Where have you been all this time. Why only now have you come back?
My thoughts wander around in my head, making my head pound slightly. Taki looks at me with those handsome brown eyes of his. He flashes a smile, showing a dimple on his cheek, close to his lips. I take a deep breath, looking away from him.
“I’m glad you are back, Taki,” I say, peeking at him slightly.
“No you’re not. You’d be looking at me if you were.”
"I am looking at you. Just not fully."
He chuckles, looking at me with a side glance. "That doesn't count. You need to actually look at me. In those eyes you love so much." He smirks, his dimple reappearing on his cheek.
Heat rises up in my cheeks, painting them with a slight red tint. "I don't love those eyes, Taki. I admire them. Completely different."
"Not that much different," he remarks, pulling at his belt. "Besides, you wouldn't admit it anyway."
Mother steps in after observing us for a while. "She missed you when you were away, Taki. You're the only boy she ever--"
"Mother," I say sternly. "Taki is my friend, and he is fighting the war for us." I look at Taki, my playfulness disappearing. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, out on the battlefield shooting Russians and Americans?"
Taki's face became stone cold, serious. A man takes control of the young boy I saw moments before. His eyes darken, the innocent light in them disappearing before my eyes. "I was given a leave, because your mother requested me. She is of high standing, and her brother said that I must do what she says."
I look up at my mother, who is watching us with curiosity etched into her face. "You requested him? But he is busy fighting war for the country."
"Yes. I've contacted my brother and requested Taki to take leave."
"Why?" I ask her.
She looks at Taki and me, the corner of her mouth lifting upwards. "Why, to marry you, of course."
"What!?" Taki and I both say at the same time.
"You two are perfect matches, ever since you were young. You two always hung out together, and you said once before that you would marry Taki."
I stare at my mother blankly. Taki slowly looks in my direct, shock crossing his features. "Mother, I was nine. It was one of those little girl crushes, I didn't mean it literally." Heat creeps up my neck as two pairs of eyes stare me down.
Taki lifts an eyebrow. "You had a crush on me?"
"This is not a good time to talk about that right now, Taki."
"When would be a good time? Seriously, I want to know. You had a crush on me and yet acted like it never existed?"
"This really is not a good time right now, Taki. I can explain it later--"
"This is why I chose him for you," Mother chimes in. "Your father agreed with me that Taki is the perfect one for our honorable little girl."660Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCb6L9UkxwN
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I snap my head towards her, completely leaving Taki's conversation. "I don't want to marry Taki. He is my best friend, Mother. It would be weird."
"How so? Your mother was my best friend," another voice states. I turn to the source of it. My father stands in the doorway of the shine, looking at me and Taki. Taki quickly bowed in respect, and I did the same.
"It's just strange, Father. I don't want to marry Taki."
"Is there something wrong with marrying Takeshi?"
"No, only that he is my best friend and I don't like him like that," I explain to him.
Father looks at me. "I don't think its weird. I think this is perfect."
I shake my head. "I don't like Taki like that. I don't. He's only my friend."
“Akira, it’s already been decided,” both Father and Mother say in the same tone.
Taki plays with his hands, looking around quickly, his eyes buzzing around like flies. “Mr. Yuki, don’t take this the wrong way, but I will not marry Akira-Lee. I already have a woman who is my betrothed.”
Mother and Father stare at Taki, not blinking their eyes, their gazes as still as steel. Father breaks the long, deathly silence. “You are already engaged?
“Yes, Sir,” Taki replies, “I will be married when the war is over.”
“It makes sense, I suppose,” Mother whispers. “Akira-Lee could never reach a man like you.”
“Mother,” I snap. “That’s not true.”
“It is. You’re not the one Taki proposed to.”
My face heats up, growing red with each word she said.
“What a girl for Taki to propose to, but not our Akira—“660Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhLnfwLHUb
660Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGszP24hPF
“That’s enough!” I yell, cutting her off. “I don’t want to get married, can’t you see that!? I just want to be who I am!” I glare at my parents. My father takes a step towards me, but I take a step back. “Why can’t you let me be? Just let me be normal person and stop making me into a doll.”
“Porcelain dolls are beautiful. They are divine. Do you not want to be those things?” Mother asks.
“No. I don’t want to be a doll. I want to be a human.” I turn my back on them. Taki nervously glances back and forth, eyes wide like a frightened child. I lift my hand towards him, motioning him to follow me. He nods and steps away from my parents. We round to the side of the temple.
I stop and look at Taki. “Are you going back to war, Taki.” It wasn’t a question.
He clears his throat, nodding slowly. “Yes. I must, to protect our country.”
I turn my head towards him. “Take me with you.”
He stares at me, staying silent for a moment. “What?”
“Take me with you,” I repeat. He chuckles nervously.
“It’s not a woman’s job to fight wars. It’s much too dangerous. It’s forbidden.”
“So, you’re just like the rest of them?”660Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EdiQf0DMz
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“It’s dangerous, Akira-Lee. I do agree with some things.”
“Traitor,” I spat at him.
“Akira-Lee.”
“Traitor.”
“Just listen to me, okay?” he asked.
I huff, blowing strands of hair out of my yes. “What.”
“I’m not saying your place is at home doing dishes, but it’s not in the battlefield either.” He says slowly, closing his eyes. “There are some things a woman should never see.”
“I see...” I say. “We will see about that.” I turn on my heel, walking down an alley way close to the temple.
“Where are you going?” Taki calls.
“Why do you have to know?” I glare at him. “You’re a traitor.”
“Stop with that.”
“I can’t stop the truth, and you can’t stop me.” I walk down the alley way. Taki’s calls soften and disappear the more I walked. The dark, cluttered alleyway smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. Small, round orange lights laminate and move in the darkness. I look around, feeling a knot form in my stomach.
A man steps out in my path, holding a cigarette between his fingers. “What are you doing out her, beautiful?” He tilts his hat on his head, revealing dark hair.
“I’m not ‘beautiful,’” I retort, nudging past him. A strong hand grabs a hold of my shoulder, and I feel myself being pulled back. The cold concrete of buildings meet my back as the ground disappears beneath my feet.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He whispers close to my ear. The smell of beer penetrates my nose and I gag.
“Get away from me!” I half-yell, half-gag.
He grins. “Now, why would I do that?”
“Because I said so.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s not a very good reason.”
I kick at him, hitting him square in the gut. He doesn’t move one bit, instead, he tightens his grip like a vice. I wince. Tingles run down my arms to the rest of my body. This isn’t good. I kick at him again, feeling nothing with the tingle sensation. “Please, just let me go.”
“Nope, I think I like you here.” He grabs the front of my kimono and I yell, hoping to distract him, or have someone hear me. It doesn’t faze him as he continues to pull down my kimono. I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable. It never comes.
A loud bang echoes through the alleyway, and I crumble to the ground, no longer feeling the vice grip on me. I open my eyes. The body of my assailant lies on the floor, with a large bullet hole in his back, seeping with blood. The blooming blood pools onto the floor, near my feet. Blood spatter covers my arms and kimono. I look up, seeing a dark shadow at the end of the passage. The glint of a katana is the only thing I can see, before the figure vanishes into the darkness.
I stare down at the body, my lips trembling. “Thank you.”
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