Upside Down

Monday: I see Airi and Emi as usual. Airi begins working with me on controlling my PTSD triggers. Emi, well, she does the same thing we did the first day to compare my progress. I"m astounded at how much progress I"ve made so far.

After I shower and dress, we head to TGR. Once we catch up on what Hiro and Mirai have been up to, I have Hestia bring up the list of employees that were let go when Akiyama shut down the Nanotech division. Hestis also pre-vetted the list and excluded anyone who failed her screening. I ask them to call them and have anyone who doesn"t have a job call back for an interview with them. If they pa.s.s, rehire them.

I also bring up headhunting those who are the lead in the field of Nanotechnology. I tell them to search for candidates and put together a list, but I want to be present to make the offer to fly them here, at our expense, for an interview.

My wardrobe closet and shoe rack arrived today while we"ve been gone too. We find Mama online already buying me more outfits. Thankfully, she"s buying me the casual outfits that I need. Now, you might be wondering why Mama buys someone who"s thirteen so many outfits when teens grow so fast. I"m sure if you think about it, you"ll know. Not only do we age more slowly, but that very fact means our growth is significantly slowed as well. So, I"ll be able to wear what she buys me for quite some time to come.

Honoka takes me out back and begins teaching me how to defend myself. The ninety minutes we spend doing so is actually much harder for me than PT, so by the time we"re finish I look like I jumped in a swimming pool. By the way, we"ll be doing this on the days I have PT.

Ryu calls me at 8:00 and we talk for around ninety minutes, before he has to go to bed. His call makes my day.

Tuesday: Today is a spa day for the four of us. Mama, Honoka, Chinatsu and I go to the Playland Spa for the day. Hot springs, saunas, ma.s.sages, and beauty treatments are the order of the day. I"ll leave it at, we had a wonderful experience there.

Ryu sends me a text tonight at 9:30. He apologizes for not being able to call, but his father and his grandfather have been on his back since he got home from school. He tells me goodnight, and he misses me.

Wednesday: Airi and Emi again. Usual events there. Not much to say about them.

Afterward, we head over to TGR for a bit to check on things. I find out they"ve been busy restarting the Nanotech division. They"ve vetted and rehired fifty research a.s.sistants and nine researchers.

I have Hestia copy the programming for my parents" cure, the second one, not the one that changed me, to a portable drive, and we head down to talk to the research a.s.sistants. After introducing myself and wading through the usual "But you"re a little girl" reaction, I narrow them down to two to make what I need. I ask for a completion timeline and the best guess estimate is a week to have the two batches made.

I also tell them not to make any extra at the moment. If I need more, then we can go from there.

Back at home, Honoka takes me out back to teach me self-defense. Another ninety minute workout which leaves me wringing wet. Honoka and I head in to collect Chinatsu, so we can take a shower and soak.

Ryu calls me at 9:00, and we talk for about forty-five minutes, before he has to go. It seems he really did reflect on not calling or texting me and is making sure it never happens again.

Thursday: Honoka, Chinatsu, and I go shopping, where we buy Honoka and Chinatsu more clothes. Chinatsu kinda balks at the outfits I pick out for her since she believes they don"t suit her. No idea why, but she thinks dressing more elegantly, like Mama and I do, isn"t for her. I think she looks gorgeous in the outfits I choose. In a complete turnabout of how things normally go, she ends up giving in to everything I pick out for her. Although, her doing that does require a promise from me to allow her to pick out some outfits for me at some point. I"ll simply say I hesitantly agree, since I know quite well how she likes to see me dress.

Ryu calls again at 9:00. He tries to act as if nothing"s wrong, but I can tell. He"s distracted and all over the place. He tells me three times there"s nothing wrong before I force it out of him. It seems his father is now demanding an answer as to whether he"s going to take over the dojo or not.

I listen to all of it and ask one question, "Will it make you happy if you do?"

"My father…" He begins saying.

I cut him off, telling him, "That"s not what I asked you."

Sighing, he finally replies, "No. It won"t make me happy. I love martial arts and I like teaching it to the kids, but it"s not what I want to do for the rest of my life."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"The law has always interested me. I"d like to be a lawyer as good as your father is."

"Okay. Then tell him and your grandfather. I know it"ll be hard on you, but it can"t be much worse than what you"re dealing with right now."

"Sora, it"s not that easy."

"Yes, it is. You simply open your mouth and tell them. If it"s too much, we"ll think about it together to come up with a solution. I"m here for you, and I"ll always be on your side, no matter who or what it is we"re facing."

"Sora. I think you"re being too optimistic, but I"ll give it a try."

Friday: Emi today. She pushes me a bit harder than she has been. I don"t really mind, and I"m honestly surprised at the end of the session when I"m slightly out of breath, but I"m not shaky at all.

Napping has become something I do now and again because I want to, not because I have to. I will caveat that by saying, "only when I haven"t done far more than I should have." Other than that, I"m good, but I still take them now and then because I want to with Chinatsu.

