Anyways, here is the story in its current state. Any critiques are welcome.
“You never see the one that gets you.”
Shinji remembered reading that in a story once. Now though, if he could talk to the author, he would tell them just how wrong they were. Shinji could see what was about to get him as plain as day. The glittering steel bumper of the delivery van was steadily bearing down on him as he fell to the ground, his feet having slipped out from under him as he tossed the girl back to her brother on the sidewalk.
He saw Toji snatch the girl from the air with the strange clarity that often comes with the release of massive amounts of adrenaline. Time seemed to have slowed, just like he always saw in the movies, and he turned his eyes towards the other person on the sidewalk. She was reaching for him, her red hair flying out behind her. She was screaming something that Shinji couldn’t understand. He tried to reply, but he couldn’t move his mouth fast enough.
He could, in some cruel way, turn his head quickly enough to read the letters and numbers on the license plate attached to the bumper.
And then, it all went dark.
() () () ()
“Toji! Wake up! Your friends are going to be here soon to pick you up!”
Itsuki Suzuhara rapped on the door to his son’s room three more times, the wood flexing with each hit. He turned and reached behind him and did the same to his daughter’s room.
“You too, Sakura! If you’re not up when they get here, I’m telling them to leave without you!”
He waited for a moment. Nothing. He sighed and raised his fist again, ready to knock even harder.
The doors slid open simultaneously as Toji and Sakura Suzuhara stepped out into the hallway. Itsuki noted that the boy was fully dressed, a rare sight for him, especially at 8:00 AM on a Sunday.
“I’ve been up for over an hour. I’ve been packing, dad.”
“Well, I’ve been ready since last night.”
Toji looked down at his sister and stuck out his tongue. She returned the gesture before disappearing back into her room.
Toji motioned behind him and Itsuki peered over his son’s shoulder. Two good sized duffel bags sat neatly stacked by the dresser, a backpack resting on top of them. To top things off, the boy appeared to have already showered, shaved (it was mostly fuzz, but Toji wore it like a badge of honor), brushed his teeth and, miracle of miracles, had actually combed his hair.
“Wow. How come I can’t get you to do this any other time, huh?” his father chuckled, poking his son in the ribs lightly, “Come on. Kaji just called and said they’re five minutes out. I’ll help you with your bags.”
Toji sighed and stepped back, grabbing one of the duffels and handing it to his fathe. The older man grabbed the carry handle and whistled.
“Have a lot of costume changes planned there, Toji?” he laughed as he slung the carrying strap over his shoulder.
“Well, the park is on a beach, and it’s the middle of summer. I’m gonna be running around and sweating all day, so I wanna make sure I have fresh clothes I can swap in when my other ones start getting rank.”
“Yeah, but did you have to pack a week’s worth of clothes for a three-day trip? That seems a little excessive…”
“You know what mom always says about packing, dad,” Toji replied, “It’s better to have too much and not need it, instead of not enough.”
“She has literally never said that and you know it.”
Toji grinned and rubbed sheepishly at the back of his head.
“Yeah, well, she always overpacks and it’s come in handy before, so I figure why not?”
Itsuki shook his head and grinned. For all the ways his oldest child was like him in almost all ways physical, Toji took after his mother in so many other small ways. He was loud and brash and suffered from an overabundance of confidence, but he always had time for people, whether they be classmates or just strangers on the street asking for help. Itsuki had lost track of the number of times he had caught Toji helping an elderly man or woman find their way through a crowded shopping mall or street market, guiding them by the hand and reading signs for them if their vision wasn’t what it used to be.
God forbid you mention it later, though. The boy would offer every excuse he could find as to why he did what he did, be it because, quote, “It’s a man’s job to help others,” or because he was trying to impress a pretty girl from his school.
Itsuki smiled to himself. There were plenty of girls fawning over his son, he knew that. Itsuki had the same problem in high school himself, despite what his wife might say. Toji was tall and lean, he would be taller than his father before long, and played every sport you stuck in front of him. Of course, the girls flocked to him, and Toji ate up every second of it. But Itsuki knew his son better than that. He saw the way the boy looked at the Horaki girl differently than anyone else.
