CHAPTER 4 THE BEGINNING

Yokohama, 1999

Brrrmmmm....

"Yes. Stop."

" Slide. . Yes. Hold. One.. Two.. Three... Lift!!"

Little Ryu heard a commotion from below, liked the sound of people being busy.  He looked out of his bedroom window, towards the outside.  He saw below, several people were unloading and loading goods from a truck into the house next door.

"New neighbor," he thought.

He watched the activity for a moment.  Down below, a red sedan stopped in front of the house.  The back door of his car opened, and from there came out a wavy golden brown hair little boy. Ran to his new home.  From a distance he looked happy.

" Mommy .. Mommy . There 's our new house ! " shouted the little boy.

He jumped for joy.  Very expressive.  Characteristics of a child.

"Finally we live in Japan, Mommy! I love it!"

Behind him got out of the car a blonde hair woman.  Wore white dres.  Her body was slender and tall.

"Foreigners?" Ryu asked himself.

He continued to playfully watch those below.

Behind her was a man with a dark black hair, tall and sturdy but Ryu couldn't see his face clearly.  They laughed together watching the cute little boy's behavior.

"Ah, apparently they are foreigners."

Ryu went back into his room and took his guitar.  He had to train that day.  And he started playing his guitar.

Clink after clank began to play beautifully.  Became a strand that cradled the ears.

********

The sun was starting to set on the western horizon when Ryu woke up from his nap.  Squirming lazily, wanted to sleep again but his ears heard something.  From downstairs, in the living room, he heard the sound of people talking.  There were the voices of his father and mother, as well as other people.

"Any guests? Who are they?" thought Ryu.

He washed his face, looked in the mirror and smoothed his hair and immediately went downstairs.  On the stairs, his eyes saw a little cute white boy, with wavy golden brown hair trying to climb the stairs.  He held on to the railing, slowly climbing each step.  The stairs at Ryu's house are indeed a little higher.

"Hajimemashita!" Ryu greeted him in Japanese language and waved his hand. It meant nice to meet you.

The boy paused for a moment, smiled widely and waved his hand at Ryu, "Hajimemashita!"

His big round eyes smiled too.  Really adorable.

"Oh this kid can also speak Japanese."  thought Ryu.

Ryu led him down to the living room.  His mother greeted Ryu and introduced himself to their guest.

"Ryu. This is Mr and Mrs. Shinohara and their son Jin. They just moved from London, England to Yokohama."

Ryu introduced himself to them with a respectful . And bowed.

"Hajimemashita. " he greeted.

Then he said, "Jin?? I thought he was a girl!"

Mr.  and Mrs.  Shinohara looked at to each other and laughed.

Mr.  Shinohara, "Ah, A lot of people think Jin is a girl at first. He's really pretty. Like his mother."

Mrs. Shinohara smiled shyly and nudged her husband's waist.

"It turns out that this boy's father is Japanese." Ryu thought.

Ryu was only able to recognize their faces at this point.

Then Ryu bowed down in front of Jin, "You're so beautiful. With your beautiful round eyes, and your wavy hair you look like a girl, Jin. Your eyelashes are really long too. You're so adorable."

Jin pouted then ran to his mother's lap.

"I'm not a girl!! I'm a boy!!" he frowned.

Ryu chuckled, "Oh I'm sorry, Jin. You're so beautiful after all."

Ryu stretched out his hand, trying to persuade him and lead him into the kitchen.

"I have chocolate and ice cream, would you like it?"

Little Jin nodded enthusiastically.  And took Ryu's hand, grasping it with his small hand.  He looked at Ryu and gave him his best smile.

"I like chocolate. I like ice cream!" Jin looked up at Ryu while laughing happily.

They all laughed at this little boy's behavior.  Really adorable!!

They both ate ice cream and chocolate in the kitchen.  Usually, Ryu's mother always provided chocolate and ice cream in the refrigerator every summer.  Ryu watched the boy while he ate.  He's really adorable.  He wanted to have a brother but gods didn't seem to allow him to have a brother.

"Jin.. How old are you?"

Little Jin showed his fingers, "Six!"

"Six?? You're big huh..." Ryu pinched Jin's cheek.  Whereas in his mind, Ryu thinks Jin was still like a baby, very cute.  His body was also not tall, tended to be smaller than his peers.

"Yes. I'm already big. Mommy said, later I'll grow even bigger. How old are you? Is your name Ryu?"

"Yes. My name is Ryu. I am 14 years old."

"You've aged a lot."

"A lot?" Ryu smiled and furrowed his brows.

"Yeah. A lot.. Look I can't count with all the fingers on my hands."  Jin showed his ten fingers on both hands.

Ryu smiled.  And ruffled Jin's hair.

He thought, if only he had a brother like Jin.  Surely he would love and took care of him.

"Jin. Will you be my little brother?" suddenly Ryu asked.

Little Jin looked at Ryu for a moment, and nodded.

"I will !" he said.

"I have no siblings. I'm the only child."

"Me too. Well. From now on you can call me Aniki."

Jin looked at him and his eyes looked confused, "Aniki??"

"Yes Aniki. Aniki means big brother."

"Alright, Aniki."

Jin smiled happily as he stirred his ice cream.  And his mouth started to splatter with chocolate.

Ryu gently wiped Jin's mouth with a tissue.  Cleaned the remaining melted chocolate  that sticks around Jin's mouth.

"From now on we are brothers." Ryu gave Jin his pinky finger.

"Yakusoku."

Jin hooked his little pinky as well.  "Yakusoku."

"Since you are now my Aniki can I play with you every day at your house?" Jin asked.

"Off course you can."

"Can I play in your room too?"

