Hisao and Akira(?!)- Terror in the Night! Conclusion Update!
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 10:05 am
Table of Contents:
Settling In (this post)
Strange Occurrences
Revelation
Ants Against Men
Resolution
Conclusion
“Your body is about to go through many changes. You will develop the appetite of the wolf, a taste for things you’ve never eaten before. Then the pentagram -the five pointed star- will appear in your hand…” –Madam Ozbenskaya, “Boy Meets World” Episode 2X6.
Hisao and Akira(?!)- Terror in the Night!
Part One: Settling In
I still can’t believe I’m putting all this down. I can’t believe it all happened, either. But a bet’s a bet, and so I leave this tale for posterity, and desperate comic book writers.
One summer, my husband, Daichi, and I were visiting Lilly’s summer home up north in Hokkaido. I had already sold the original summer home we had up there, but the area had a few Western-style places that were pretty cozy. When one went up for sale, Lilly and her husband bought it. There happened to be one nearby, and when it was for sale, I wasn’t too surprised when Hisao and Hanako snatched it up; they always did like the area.
Anyway, Lilly and her husband George’s summer home had some guest space; in case a certain awesome sister happened to be in town. So, the thirteen of us -Kenji and Miya had other plans- were set for a nice summer weekend over the trimester break; just us, our kids, and the sun.
Yeah, right.
The sun part of our trip was already looking out of the question, as the sky was pretty cloudy when we finally parked in the driveway of Lilly’s house. We would’ve taken a train, but I’d rather drive; all those nice, open country roads with no cops around. If Hanako could’ve, she probably would have done the same on one of her motorcycles. As it was, my and Georges’s car stopped in the gravel driveway and I eased out of the car, my husband and two girls not far after me.
Almost twice the size of the one I'd sold off, Lilly's summer home had two floors, and the same Western style. It was painted a nice yellow with a black slanted roof, and everywhere around us there was wheat, and trees; the pathways leading to town some kilometers away were lined with forest.
Hisao’s home was about three kilometers down the road, but it wasn’t actually on the main road, so he turned right and headed down along a gravel path. They’d be over in a bit, but first they had to unpack and feed the baby.
Daichi, a slightly tall man with short black hair and brown eyes, stepped out of the car while our two girls, Carry and Chise, bolted from the back seats. The twin girls had brown eyes and dark brown hair, and were five years old. Having done the whole husband/kids/family thing a little later then my sister and her friends, despite the age difference, my kids were about the same age as theirs.
“Nice to be back,” I said, moving over to and lifting the popped trunk.
“Yup,” Daichi said; he was never one to waste words.
“Indeed,” I heard Lilly say from my right. Out of the car, she and George set about retrieving their luggage and preparing to unpack. She was wearing a light green ankle length skirt and matching sweater. Watching her tap her metal cane as she navigated the familiar driveway, mostly seeking out any new potholes, I caught a glimmer in the cloudy afternoon light from her little silver cross and Saint Lucy necklace.
Speaking of Saint Lucy, Thomas, their son, being led out of the car by their daughter, Hanaye, was the reason for Lilly's added neckwear. Both black-haired like their father, Thomas had green eyes while Hanaye's were hazel. Making his way over to the kids, speaking of George, he was actually a few centimeters shorter then Lilly. Wearing casual business attire similar to my own, he smiled and shook his head at the battle of wills the two never seemed to stop.
“I know where I’m going!” Thomas snapped at his older sister.
“I know that, I’m just helping you down!” Hanaye said in a placating tone.
“Tom, your sister’s just trying to help,” George remarked. He tended to alternate between English and Japanese when talking to his family. I did the same thing. It was interesting when he spoke Japanese with his Canadian accent, though.
“Still, you need to respect your brother’s independence,” Lilly said as she pulled a suitcase out from the trunk.
Lilly never once said she regretted her son being born blind. Still, a few days after he was born, she had picked up and started wearing that necklace; Saint Lucy, patron saint of the blind. She always was the religious one. I couldn’t stand that stuff myself; reminded me too much of my father and his stringent ideas about raising us. Sure, Lilly had taken to it like a duck to water, but I preferred a more relaxed attitude. I shook away the impulse to get pissed at my father and started unloading the car, making sure the twins didn’t hassle Tom and Hana too much.
Looking the same as we left it last year, the front porch was pretty big, with a nice awning and some old rocking chairs. Inside, the front door led to a big living room, decked out with enough chairs and sofa space for everyone, even Kenji; whenever he showed up. Leading from the living room, a doorway on the right, near the front, opened into the kitchen, while another doorway further back led to a hallway, through which you would find the first floor bathroom and dining room. A third doorway on the left of the back wall led upstairs. The second floor consisted of the two bedrooms, two more bathrooms, and some closets.
