Adrift

Disclaimer and Prologue

dedicated to: @FinallyInfinite for helping me with the blurb

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DISCLAIMER:

Few chapters of the story will involve the following:

- Sexual Innuendos and Nudity

- Graphic Language

- Violence (not much in the starting chapters)

- Yankii gangs and Yakuza but mostly the former

- Bullying

- Romance – the sugar element but only as a subplot

- Teen Drama (angst and puberty nitty grits)

- Japanese Honorifics and simple terms will be used.
All that is used will be listed at the end of the chapter with a given translation. 

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Copyright © 2020 by Natasha Rivera
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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The following places, characters, groups mentioned in the novel are strictly fictional.

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PROLOGUE

7 years ago

Panic arises in my body, making the hair on my arms stand up. My heart is pounding heavily as dread gnaws the insides of my stomach. This is how you feel when you have just lost your eight-year-old brother.

"Tomo-chii!" I call out my little brother's name as loud as I can. "Tomo!" I shout again, my throat hurt after I do, but I repeat it. Families, holding each other's hand, pass by as they eat their skewers. Just by observing me, the parents clutch their children's hands tighter.

"Have you seen a little boy who's holding an umbrella?" My brother, Hitomu asks in a rash voice. His voice is cracking, yet it is still loud enough for me to hear. He's standing on the opposite side near a chicken karaage station. Every student that passes by on his side shakes their head dismissively. We're in a shopping district. All the shops' colorful neon light displays complement the darkness of the night. They are all lined up on each side. Some food stalls are evoking so much smoke from their roasting pans. The delectable aroma of the smoke makes my stomach grumble, but I ignore it.

I look at the children running around and giggling, but I don't see our Tomo. Our Tomo is wearing a shirt that has stripes on the top and a pair of dark blue shorts. He's got this wide smile that showcases his broken teeth, some are brown from eating too many candies. These children are not Tomo. I can feel my eyes moistening with tears and cold sweat running on my back.

My eldest brother, Daichi sprints out of the district towards the streets together with Eiji. They're chasing a black car. The distance of the car and my brothers are near, but suddenly, the car speeds up further and leaves them far.

Is Tomo-chan there?

I run and follow their direction, but I lose them when suddenly a strong impact of a bump takes me back a few steps. The voluptuous man who crashed unto me cranes his neck down and looks at me with furrowing eyebrows. I bow down, apologize, then I continue running. They were too fast, Eiji was already on the other street while Daichi resigns his body on the nearby pavement, crying with trembling fists.

The sides of my body already hurt, but I keep running. I could see Eiji's figure coming close as I force myself to run more. Right before I come near enough to reach him with my hand, my legs collapse on the asphalt ground. My chest tightens, my lungs burn and my lips are drying out. I pick myself up and breathe slowly–in and out.

Eiji gives up and kneels in the middle of the street. His fists punch the ground ceaselessly. "Aaaaaah!" He screams at the top of his lungs. I walk closer to him and see all the color draining from his face. His pupils constrict and narrow down, emphasizing the red nerves around it. The vein on his forehead protrudes and trembles. I clear my throat and rub my fist towards my wet eyes.

"Eiji, did we really lose Tomo?" I croak. Nothing but silence comes out from my brother. The flood of tears blurs out my view of him and the dark empty streets.

I can't believe our Tomo's gone just like that.