Little Tiger

The trip

The dreaded day was upon me. I had to wake up at five in the morning, the sun just barely showing itself over the horizon. It was the first night that I was able to get to sleep, stay there, and have no nightmares, but waking up so early was a nightmare in itself. 

Shigure was still asleep and I didn't have the courage to wake him up, so I left a note on the chabudai: 

"I'll be back tomorrow. 

-Ko" 

Ayame was an early riser. I needed to talk to someone before leaving on my dreaded "vacation" with Akito. 

Ayame was still in bed, but awake. He had a bathrobe on, snuggled under his comforter, watching the morning news with a cup of tea in his hand. I almost mistook him for someone's mother. 

"Good morning," he managed to say in a strained voice. He woke up early, but not always cheerfully. 

I tipped my head at him, glancing over at the television, then down at the mug of tea in his hand. "Got any coffee?" 

He yawned and pointed absently towards the kitchen. "Instant. That's still coffee, right?"

I meandered into the kitchen, stepping over piles of clothes, mannequins with half-finished designs on them, and piles of newspapers and magazines. There wasn't even instant coffee in the kitchen, I soon realized. I pulled a mug down from the shelf and made some tea. As long as it was hot and in a mug, I figured it would suffice. 

Ayame lifted up his covers, offering me to sit beside him on the bed. I was too tired to decline, and his bed always looked so warm and inviting. 

"What time do you have to go?" 

I looked at the clock, debating. Akito said she wanted to leave at six o'clock, it was five-forty-five now. "In five minutes," I replied. It took fifteen minutes to walk to the estate, but I needed to finish my tea first. 

Toya was walking into the salon just as I was leaving. 

"Morning," I said, more chipper than I thought I could muster at this hour. 

"Good...morn'," Toya replied with a half wave and a yawn. "I only slept an hour," he explained, meeting my eyes in passing. 

Toya had the same rough sleep schedule as I did, only he stayed awake by choice. 

Akito was sitting in the estate car by the time I arrived, her bag already stowed in the trunk.  

"Sorry, there was--" 

"Save it," she snapped. "I mean...you can tell me why you're late," she corrected herself, quite to my surprise. She glanced over at me, her eyes softer than normal. It made some sense, after all; if you're going on a trip, you'd definitely be in lighter spirits than normal. 

To be honest, I was relieved when she cut me off, because it saved me from making a flimsy excuse about why I was late. But now, I had to come up with something. "I had to feed Yaps," I answered hesitantly. 

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Who's Yaps?" 

I shrunk in my seat a little. "Akari's cat." 

"And now you live with it?" It sounded like she was trying to make conversation, but her tone was more incredulous than friendly. 

I nodded. "Yeah, since Akari isn't around to take care of him," I said, mumbling more than I should have in front of my god. 

Akito nodded, her lips parting like she was going to say something, then closing.