I know I make it sound big, but it actually wasn’t that much floor space. The kids would be sleeping in the family room, which was fine, because I had power over the remote control for the TV in the evening. The kids were already shoving their sleeping bags into a corner for when they’d need them.
By the time we had unloaded the cars and Lilly and George started making dinner, Hisao, Hanako, and their kids had arrived. I greeted them at the door with my usual gusto, palming a beer in my right hand like always. It was the first of the day; I do not have a problem, no matter what my father says.
“Hey, you made it!” I said as they started walking in. Hanako was first, dressed in her usual dark blue pants, light purple shirt, denim jacket, and that adorable flatcap of hers. Her hair was held back these days, so you could see the scars on her face clearly. Not that I gave a damn. She nodded and stepped in, cradling the infant Refia in her arms.
“Hello,” she said, then sniffed, “making dinner?”
“Yup, if you wanna help, I can take the kid for you,” holding up the beer, I added, “I haven’t opened this yet.”
Hanako nodded and carefully placed their youngest daughter in my arms while I handed her my beer. She looked just like any other baby girl, really, especially since she seemed to be asleep.
As Hanako headed for the kitchen -opening my beer in the process- Hisao stepped in, his son, Akio, and daughter, Satomi, following close behind. He was wearing his usual white shirt and blue checkered sweater-vest. Satomi had Hisao’s brown eyes and dark hair like Hanako, which matched her brown skirt and little dress rather well. Akio had darker eyes and brown hair, and was wearing khaki pants and a t-shirt.
“Hey,” Hisao said, stepping in, “settled in?”
“Yup,” I replied with a slight nod, “how ‘bout you?”
“Everything’s fine,” he remarked, glancing back outside, “though if it starts raining we might be in trouble- Akio hates thunder.”
“It better not rain!” Satomi groaned, “we were supposed to go on a nature hike tomorrow.”
Hisao sighed, “and yet you forget to pick up your toys.”
Chuckling, I motioned for them to come in. Daichi was in the living room sipping scotch from a glass, the decanter on the coffee table, and Hisao lost no time finding a glass and some ice cubes. His kids, meanwhile, dashed upstairs in search of Tom, Hana and the twins.
“Six kids and a baby,” Hisao said, sipping scotch as he sat down.
“It’ll be fine,” I said, “won’t it, Refia?”
Opening her eyes at me briefly, she yawned and closed them again. Looking up from her, with that goofy smile all parents develop in the presence of a happy baby, I noticed Hisao eyeing me oddly.
“What?” I prompted.
Shrugging, he smiled and remarked, “never took you for the maternal type, is all.”
“Very funny,” I replied sardonically; after raising my sister for nearly six years, I was damn sure I was kickass mother.
“I thought so,” Daichi chided, earning him a glare, “what’s for dinner?”
“Food made by the only cooks in the three families,” I said, shrugging, “eat it, don’t complain, and pray Hanako isn’t experimenting tonight.”
“I heard that!” Hanako exclaimed. I hadn't expected her to hear me, though I knew Lilly could.
“Lils, defend me in there, would ya?” I requested.
“I’m sure I have no idea what you are talking about,” she replied, snickering.
“Thanks, Judas,” I snorted.
“Rule of the kitchen,” Daichi said, “never anger the cook. They control the quality of your food and have large knives.”
Following that, chatter returned to normal, and dinner turned out to be delicious. Afterwards the clouds slowly thickened, and a quick check on my laptop confirmed the likelihood of afternoon showers.
“We can just do the walk in the morning,” Hisao said, picking at some peach cobbler as he sat in a plush chair. The dining room was too small for everyone to sit in, so Hisao, Daichi, and Hanako took up the chairs -with Refia in a backup travel crib- while Lilly and George used the sofa. The kids were using the dining room. Smirking as he scraped another bite onto his fork, he added, “I can skip my run that way.”
“My, my, and you were so diligent about them, too,” Lilly teased from the sofa, her cobbler placed next to her on the coffee table while she picked and scraped at it carefully.
Hisao grimaced at her before realization dawned, “oh right, tomorrow’s Friday. Guess I’ll go for a quick jog anyway, then.”
Noticing it appeared to be getting a little brighter outside, I looked out the window next to the front door. The clouds had parted, and it looked like the moon was shining outside. I was already finished eating, so I stepped out onto the front porch and looked up.
The moon was full, alright; or close enough that it didn’t matter. The clouds were still thick, though, so it wasn’t long before they were once again covering the moon’s light.