Ryu calls me at 4:00. Suffice it to say, the talk with his father and his grandfather didn"t go well. Neither of us thought it would, but now we have to deal with the fallout. His father kicked him out of the house, which I think is total BS. Heading out to meet him with my sisters, I stop in the living room to tell Mama and Dad what happened. Dad"s furious over this and comes with us to get him. We don"t have a place for him to stay in our house, so we rent him a place at a rooming house Dad knows of. Dad pays for several days and gives him ¥20,000 for expenses. He also says he"ll talk to Ryu"s father Monday.

I tell him, "Hang in there and we"ll work it out, one way or another. You can always live in the school dorms if you can"t go back home. I know it"s not ideal, but it"s a place to live. I"m so sorry I told you to tell them. If I hadn"t done that, this wouldn"t have happened."

He shakes his head. "No Sora, it"s not your fault. This was going to happen one way or another. I was going to have to tell him sooner or later."

Everyone leaves the room to give us some time alone before we head back home. Stepping toward where he"s sitting on the couch, I pull his head against me, refusing to let him pull away from me. "Stay still. I told you, I"ll always be here for you, and I"ll always be on your side no matter who we face." I crawl into his lap and kiss him while he pulls me tighter against him, then tell him, "I have no idea why you"re so important to me, but you are. I"m sorry my advice started all of this regardless of what you said. Ryu, all I want is for you to be happy, and you weren"t. I could hear it very clearly every time we would talk. I have no idea if my dad talking to yours is going to help, but if anyone can do something about it, he can. Ryu?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you still want to be a lawyer?"

"I dunno, but I know I don"t want to take over my grandfather"s business or the dojo."

I lean back to look at him. "Then please don"t give in to him. You do know that"s why he kicked you out, right?"

"Of course I do. Even if I never see my family again, I don"t plan to do what he wants. I"m sad and upset, but allowing this to change my mind will simply make things worse for me."

"Ryu?"

"Yes?"

"You know I"d do anything for you, right? Well, not anything, but if you need money to live I"d be happy to give it to you. Dad would too, but that is beside the point. If you don"t want to live in the dorms, I"ll pay for a place for you to live. Whatever you need, within reason."

He chuckles. "Yep, that"s my unusual girlfriend. Sora, listen, I"m happy you"d be willing to do that for me, but what I want and need is you beside me. Where I live isn"t a huge concern for me, alright? I"m sure this will all blow over soon and I"ll be able to go back home. If not, well, we"ll deal with that when it happens. Fair enough?"

I nod in reply and lean to give him a long, soft, kiss. Needless to say, I have to fight off my amorous side while we kiss and cuddle, which we continue until Honoka knocks and tells me, "It"s time to go."

Sighing, because I don"t really want to leave him, I stand up.

"Sorry, I"ve got to go. I"ll talk to you soon."

He nods, but doesn"t release my hand. "Sora?"

I smile. "Hmm?"

"Sora, I love you."

Confused and more than slightly embarra.s.sed, I ask, "Huh? What? Where"s this coming from?"

"I love you Sora. I know we haven"t known each other for very long, but I know, I love you. You don"t have to reply, yet, but that"s how I feel."

I look at him, but honestly, I"m totally bewildered, I don"t know yet. "Ryu, I like you a lot, that"s obvious. Love though? I don"t know, but you"re very important to me, that much should be clear."

He chuckles, then smiles at me. "Sora, I think I fell for you the moment you asked me to dance. We have lots of time, so it"s not like I need you to say it now. Relax, I simply want you to know where I stand with you."

I bend down, kiss him, then tell him, "I"m attracted to you, I truly like you, and I want you in my life. I don"t know if that means I love you or what, but I"m willing to do almost anything for you. If that means I love you, then I do. Sorry, but I really do have to go. I"ll see you soon."

I kiss and hug him again, then leave the room.

Once we arrive back home, we head out back to continue teaching me self-defense. Chinatsu watches my ninety minutes of extremely hard training which leaves me sopping wet. Afterward, we head in, so we can take a shower and a long, hot bath.

Sat.u.r.day: We go to our checkup at our normal time. Nothing unusual, we"re all healthy and nothing out of the ordinary is found. Dr. Sato mentions that they"ve given up trying to reverse engineer my nanites due to the time limitations.

I call Ryu and we talk on our way home. Of course, he"s still upset over his dad kicking him out. We talk until I get home, where I tell him I need to go. Yes, I broke Mama"s rule of calling first, but I"m worried about him and I"m fairly sure she"d understand.

Honoka, Chinatsu, and I take a nap after we arrive home, since our friends are coming over this afternoon at 3:00. You might remember that we"re going shopping and then having a sleepover after that. Not that I expect much sleep will be had by any of us from what Chinatsu has said.

I probably ought to mention that Dad was adamant that we"ll not be taking public transportation, at least until they know more about who was following us around last weekend. I can live with it, because that means not having to deal with the crowds on the the trains and it"s more convenient. Plus, it"s not as if we"re losing any of our privacy if we use our driver.