And, the way the girl looked at him the exact same way. He saw how close she sat to Toji whenever his friends would come over for dinner, the way her eyes seemed to light up whenever his son said her name. He needed to tell that girl how he felt before she got tired of waiting. Itsuki had broached the subject of Hikari on more than one occasion, but Toji always changed the subject.
Sakura stepped back out into the hallway, her own duffel bag over her shoulder. She looked up at the two of them and started dragging the pack down the hallway, visibly straining. Itsuki sighed, handed the other bag back to Toji and grabbed Sakura’s off the floor. She gave him a dirty look and said something about being able to do it herself, but her relief was obvious.
“Oh yeah, Hikari messaged me something strange last night,” Toji spoke up, throwing the duffel over his other shoulder, “She said she, and I quote, had a plan.”
Itsuki gave his son a confused look.
“Exactly what kind of plan are we talking about? Don’t tell me she’s trying to sketch out every single second of your time at the park so that everyone has the ‘perfect’ amount of fun?”
Toji shook his head.
“Nah, nothing that complicated. No, she said she’s got a plan for getting Asuka and Shinji to finally tell each other how they feel.”
Toji smirked.
“It’s about time. Those two have been dancin’ around each other for years. Everyone can see it. Me, Kensuke, Hikari. Hell, even Mr. Kaji and Ms. Misato have mentioned it before.”
“I think they’re perfect for each other,” Sakura chimed in, her bright red backpack slung on her back, “I hope they get married.”
Itsuki nodded, a small smile on his lips.
“So, did she give you any specifics on what this plan might entail?”
Toji shrugged, dropping his bags by the front door.
“So far, the only step she’s come up with is ‘Get Shinji and Asuka alone together as much as possible.’ It’s simple, but I kinda think it needs a little something more, ya know? Some action, some adventure. I mean, we’re gonna be at a huge theme park -slash- resort for three days in the middle of summer. I’ve seen those books Hikari reads, the ones with the pretty girls wrapped up in some guy’s arms on the covers. I’m sure she has other steps, even if she doesn’t realize it yet.”
“Maybe one of them could be put in danger and the other one has to come rescue them!” Sakura offered, her eyes twinkling. Toji looked at her askance. Hikari must have let the girl read some of those books.
He sighed.
“I’m just along for the ride, I guess.”
Itsuki went to reply when he heard a vehicle turning into the driveway, the wheels crunching on the gravel by the front porch. He opened the front door and stepped outside. The rental van shone in the morning sun, the tinted windows standing out against the stark white of the paint. The side door flew open and out stepped Hikari Horaki. She held a hand up to her eyes to block the sun before sliding the door back closed. Itsuki only got a brief glimpse into the van’s interior, but he instantly recognized the flash of red hair sitting in the middle seat. Hikari started walking towards the man, offering a small wave as she did.
Toji stepped out behind his father and squinted in the sunlight, and Itsuki watched two things happen simultaneously.
One, Toji noticed Hikari and his breath caught ever so slightly, and…
Two, Hikari noticed Toji and picked up speed, her eyes widening.
She made it to the door and stopped, offering Itsuki a small bow as she greeted them good morning.
“Hey there class rep,” Toji said, “You ready for the trip?”
She nodded enthusiastically.
“Oh yeah! I’ve never been before so I’m super excited. Are you ready to go? Misato and Kaji are itching to get on the road.”
Toji nodded.
“Yep! Just let me do one more quick check…”
He turned to the bags just inside the door and starting counting things off on his fingers, satisfied until he reached number eight or so. He turned to Hikari, a small panic in his eyes.
“Oh crap! I forgot to make lunch for the van! You asked me if I would and I said yes and I forgot. Damn it!”
“Language, young man,” Itsuki spoke up, grinning as Toji’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “Don’t worry, you’ve got time. Go and make whatever it is you said you’d make, and I’ll get your bags into the van.”
Toji nodded and walked into the house and towards the kitchen. Hikari hesitated for a moment before running in after him, kicking her shoes off as she entered the house.
“Hey, wait up! I… I’ll help.”
Toji stopped and turned to her, his brow raised.
“Uhh, thanks.”
Isuki didn’t need to see the girl’s face to see the blush form on her cheeks. She followed after Toji as they made their way across the living room and into the kitchen at the far end and began digging out ingredients. The older man sighed and reached down to grab one of the bags, but found it already hanging at the side of the man now standing in the doorway.
“Morning, Itsuki.”