“Looks like a full moon,” Hisao said, startling me; I hadn’t heard him come out. Hanako was behind him with Refia in her arms. They looked ready to go.
“Yeah, I was thinking that myself,” I remarked absently. The brightness of the moon had thrown me a bit.
“Shame it’s so cloudy,” he lamented, “I brought a telescope to watch the stars, but it looks like we coulda saved the space.”
Hanako tried to reassure him, “it might clear up in a day or two.”
“Good point,” I remarked, peeling my eyes away from the hidden moon behind the overcast sky. Remembering how they looked ready to head out, I added, “you two leaving?”
As I said that Akio and Satomi stepped outside, as well.
“Yeah, we need to get her to bed,” Hisao explained, motioning towards Refia, “and it’s past someone’s bed time, anyway.”
“But we’re on vacation!” Akio protested.
“He has a point,” I added with a smirk.
Hisao nodded and stepped off the porch. “See you tomorrow for the walk,” he called back, not bothering to look as he strode toward their car, “we’ll be by around nine, okay?”
“See you then!” I replied, waving despite his not seeing the motion. Watching them leave, I thought it was nice out, so I figured a beer on the porch would be a nice way to finish the night. Turning to head inside, I saw the others getting up and moving toward the porch; I guessed they had the same idea, sans the beer.
Before I could start heading into the kitchen, I heard something out in the wheat fields, causing me to look back out that way. It was an unfamiliar, eerie sound that I could swear sounded like a baying wolf. That ridiculous thought was quashed by my realization that both wolf subspecies native to Japan were extinct, but, still, it was distinctly creepy. The hairs on the back of my neck stood as I peered into the distant darkness, trying to find the source of that howl.
“Something wrong?” Daichi asked, startling me again. Being the first one outside, he had brought me a beer; he knew me so well.
Shaking my head to clear the creepy feeling, I disarmed his concerned grimace with a quick smile. “Just hearing things,” I said, grabbing the beer and popping it open, “probably just the wind.”
How dumbassedly wrong I was.
+++
Next Chapter
Yup, things are going bump in the night, and for once, it ain’t Hisao.
Hope you like the change in POV character. Feedback is, as always, appreciated.
I would also like to thank my reluctantly eager editor/proofreader/arms dealer Helbereth. This work is greater for his involvement, and for that, I thank him: thanx.
Settling In (this post)
Strange Occurrences
Revelation
Ants Against Men
Resolution
Conclusion
“Your body is about to go through many changes. You will develop the appetite of the wolf, a taste for things you’ve never eaten before. Then the pentagram -the five pointed star- will appear in your hand…” –Madam Ozbenskaya, “Boy Meets World” Episode 2X6.
Hisao and Akira(?!)- Terror in the Night!
Part One: Settling In
I still can’t believe I’m putting all this down. I can’t believe it all happened, either. But a bet’s a bet, and so I leave this tale for posterity, and desperate comic book writers.
One summer, my husband, Daichi, and I were visiting Lilly’s summer home up north in Hokkaido. I had already sold the original summer home we had up there, but the area had a few Western-style places that were pretty cozy. When one went up for sale, Lilly and her husband bought it. There happened to be one nearby, and when it was for sale, I wasn’t too surprised when Hisao and Hanako snatched it up; they always did like the area.
Anyway, Lilly and her husband George’s summer home had some guest space; in case a certain awesome sister happened to be in town. So, the thirteen of us -Kenji and Miya had other plans- were set for a nice summer weekend over the trimester break; just us, our kids, and the sun.
Yeah, right.
The sun part of our trip was already looking out of the question, as the sky was pretty cloudy when we finally parked in the driveway of Lilly’s house. We would’ve taken a train, but I’d rather drive; all those nice, open country roads with no cops around. If Hanako could’ve, she probably would have done the same on one of her motorcycles. As it was, my and Georges’s car stopped in the gravel driveway and I eased out of the car, my husband and two girls not far after me.
Almost twice the size of the one I'd sold off, Lilly's summer home had two floors, and the same Western style. It was painted a nice yellow with a black slanted roof, and everywhere around us there was wheat, and trees; the pathways leading to town some kilometers away were lined with forest.
Hisao’s home was about three kilometers down the road, but it wasn’t actually on the main road, so he turned right and headed down along a gravel path. They’d be over in a bit, but first they had to unpack and feed the baby.
Daichi, a slightly tall man with short black hair and brown eyes, stepped out of the car while our two girls, Carry and Chise, bolted from the back seats. The twin girls had brown eyes and dark brown hair, and were five years old. Having done the whole husband/kids/family thing a little later then my sister and her friends, despite the age difference, my kids were about the same age as theirs.
