily flowed in a pattern still fresh in her mind.  She wondered what else he could do–what his true strength might have looked like. As these thoughts swam, Suo could feel his ears redden again as they did before. He didn’t know his own motives with her most of the time, so his next words came as a surprise to both of them.

“Like what you see, Miss Sana?”

He asked after a tick of silence. The warmth in his voice was meant to embarrass, to draw away from the pool of her thoughts. 

Instead of showing her panic however, she shrugged, eyes flicking back to the path in the distance to meet his request.

“The way you fight is fun ta’ watch,”

She said, an answer within an answer. 

Suo chuckled, as if embarrassed. 

“You think so, huh?”

Sana nodded. 

“…though, you might be a bit terrifying at full strength… that old man must’ve trained you for some sort of purpose, I suppose.”

She trailed away when his smile changed into something a bit darker, not sad, but…wary. 

“Are you… trying to ask me what that purpose is?”

He asked with an air of cool composure, though he felt he should continue to dodge her.

It appeared to Suo that the difference between she and Nirei existed only in her lack of inquisition. Had that changed now that she’d seen what his master had trained into him for real? 

Sana couldn’t help the snort that escaped her nose, Suo’s anxiety rising. 

“I don’t think I need to know that stuff for me to do my job, Mr. Suo. Hayase-san would love that story, though.”

Suo raised his eyebrow, a nervous smile redecorating his face. 

“You’re not the least bit curious about me?” 

Sana sputters, eyes widening a bit. 

“Well yeah, of course I am, but what kinda dumbass walks into a conversation and starts askin’ obviously personal questions?” 

She defended, making Suo’s expression morph into surprise. He paused before snickering, chest lightening from the burdens of his worry. 

She didn’t want to know… or- she respected that he didn’t want to tell her.

“Fair enough…”

He said, a comfortable silence befalling them, his eye glancing at her shaded figure every once in a while, missing hers every time.

Sana’s heart clenched a little, remembering the way he’d pranked her so drastically. Her brows knitted together before she turned to face him fully, growing closer to him.

“If I did cross you, though… I didn’t mean it, the other day, I- I pried too far,”

She said, gaze intent on locking with his now.

Suo smiled tiredly at her words, the socializing having finally gotten to him enough to show. Her face before his friends caught them was enough penance, anyway. Her befuddled expression was one he wanted to see again, the panic of newness truly endearing.

Truthfully he wasn’t angry with her, more feeling exposed in a way he didn’t feel he was ready to admit to himself. 

“You don’t have to feel bad about it, I’m sure someone more unaware of me than you would have said the same thing…”

Also truthfully, he’d just wanted her to see he wasn’t lying, just telling the truth shrouded in a lack of specifics, a lack of self. Even today, he chose to speak through the presence of others, not once—but twice. Though Nirei noticing was accidental, at least the point was put across. 

“I don’t know why… it felt important for you to know I wasn’t alone out there.”

A warm breeze blew through their hair, through the invisible wall between them. They peered at each other through a hole in the brick that Suo had pulled out onto his side at this moment, and Sana realized that his friends’ presence here wasn’t just a prank after all. 

She sighed heavily, pulling her hat off of her head and letting the string of it dangle around her neck. Her hair frizzed a little, her arms weaving into a stretch. Her voice changed into something a bit scratchy as she spoke in English, her mind tired from trying to translate all day. 

“If you’re really that concerned about how I see you, then you’ll have to put effort into telling me things, I guess.”

She grumbled in annoyance, not a fan of this much beating around the bush. He was such a skittish person when he was alone, his many facets having her want to search for the real one… to see if that real one would want to befriend her, or if her presence just eased his boredom.

And, as if he read her thoughts, he responded in kind. He faced her with a new glint in his eye, words flowing easily like breathing.

“Only if you promise to do the same, Sana.”

She turned to him with a blindsided expression before she silently put two and two together. 

His sensei knew English just fine, Suo was from here… 

“Of course you speak English…”

Sana rasped. Her heart clenched a little in embarrassment for not asking sooner, but when was she supposed to do that?

“See? Already holding up my end of the bargain, guess I’ve won so far!”

Suo still vied for the element of surprise. He hated how right Sana was about his weakness, but he wanted to know more about her so badly that this hoop was as easy as breathing. Plus, she always seemed so shocked when she learned anything about him anyway. 

“Yeah— yeah, I guess…”

He laughed a bit. 

This was going to be an interesting summer.

———————————————-

Below the Kanra property, a town lay quietly bustling. It was not your typical shouting and merriment, just work and meditation, and the occasional family dysfunctions. The area had a sort of punitive air that seemed to squander youth, many buildings abandoned as a result of no young adults to take care of things. Cities meant freedom from this place, but not everyone made it. 

A middle aged man, thin like a bean pole and shaggy like an ungroomed dog, pulled open the door to his shop slowly, the display of kimono and other mended pieces in front of  an emerald green background revealed itself as he pulled the shutter open. 

This Saturday morning in July was cool and bright, the sun hitting the dew on the trees and shrubs that dotted the shop faces, granting the silent place a sense of tranquility. The man pulled a folding chair out from behind the display and opened it outside the storefront. His steely eyes were tired but without complaint as he took sliding strides back into the shop’s cluttered interior.

 Spools of thread and rolled yards of fabric scattered every wall, tools in random places stuck out in precarious spots. Among the chaos, the man uncovered a basket full of neatly folded dress shirts and dragged it outside to work in the sunshine. He moved it with little effort, like a spider carrying a bundled up fly.

