I am wondering if a few of my readers are Anime fans. If so, they might see a nod & a wink towards the names of some popular characters from a few series. It is purely intentional and a great big "Chi" to all of you who enjoy this work. For those who aren't fans, don't worry – you're not missing anything that will detract from your enjoyment of the story. ~~BrettJ
For the first time in 2 years, Hideki Motosuwa woke up in a room that was not his private room in "the facility" or a room he shared with 4 others or even his room at his small apartment. The sun was streaming in the window and he could hear the noises from the street below. They were happy, joy-filled noises and for the first time in a long time, Hideki felt an emotion he had not enjoyed in some time – calm.
He liked San Francisco. He had only been there two days and its comfortable charms were winning him over. There was no pressure to conform, like there had been back in Japan. Here, Hideki could be himself. Now, all he had to do is figure out exactly who that someone was.
In Japan, he had been an "everyman", hiding in his cubicle, a one-time NEET with little hope for a bright future. Even Hideki himself had no sense of how that had been eroding away at his soul until they were carting him out of the office in a straight jacket. He was told lately that he had been dancing on his desk, singing the songs of a local Tokyo Pop artist with rather suggestive new words added. He didn't remember that, even now that was still a blank.
His parents came to see him and the shame in their faces was evident. It made his recovery all the harder, because he wasn't motivated
to
. Why should he return to a job he despised and continue to disappoint his family? Hideki stayed in his room at the facility, rarely interacted with the other patients and progress seemed haltingly slow. His parents despaired the he might not get well for some time to come because he wasn't trying to get well.
It was his twin sister who proved to be Hideki's salvation. She heard of his predicament and her heart went out to him. Hisako knew that her brother would never be happy living in a restrictive culture like Japan, so she picked up the phone and spoke with her brother for a number of hours, listening to his woes in a way that no one had before. "As soon as you are well," She told her brother "I want you to come and live with me in San Francisco. Perhaps away from our parent's watchful eyes, you can become the person that you are meant to be."
Hideki's mood brightened and his attitude began to change that very day. He knew his sister's words had the ring of truth, for she herself had moved to San Francisco 5 years earlier after revealing her lesbianism to their disapproving parents. Every phone call he got from Hisako was bright and cheerful; she was not the glum, dour girl that had left Japan almost 5 years prior.
To further assure her brother's progress, Hisako called every other day. The doctors were amazed at his quick progress. He was interacting with others, he attended all of his therapy sessions, he was working hard to achieve a goal. His parents were pleased, happy that he would soon be able to re-enter society. Hideko had no intention of telling them the society he planned to enter was not in Japan.
When Hideki was released, he went home to his apartment. He didn't want to stay there a day longer than he had to, it was so tiny, so depressing, so ...
practical.
He settled things with his landlord and began packing up his things, doing most of it in secret. He had some vacation time coming so he didn't return to work, he had no intention of going back to that repressive environment. He kept his intentions a secret from the few friends that he had, knowing that many of them would try to talk him out of it. He had to do this thing. He needed to give this new life a chance. When all the arrangements were done, he sent a letter to his parents and the very next day, boarded a flight to San Francisco. Hisako told him she was looking forward to their reunion, they had not seen each other since she left years earlier. It was far too long for siblings who had once been so close.
Hideki enjoyed the experience of the airplane ride. He had been saving his money for years, anxious to take a vacation to somewhere – to anywhere – that would get him out of Japan. In the eyes of his countrymen, Hideki was just another one of millions. In another country, he would be interesting, exotic, a stranger in a strange land! He knew he was being silly, but for once in his life, he wanted to stand out from the crowd and not be just one of the throng.
The young woman who met Hideko at San Francisco International Airport was not someone he would have recognized at first. Gone were her perennial page boy hair cut, dark clothing and Doc Martens. This Hisako had long, dark flowing hair and was wearing a dress that hugged her shape nicely. She was wearing attractive makeup and high heels and looked very feminine. It was a welcome change and provided Hideki with the first of many smiles that would cross his face while living in America.
"I am so glad that you will be living with me," Hisako said to him in Japanese.
"You can speak English, you know," He smiled. "I was at the top of our class."
"I had forgotten that," Hisako smiled, hugging him again. "I'm going to do everything I can to make your stay here a happy one, I promise."
"I hope I can be as happy as you, you look wonderful and a lot more feminine than the last time I saw you," Hideki complimented her.
"That would be Yuri's doing," Hisako smiled again.
"Who is Yuri?"
"That would be me."
A very lovely young woman appeared as if out of nowhere. She stood a bit taller than his sister, around 5'8", Hideki would have estimated. She was wearing a snug pair of blue jeans and her hair was a lovely shade of auburn. She was also in heels and smiling. Hideki looked at Yuri and smiled.
"I'm Yuri Ito, Hisako's roommate," The young woman grinned as she held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Hisako has been waiting a long time to see her twin brother again."
Hideki wondered if "roommate" might also mean "girlfriend" but Yuri abused him of that notion as they went to the parking area to get Yuri's car. "We tried being girlfriends, but decided that we worked better as friends," Yuri explained. "Your sister says that I'm too high-maintenance."
Hideki still possessed some Japanese reserve, so he didn't ask a lot of questions, however, Yuri continued to volunteer answers. "I'm Japanese-American, although my mother was born in Kyoto, my father was born here and so was I. I've lived in Hawaii, Los Angeles and now here," Yuri told Hideki. "I'm going to continue to live here, I find as a bohemian, bi-sexual sculptor, I can be free to be myself in San Francisco," She giggled sweetly.
Hideki liked this girl and he was ready to learn more about her as they made their way to his new home. As before, he didn't have to ask Yuri anything, his new roommate-to-be was a bit of a chatterbox.