“Nice to be back,” I said, moving over to and lifting the popped trunk.
“Yup,” Daichi said; he was never one to waste words.
“Indeed,” I heard Lilly say from my right. Out of the car, she and George set about retrieving their luggage and preparing to unpack. She was wearing a light green ankle length skirt and matching sweater. Watching her tap her metal cane as she navigated the familiar driveway, mostly seeking out any new potholes, I caught a glimmer in the cloudy afternoon light from her little silver cross and Saint Lucy necklace.
Speaking of Saint Lucy, Thomas, their son, being led out of the car by their daughter, Hanaye, was the reason for Lilly's added neckwear. Both black-haired like their father, Thomas had green eyes while Hanaye's were hazel. Making his way over to the kids, speaking of George, he was actually a few centimeters shorter then Lilly. Wearing casual business attire similar to my own, he smiled and shook his head at the battle of wills the two never seemed to stop.
“I know where I’m going!” Thomas snapped at his older sister.
“I know that, I’m just helping you down!” Hanaye said in a placating tone.
“Tom, your sister’s just trying to help,” George remarked. He tended to alternate between English and Japanese when talking to his family. I did the same thing. It was interesting when he spoke Japanese with his Canadian accent, though.
“Still, you need to respect your brother’s independence,” Lilly said as she pulled a suitcase out from the trunk.
Lilly never once said she regretted her son being born blind. Still, a few days after he was born, she had picked up and started wearing that necklace; Saint Lucy, patron saint of the blind. She always was the religious one. I couldn’t stand that stuff myself; reminded me too much of my father and his stringent ideas about raising us. Sure, Lilly had taken to it like a duck to water, but I preferred a more relaxed attitude. I shook away the impulse to get pissed at my father and started unloading the car, making sure the twins didn’t hassle Tom and Hana too much.
Looking the same as we left it last year, the front porch was pretty big, with a nice awning and some old rocking chairs. Inside, the front door led to a big living room, decked out with enough chairs and sofa space for everyone, even Kenji; whenever he showed up. Leading from the living room, a doorway on the right, near the front, opened into the kitchen, while another doorway further back led to a hallway, through which you would find the first floor bathroom and dining room. A third doorway on the left of the back wall led upstairs. The second floor consisted of the two bedrooms, two more bathrooms, and some closets.
I know I make it sound big, but it actually wasn’t that much floor space. The kids would be sleeping in the family room, which was fine, because I had power over the remote control for the TV in the evening. The kids were already shoving their sleeping bags into a corner for when they’d need them.
By the time we had unloaded the cars and Lilly and George started making dinner, Hisao, Hanako, and their kids had arrived. I greeted them at the door with my usual gusto, palming a beer in my right hand like always. It was the first of the day; I do not have a problem, no matter what my father says.
“Hey, you made it!” I said as they started walking in. Hanako was first, dressed in her usual dark blue pants, light purple shirt, denim jacket, and that adorable flatcap of hers. Her hair was held back these days, so you could see the scars on her face clearly. Not that I gave a damn. She nodded and stepped in, cradling the infant Refia in her arms.
“Hello,” she said, then sniffed, “making dinner?”
“Yup, if you wanna help, I can take the kid for you,” holding up the beer, I added, “I haven’t opened this yet.”
Hanako nodded and carefully placed their youngest daughter in my arms while I handed her my beer. She looked just like any other baby girl, really, especially since she seemed to be asleep.
As Hanako headed for the kitchen -opening my beer in the process- Hisao stepped in, his son, Akio, and daughter, Satomi, following close behind. He was wearing his usual white shirt and blue checkered sweater-vest. Satomi had Hisao’s brown eyes and dark hair like Hanako, which matched her brown skirt and little dress rather well. Akio had darker eyes and brown hair, and was wearing khaki pants and a t-shirt.
“Hey,” Hisao said, stepping in, “settled in?”
“Yup,” I replied with a slight nod, “how ‘bout you?”
“Everything’s fine,” he remarked, glancing back outside, “though if it starts raining we might be in trouble- Akio hates thunder.”
“It better not rain!” Satomi groaned, “we were supposed to go on a nature hike tomorrow.”
Hisao sighed, “and yet you forget to pick up your toys.”
Chuckling, I motioned for them to come in. Daichi was in the living room sipping scotch from a glass, the decanter on the coffee table, and Hisao lost no time finding a glass and some ice cubes. His kids, meanwhile, dashed upstairs in search of Tom, Hana and the twins.
“Six kids and a baby,” Hisao said, sipping scotch as he sat down.
“It’ll be fine,” I said, “won’t it, Refia?”