So that we"ll have the biggest variety of shops to go to, we"ll be going to the largest shopping center in Tokyo, Skytree Town which has over 300 shops.

Everyone seems to really excited when they arrive. I don"t know for sure about Chinatsu, but I know I am, and I"m definitely looking forward to getting to know them better.

As soon as Keiko sees me, she literally jumps at me to hug me. "Hi Sora. I"m so looking forward to shopping."

Not complaining at all, but I"m definitely a little confused. Yes, she said she wanted to be friends, but I didn"t expect this.

Her hugging me isn"t a problem at all, you know me, I"m the affectionate type. "Me too. Hopefully, we can find some nice things."

Keiko smiles. "Whether we do or not doesn"t really matter, as long as we have fun." Grabbing my hand, she pulls me out the door, followed by everyone else. Why do I get the feeling that Keiko has sort of latched onto me? I mean, I do want to be friends and all, but seriously, this is a 180° turn from last weekend.

Now, many of you might be asking, what"s so fun about shopping? Well, as a boy, I could have cared less. I was all about getting what I need and getting out of there. Shopping was something that I had to do.

As a girl, well, it"s a bonding/emotional experience. By that I mean, we learn about each other"s likes and dislikes, give our opinions on what looks good or doesn"t, and in general it"s physiological thing. It"s a feel good thing for us, even if you don"t get it. I"ve read some of the psychology behind our liking shopping and trust me when I say, all you"ll do is say "Huh?" as a male. Do yourself a favor, nod, smile, and go along with us in this. You"ll be a lot happier if you do.

Keiko has yet to let go of my hand since we arrived, even to the point of dragging me into dressing rooms with her. So far, it"s nothing inappropriate, but somehow I feel it"s more than that… I don"t know, we"ll see. I don"t want to hurt her, but I already have a girlfriend and a boyfriend, not looking or wanting more.

The pointed looks I get from Chinatsu are pretty bad. It"s obvious, she"s willing to accept Ryu, but another person isn"t going to happen. Not that I have any thoughts or intentions in doing so.

The next time she drags me into a dressing room with her, I ask, "Keiko, I don"t really mind helping you change clothes and all, but you aren"t wanting more from me, are you?"

Blushing furiously, she looks down. "I"m not good enough for you?"

I shake my head slightly. "This has nothing to do with you being good enough for me. You"re a cute girl Keiko, but truthfully, I don"t feel that way about girls. I"m sure the right girl, or boy, is out there for you, but I"m sorry to say it"s not me. I have a boyfriend, you probably know him, Ryuichi Ueno."

I know what you"re thinking. Yes, Chinatsu"s a girl, but she"s the exception to that. I"m serious, Keiko"s plenty cute enough for anyone and she has a killer figure, but she does nothing for me.

Keiko"s head pops up to look at me in surprise. "You"re dating Ryuichi Ueno?" I nod in reply. "Really? When? How?"

I chuckle for a few moments. "Yes, I really am his girlfriend. When and how? I met him at a business party we had to go to a few weeks ago and we"ve been seeing each other ever since."

She frowns and tells me in a worried tone, "Sora, that"s probably going to cause a lot of problems for you when you go to school. He"s the most popular boy in our grade."

I smile and shrug lightly. "Popular or not, he"s mine, and I have no intention of breaking up with him simply because others are jealous. If he liked them that way, he"d be with them, not me. Enough about that… Now, that dress is gorgeous on you. You should buy it."

She smiles, but shakes her head. "I don"t have this kind of money."

"Do you like it?" She nods. "Okay, then I"ll buy it for you as an early birthday present. Pick out some heels to go along with it and we"ll get them, alright?"

"Sora, you don"t have to do that. This is expensive for any of us."

"It"s not a problem, my mother left me some money. I won"t be doing things like this much, but I can do this, and I want to."

Just to be fair, I ended up buying everyone an outfit and heels. We all have to push Mayu to pick a dress and some heels, since the only skirt or dress she has is her school uniform. Apparently, she"s always felt as if they don"t suit her. Why, I have no idea. She might be very pet.i.te and the shortest girl in our grade, but she"s extremely cute. Think of a squirrel, then make it hyperactive, and there you go.

In our way home, we drop by a cake shop to get a cake for tonight. I still have yet to work on my baking skills, and I"m not going to ask Mama to make one.

Back at home we"re giggling and happily chatting away in the dining room while having some cake and tea with Mama. I take Dad, who had quickly retreated to the bedroom after we got back, a piece of cake and some tea.

Afterwards, we head up to my room since I have the largest bedroom of us girls. We pretty much spend the whole night playing games, talking, giggling, and simply enjoying each other"s company. We did fall asleep at some point though.

Aoi, Ami, and Mayu were never really standoffish with Honoka and me and Keiko"s been reserved, but now, it feels like we are fully part of the group.

In the end, I"m so glad we did this. I think it really helped us get closer.