"ただいま !(tadaima; I'm home)" I called out as I led Konju into the house.
"おかえりなさい (okaeri nasai; welcome back), Aruke!" Dad greeted back, looking up from the newspaper.
Konju leaned in to whisper, "What's tadaima and okaeri nasai?"
"Those are words we Japanese use as etiquette when someone comes back," I whispered back.
"Oh..." Konju nodded in understanding.
"Ah, you must be Konju, right?" Dad grinned, putting the newspaper down and standing up to come over.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aruke's dad!" he bowed. I chuckled a bit.
"You don't have to be so formal, Konju. Just call me Uncle Aruki," He grinned.
"That's fine with me," Konju nodded.
"All right then. You two can head up to Aruke's bed room, then you guys can head off to Konju's house to get his clothes for the night-"
"But I already have my clothes with me, Uncle Aruki," Konju sheepishly admitted.
Dad stopped. It took a while to load the information, and when it did, his eyes widened, "Wait what?! When did you-?!"
I laughed a bit, "We went there straight after school to pick his clothes up."
That was a half-truth, at least. The truth was that we had decided to practice using the Fluctuation Artefact and try to figure out a way so that both of us could use the time feature without Konju getting frozen. It took a while to figure it out, but we finally managed to think up a way; activating the time and space feature at the same time by placing them there at the same time.
After that, we had headed off to Konju's house to get his clothes.
I had met Konju's parents in the process, and after a while, I understood how Konju could be so relaxed and caring; his parents were psychotherapists, and very good ones nonetheless. That's why I had asked Konju if he was going to follow his parents.
His blunt No had been shocking, until he explained that he wanted to inspire, so he was training to be a motivational speaker.
I was even more amazed than before. I mean, who wouldn't? Konju already had a great aim for the future, while I hadn't even thought about it, though I kept that in. I didn't want Konju fussing over me again.
Anyway, Konju and I soon headed up to my room, which is kind of plain, only consisting of two beds, a bedside table, a closet, and a bookshelf which I had cleverly converted into a study desk by putting up book holders and leaving a good amount of space for a "table". I had placed a desk lamp there too, so it was quite space-saving; all I needed was a retractable chair, which I could open up from the bookshelf itself.
Konju whistled as he looked at my room, "Simple life you live, Aruke."
"Thanks," I smiled while walking over to my closet, picking out a pair of teddy bear pyjamas before I placed it at an empty cabinet, where I usually put my clothes in preparation.
Konju dropped his bag to his bed before he sat on it, "So, does your dad know of your status now?"
I shook my head, "I don't want to endanger him."
He grinned a bit, "As expected from Aruke-"
He was cut off by a sudden gunshot that echoed out through the air.
We froze.
That gunshot had come from outside the house.
Soon after that, we heard a rock hit my window, so I scrambled to get it open, hastily grabbing the rock, which was tied to a scroll of paper. I gently untied the paper and went to my desk to see the words. Konju followed me as I opened up the chair and lamp before I grabbed the magnifying glass which I had put on my desk in case I ever needed it and quickly put it over the words.
My heart sank as I read its only sentences.
We are outside. Come on out, or your old man gets it.
YOU ARE READING
Book Writing
Adventure"You can't change time." Those were the words that 14-year-old Kin Aruke believed in based on time travel. Sure, he wasn't all the special, living in Yukon, Canada despite being half-American, half-Japanese, but he had always been the kind to not l...