Opening her eyes at me briefly, she yawned and closed them again. Looking up from her, with that goofy smile all parents develop in the presence of a happy baby, I noticed Hisao eyeing me oddly.
“What?” I prompted.
Shrugging, he smiled and remarked, “never took you for the maternal type, is all.”
“Very funny,” I replied sardonically; after raising my sister for nearly six years, I was damn sure I was kickass mother.
“I thought so,” Daichi chided, earning him a glare, “what’s for dinner?”
“Food made by the only cooks in the three families,” I said, shrugging, “eat it, don’t complain, and pray Hanako isn’t experimenting tonight.”
“I heard that!” Hanako exclaimed. I hadn't expected her to hear me, though I knew Lilly could.
“Lils, defend me in there, would ya?” I requested.
“I’m sure I have no idea what you are talking about,” she replied, snickering.
“Thanks, Judas,” I snorted.
“Rule of the kitchen,” Daichi said, “never anger the cook. They control the quality of your food and have large knives.”
Following that, chatter returned to normal, and dinner turned out to be delicious. Afterwards the clouds slowly thickened, and a quick check on my laptop confirmed the likelihood of afternoon showers.
“We can just do the walk in the morning,” Hisao said, picking at some peach cobbler as he sat in a plush chair. The dining room was too small for everyone to sit in, so Hisao, Daichi, and Hanako took up the chairs -with Refia in a backup travel crib- while Lilly and George used the sofa. The kids were using the dining room. Smirking as he scraped another bite onto his fork, he added, “I can skip my run that way.”
“My, my, and you were so diligent about them, too,” Lilly teased from the sofa, her cobbler placed next to her on the coffee table while she picked and scraped at it carefully.
Hisao grimaced at her before realization dawned, “oh right, tomorrow’s Friday. Guess I’ll go for a quick jog anyway, then.”
Noticing it appeared to be getting a little brighter outside, I looked out the window next to the front door. The clouds had parted, and it looked like the moon was shining outside. I was already finished eating, so I stepped out onto the front porch and looked up.
The moon was full, alright; or close enough that it didn’t matter. The clouds were still thick, though, so it wasn’t long before they were once again covering the moon’s light.
“Looks like a full moon,” Hisao said, startling me; I hadn’t heard him come out. Hanako was behind him with Refia in her arms. They looked ready to go.
“Yeah, I was thinking that myself,” I remarked absently. The brightness of the moon had thrown me a bit.
“Shame it’s so cloudy,” he lamented, “I brought a telescope to watch the stars, but it looks like we coulda saved the space.”
Hanako tried to reassure him, “it might clear up in a day or two.”
“Good point,” I remarked, peeling my eyes away from the hidden moon behind the overcast sky. Remembering how they looked ready to head out, I added, “you two leaving?”
As I said that Akio and Satomi stepped outside, as well.
“Yeah, we need to get her to bed,” Hisao explained, motioning towards Refia, “and it’s past someone’s bed time, anyway.”
“But we’re on vacation!” Akio protested.
“He has a point,” I added with a smirk.
Hisao nodded and stepped off the porch. “See you tomorrow for the walk,” he called back, not bothering to look as he strode toward their car, “we’ll be by around nine, okay?”
“See you then!” I replied, waving despite his not seeing the motion. Watching them leave, I thought it was nice out, so I figured a beer on the porch would be a nice way to finish the night. Turning to head inside, I saw the others getting up and moving toward the porch; I guessed they had the same idea, sans the beer.
Before I could start heading into the kitchen, I heard something out in the wheat fields, causing me to look back out that way. It was an unfamiliar, eerie sound that I could swear sounded like a baying wolf. That ridiculous thought was quashed by my realization that both wolf subspecies native to Japan were extinct, but, still, it was distinctly creepy. The hairs on the back of my neck stood as I peered into the distant darkness, trying to find the source of that howl.
“Something wrong?” Daichi asked, startling me again. Being the first one outside, he had brought me a beer; he knew me so well.
Shaking my head to clear the creepy feeling, I disarmed his concerned grimace with a quick smile. “Just hearing things,” I said, grabbing the beer and popping it open, “probably just the wind.”
How dumbassedly wrong I was.
+++
Next Chapter
Yup, things are going bump in the night, and for once, it ain’t Hisao.
Hope you like the change in POV character. Feedback is, as always, appreciated.
I would also like to thank my reluctantly eager editor/proofreader/arms dealer Helbereth. This work is greater for his involvement, and for that, I thank him: thanx.
(I'm guessing it's down to him knowing Lilly a bit as well as being Hisao's neighbour then?)