“Morning, Kaji. How are ya?”
The younger man shrugged and smiled.
“Any day I get to be out of the lab and still get paid is a good day in my book,” he said before glancing over his shoulder, “Especially with company like
this.”
Itsuki shook his head and grinned. He didn’t have to look where the younger man was gesturing to know who he was talking about.
“What company?” came a voice from behind Kaji. He seized up for, only for a heartbeat, before relaxing again. It was only due to Ituski’s long friendship with the man that he noticed the momentary lapse in his typical casually aloof demeanor, “What were you guys talking about?”
“I thought you were staying in the van.”
The raven-haired woman stepped from behind Kaji and bowed slightly to Itsuki before giving wrapping her arm around the older man’s waist and giving a small squeeze.
“Good morning, Misato. Your beauty gives the sunrise a run for its money, as usual.”
Misato Katsuragi, lead liaison between N.E.R.V and Toji’s high school, blushed despite herself. Kaji stared at the older man and slowly shook his head, a small grin on his lips.
“Why thank you, Itsuki. You look… Um...”
“Distinguished? Worldly? Like a man who commands the universe through sheer force of will?”
He grinned.
“Or old and tired and in desperate need of a shower and a shave?”
Misato chuckled.
“Let’s go with the first three, shall we?”
Itsuki smiled. He knew he wasn’t that old, being only barely into his forties, but there was still something innately satisfying about constantly bemoaning his age. It was mostly to get a rise out of his children, and occasionally his wife, but it still brought him no small amount of pleasure when someone refuted his claims of personal senility and decrepitude. Especially someone like Misato. He glanced at the woman as she turned her attention to Kaji, their small talk fading into the background as he watched them.
Kaji looked at her like a child looks at a puppy or a small kitten, with absolute adoration. His eyes constantly flicked across her face, and occasionally down to her chest and hips. Her legs were exposed up to her mid-thigh in the jean shorts she wore, and he took those in as well. A purple tank top, a pair of sandals and a floppy straw hat completed the ensemble.
Itsuki turned his attention to Misato and saw pretty much the same thing, her eyes darting across the taller man’s face, staring at the deliberate amount of stubble he left on his chin. They made their way down to the Hawaiian shirt he wore, the top few buttons left undone, and the surprising amount of muscle that dappled his chest.
The elder Suzuhara was many things, but blind was not one of them. He watched the two people in front of him, and he saw. He saw a longing that was not so much hidden as it was standing on a rooftop with a bullhorn, announcing its presence to anyone and everyone that cared to listen. He sighed.
“These two, Toji and Hikari,” he thought to himself,“and, apparently, Shinji and Asuka. There better be some changes when they get back from this little trip. This is getting to be too much. I can only handle so much unrequited love in my life.”
The side door on the van slid open again and out stepped a boy the same age as Toji, only slightly shorter and leaner, a near carbon copy of his father, only minus the height. Itsuki was sure that would come later. He carried himself like his mother, though, a constant awareness shrouded by an aura of deliberate relaxation.
He moved from the van and another person emerged, a girl this time, with flaming red hair and eyes so blue they made the ocean look dull, just like her mother’s. Also like her mother, those eyes contained an intelligence that seemed too deep for a single person to contain. They walked up to the small group gathered on the porch and poked Misato and Kaji in the ribs from behind, each chuckling at the adults’ small jump.
“I thought you two were in a hurry to get on the road,” said Shinji, smiling as Kaji and Misato glared at him, “We’ve been here almost fifteen minutes already. Where’s Toji?”
“And Hikari for that matter,” Asuka added, glancing around.
Itsuki leaned his head into the doorframe and looked to the back of the room. He grinned and turned back to his guests. He placed a single finger to his lips and motioned toward the door with his thumb.
“Look” he mouthed as he stepped back. The gathered friends leaned forward and stared into the house. They let their eyes adjust to the relative darkness for a few moments, before all four of them broke into goofy smiles.
Toji and Hikari were still putting together the sandwiches and other assorted snacks for the occupants of the rental van. The counter they stood at was easily two meters long with plenty of space for them to work, but they stood so close together that Hikari might as well have been standing on the tops of Toji’s feet. They worked smoothly, and other than the occasional request for an ingredient or a muffled apology for bumping into the other person they worked in silence.