Back --->Yoroshiku Chapter 5

Chapter 6: Battle of Effervescence

   Kyoko sat up in her bed. She could hear footsteps outside her room. Shadows danced in the crack of light the door let through. Two people passed, then another two. Then she heard a scream. A screeching, creaking voice emanated a cry of death, someone's final utterance. Then, a thump on the ground. A woman crying. What is going on? Who is outside? A man's deep and baneful laugh bellowed into her room.
   “Vick? Is that you?” Kyoko asked. No one answered. There was the man's voice again. One shadow crept closer to her door. She pulled the covers around her. The door slowly creaked open and a little boy stepped into her room. Kyoko looked at him closer, he must have been an elf too, with his oversized ears. He began to cry. 
   “Hey, don't cry. It's ok. What's wrong?” Kyoko tried to comfort the boy, but he didn't stop. She got out of her bed and walked over to him. She patted his back. “Shh. It's ok, it's ok.” He looked up at Kyoko and smiled as he wiped his tears away. They both were startled at the sound of someone banging on the door. Kyoko snuck over to the door and peeked under. She saw a pair of work boots, then stood up and opened the door. There stood Kain. Kyoko gasped. 
   Kain took a handgun out of his coat pocket and pointed it at the boy. 
   “Hey, stop it! He didn't do anything to you!” Kyoko cried.
   He switched his sights to her, then pulled the trigger.

   Kyoko screamed and opened her eyes. She sat up in her cot and looked around. No boy, no Kain, silence. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got out of bed. It was seven in the morning. What a creepy dream. Thank god that's all it was. She walked into the store and was greeted by a friendly smile from Vick. 
   “Good morning. Did you sleep ok?”
   “You mean since three? Yeah, I guess so. And you?”
   “Like a rock.” He waved her over to the counter. “Ready to start your first day?”
   “Yes!” For one of the first times in her life, she was actually excited. 
   Vick showed her the cash register, the merchandise and the phone. All of the instructions she needed to work the counter. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pin. He put it on Kyoko's shirt. 
   “I can't read upside down. What does it say?”
   Vick smiled. “Trainee.”
   “Wonderful,” she added, sarcastically, with a goofy smile.
   She pulled up a stool and sat behind the counter. Vick walked upstairs. About five minutes later, Kyoko still sat behind the counter with the same goofy smile on her face. Vick came back down the stairs with a steaming mug of what smelled like some sort of tea. He set it down in front of Kyoko.
   “Indian tea. It'll help you wake up and keep you up. It's pretty strong though, so watch out.”
   Kyoko sniffed it, then took a sip. It was strong. Really strong. Her eyes started to water.
   “I guess it's an acquired taste,” she said.
   “Something like that. I'm going to go get started. I'll be in the back room if you need me.”
   “Allrighty!” She smiled.

---

   What kind of person was he? What were his motives? What did he mean by that kiss last night? Dozens of thoughts swam around in her head. He was always so mysterious. But, a little voice in the back of her mind repeated: “Did it ever occur to you that he just likes you?” That he didn't have to be a rapist, or a cannibal. Maybe he was just a normal guy. Maybe she had finally found someone who truly cared about her. Maybe. She kept herself on her toes.
   About twelve hours later, Vick emerged from the back room. He was the same dirty and oil covered elf she met yesterday. I guess a shower doesn't go very far when you work with greasy machines all day.
   “Could you handle the rush of customers?”
   “Yeah all three of them.”
   Vick winced. “Only three today?” He checked the counters to see what was missing, what they had bought.
  “I guess it's hard to get customers when they don't want to have anything to do with you.”
   Vick pointed at his ears, or where his ears would have been if they had not been covered with his hair hanging down. “That's why I cover them.” 
   “You don't have any sense of...patriotism...for them?”
   “I'd rather betray my kind than go hungry.”
   “Well that's true.”
   He smiled. There was something about his smile, it was addictive. She needed to see it. She almost craved it. The way the corners of his mouth crept up. The way his bright blue eyes shined. If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't human, he'd be swimming in girlfriends. From what Kyoko could tell, he was honest, kind, and he listened to her. A real gentleman.
   “Hungry?”
   Kyoko's stomach growled in reply. 
   “I'll take that as a yes.” 

---

   After dinner (Fettuccini Alfredo with grilled chicken and roasted garlic,) Kyoko helped Vick with the dishes.
   “Well, that was about the best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. And that hamburger last night” she sighed. “You really are an amazing cook.”
   He bowed. “Why thank you.”
   Kyoko scratched her head. “I heard somewhere that if you eat something strange or different, you can have weird dreams.”
   “Yes I think I heard that too. Why? Did you have a strange dream last night?”
   She nodded. “There were voices, screaming, and some guy with a really deep voice laughed. Then there was this little boy, and he was crying.”
   “A little boy? What did he look like?”
   “Well he had really light blonde hair tied back, and wore these huge goofy glasses.” She laughed. “He wore all green, and big brown boots. His clothes looked a little too big for him. That's all I remember.”
   Vick stood speechless. He picked up a sud-covered sponge and hit Kyoko over the head with it. Not hard, just enough to get her face covered in the foam.
   “What was that for?”
   Vick just chuckled.
   “Oh now you're in for it mister.” Kyoko scooped up the froth with her arms and whipped it across Vick's shirt. He burst out laughing. 
   “Take this!” Vick unhooked the nossle of the faucet and stretched out the hose. He turned on the water as cold as it would go and sprayed Kyoko. An all-out bubble war had broken out in the kitchen, followed by a pummeling of snack cakes by Vick, then a strategic rain of ice cubes down Vick's shirt by Kyoko. It was the most fun either of them had in either of their lives.
   Their fight ended when Vick retreated into his bedroom, resulting in Kyoko's steak-out beside his door. 
   “You'll have to go to the bathroom eventually!” She yelled as she stockpiled a bowl of ice cubes. 

---

   Kyoko grew tired. She looked at the microwave clock. It was midnight. She got up from the kitchen table and walked back over to the door and sat beside it, reclining on the wall. She slowly let her eyes close, then drifted off to sleep.
   Vick crawled up to the door and cracked it open. He walked out and looked at Kyoko sleeping.
   “You are incredible.” He noticed the bowl of ice cubes she set on the table starting to melt. Vick poured the cubes into the sink, walked back over to Kyoko, and picked her up. He carried her downstairs to her cot and gently set her down. For a time he sat watching her sleep. Then he pulled the covers over her.
   “Sleep well, your majesty,” he whispered as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Then he turned and left the room.

Next ---> Yoroshiku Chapter 7