"Yes. You can. "

"Can I borrow your toys? I will lend you mine later, Aniki."

"Of course you can." Ryu smiled.

"When I just got here I heard the sound of a guitar. Do you play guitar, Aniki? Your guitar playing is very good. Me, Mommy and Daddy listen to it from our house. They really love music,  especially my Dad. He played guitar too. Daddy said I should learn to play guitar with you because Daddy thinks you're talented. Do you  want to teach me how to play guitar, Aniki?"

"Then if you really want, we can learn together."

Ryu laughed and ruffled little Jin's hair. Jin also laughed happily.

They laughed together.

That was the beginning of their introduction.

The beginning of the intertwining of the red threads of their lives.

*******

Shinohara Jin was a half-blood.  Mixed blood, people said.

Kinda spoiled.  His mother was a Caucasian of British nationality and his father an Asiatic Mongoloid of Japanese nationality. From Yokohama.

His Mother told him about them, their new neighbors.

Jin's father, an Attache who frequently changed assignments to other countries.  Most recently he served in London.  And he decided to return to Yokohama, Japan.  To stayed here for a long time.  Their reason was, Jin had to started school and it wasn't good for him to always change schools.  He also had to start getting to know Japanese culture, because he was a Japanese nationality like his father.

Japan adheres to the Ius Sanguinis principle, where the nationality of a child was determined based on descent or blood. And England also Ius Sanguinis.

So Jin was automatically a Japanese citizen.

Jin went to school not far from here.  Still in the same district as their home.  According to his parents, it would make it easier for Jin to go home by foot. Also so that he could follow the habits of the Japanese people who like to walk.

But in fact, on the first day of school, when the boy was about to return home, he got lost.  Ryu found him crying by the side of the road.  In front of the school. Luckily that day Ryu did not follow his school activities until the end.  Got a headache.  He was already sneezing when he woke up that morning.  Looked like Ryu caught the flu.  He did not feel well that day.

When Ryu walked towards the house, he faintly heard the cry of a small child in front of the elementary school.  Ryu turned towards the school where the crying came from.  And he found Jin was covered in tears. He was really like a baby.

Ryu walked over to him and bowed down.

"Jin.. You're a boy and you've grown up. Don't cry."  Ryu wiped Jin's tears with his thumb.

"Aniki. Did you come to pick me up? I wanted to go home but I got lost. I forgot my way home. Then I went back to school. I was hoping someone would pick me up."

"Ah, that's a pity. His parents should have accompanied and guided him for a few days so he could remember the way back to his house," thought Ryu.

Ryu stretched out his hand.

"Yes I came to pick you up. Let's go home, Jin"

Jin reached out his hand and Ryu grabbed his hand.

"Jin, who took you to school this morning?" Ryu asked.

"Mommy took me to school this morning. We walked from home to school. But I forgot the way home, Aniki."

"From now on, during these few days I will come to pick you up, until you really know the way home."

Ryu thought he will take his time off for the next week, to picked up Jin after which he would go back to school to study.  It so happened that Jin's school schedule coincided with his school break time schedule.  And their schools were not too far apart.

"Alright, Aniki. I will always be waiting for you to come to pick me up."

Jin wiped his tears with the back of his hand.

They walked side by side and hand in hand towards their house.

"Hi, Jin. Hi, Ryu. " Mrs. Shinohara greeted them at the door.

"Jin were you crying?"

Mrs.  Shinohara watched her son and turned to Ryu.

"Jin was lost, Mrs. Shinohara. I happened to be heading home and heard a child crying, then I saw Jin crying in front of his school," explained Ryu.

"Yes. I was lost, Mom. I forgot the way home. Luckily Aniki came to pick me up. Starting today Aniki will pick me up for a week, so I can actually remember the way home," said Jin.

Mrs.  Shinohara turned to Ryu, "Really?"

Ryu nodded, "Yes Mrs. Shinohara during this week I will pick up Jin at his school, until he really can go home alone."

"Will it not interfere with your study activities, Ryu?" Mrs. Shinohara asked.

Ryu shook his head,

"Absolutely not, Mrs. Shinohara. It just so happens that my school break time and Jin's school schedule coincide. So I promised Jin to pick him up during this week."

Mrs.  Shinohara, "Oh, alright. Thank you Ryu."

Ryu bowed his head and excused himself to go home to Mrs.  Shinohara.

Jin pulled his hand, "Aniki this afternoon I'll play at your house okay."

Ryu nodded, "But you have to do your homework first. After that you can play with me."  and he waved his hand to Jin.

That afternoon they learned to play the guitar together.  Jin quickly caught on to everything Ryu was taught.  While Ryu was studying, he taught Jin the basic techniques of playing the guitar.

From that day on, Jin learned to play guitar with Ryu every day.  Jin was very enthusiastic.  Sometimes he got tired and fell asleep in Ryu's room.  And finally stayed there.

And they began to share in everything.  Including shared a bed.

Jin often didn't want to go home when he was busy playing with Ryu or accompanying Ryu to studied or just listened to music in Ryu's room.  Their parents allowed Jin to stay in Ryu's room as he pleased.  And Ryu also really pampered Jin who he already considered as his own little brother.

They really were like brothers.  Always together whenever there was a chance.  Nothing could separate them.

If other people saw, Jin was Ryu's top priority.

Ryu took care of him and protected him.  That's what it looks like.

"I always want to be with Aniki."

That's what Jin always expressed every opportunity they were together.

And Ryu with a smile would always answer it.

"I've always wanted to be with you too., Jin. "

*******

"What's meant to be would always find a way. There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be. Don't be afraid your fate cannot be taken from you, it is a gift."