He settled after a moment with a strong needle threaded with white string as he pulled it through a button of the first shirt in the pile. 

He worked in silence for a while, birds chirping peacefully. The town began to awaken building by building, a soft hum of conversations and of dishes clinking filling the strip before the man heard bare feet padding down the wooden stairs inside his shop, pale long legs accompanying them clad in sleep shorts and upper body in a rumpled matching pajama shirt. 

There at the bottom of the stairs was his daughter, the only evidence he’d ever made it out of the town at all. Her white hair was pulled into a ratty bun atop her head, her violet eyes sharing the shape of his own still had the remnants of a heavy sleep in them. 

“Hey dad…”

Sana rasped gently in English, steps lighter as she avoided anything sharp that might have landed on the floor 

“Mornin’,”

He replied gruffly in Japanese, Sana wrapping her arms around his neck from behind briefly in greeting, watching his calloused hands work for a moment. 

“Had breakfast?”

He shook his head. 

Sana closed her eyes a minute before limply sliding away from him, stretching her arms above her head before turning on her heel and walking stiffly into the shop and up the stairs to the apartment kitchen. Everything here was neat and diligently kept, the minty green walls complimenting the white cabinets and light wood countertop. It was small, to be sure but the ceilings were high enough for the skyscrapers that were the Sanas. 

Her thoughts began to wander to her boss once more, what he did on the weekends, how he even entertained himself all alone up there… Even if he did have friends, did he ever call them? Granted, she’d seen a bit more activity but it wasn’t anything she had to interact with. If anything, Suo had been teasing her more somehow with sayings in English and sly puns, making a point to keep new people away from her out of consideration for last time.

 He’s lucky he’s pretty, that’s for sure.

She found herself thinking, having accepted this fate of her feelings. What else was bound to happen with a face like that? She didn’t feel like considering ‘now what?’ or anything that complicated. This was a job, he was someone more important with money and connections to far off places. 

It wasn’t hard to distance herself from his charms when he wasn’t here.  

—----------------------------------------------

 In the afternoon, Sana’s father had turned the a/c on to continue working inside. His tailor business had taken off since many of the population had relied on his family to care for the clothing in town, but it being yukata season created an influx. The summer festival held every year would be any day now, it was the biggest event outside of New Years. 

The fliers could be seen anywhere, even at the grocery store a block or so down. Sana taped one she had gotten in the mail to the window, in her cleaning clothes to help her dad. Her hair was pulled back with a kerchief, overalls replaced with a white T-shirt and wide torn jeans. 

She had a tick in her brow as she surveyed the work she had cut out for her, eyes low and annoyed. 

“Seriously dude, it’s like every goddamn week with this place!”

She griped, frustration bubbling over. It had been only 2 weeks since she had completely re-organized everything. 

Her father raised an eyebrow up at her, needle still in hand.

“Nobody asked ya to do it, yannow, I had it organized enough,”

The man reminded her, returning to his stitching. 

She ‘tsked’ before taking up the broom and beginning to sweep. 

“Yeah, organized to kill yerself.”

Her father chuckled a little bit, nimble fingers sliding fabric across the long table that filled a corner of the shop. It was the only area that was truly clear. 

They worked in silence for a while, heads down until a healthy bellow of “hellooo!” echoed through the shop.

The Sanas turned their heads to see a hefty man with the build of a woodworker and a mustache to match. His tan was heavy. The both of them smiled warmly at the customer, though the older Sana seemed confused. 

“Shio-San, you just dropped that bag ‘a clothes off yesterday, I’m not a fairy godmother,”

He quipped, putting his needle in a pincushion before standing up to greet the so-called ‘Shio.’

“I know, just comin’ by to chat,”

He said, strolling further into the shop.

Sana leaned on the broom handle a minute as she lingered, Shio calling out to her with a wave,

“And you, Daburu-chan, finally have a day off, hm? Any news from up that way?”

Sana wrinkled her nose in disinterest.

“Nah, just the same old stuff. Uh-How’s Mina?”

She asked, his daughter a friend of hers from high school. She was his apprentice now at their lumber shop down the road, but summers tended to be a bit busy for the two youths to meet.

Shio beamed with pride at the mention of her. 

“Ah, she’s doin’ great! Proud of my little Sappy, she just processed her first tree not long ago.” 

Sana’s eyebrows shot up in interest. 

“Man, good for her,”

Her father remarked, crossing his arms and nodding along. Shio continued,

“She did so well we’re gonna send her to that technical school, see if she could become certified to run mill equipment.”

Sana felt a pang of something in her gut at those words, and began sweeping again with renewed purpose, though to the men chatting it simply looked like she was being diligent. 

Sana always thought school was a waste, mainly because she was tired of it after getting through high school. It was exhausting, boring, and everyone there was a snotty person with goals and dreams. And now, Mina was being sent among them to become someone more important. More important than this town, at least. 

The men continued chatting and Sana finished sweeping, starting to move things into their rightful place, when out of the corner of her eye she saw a charming burgundy hue of hair cross the window. It was awfully familiar, her head turning to see better only to miss it and have to turn more and more until her back faced the wall and in walked the man she’d dismissed casually from her thoughts— for the first time, Suo Hayato had descended the mountain.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank y'all so much for reading! I posted a piece of this already but then realized the timeline fit better in Summer, so a fragment of this is reposted for those that think they're getting gaslit (lol sorry)

I hope to update a bit more regularly now that it's the summertime.

Comments are always welcome!