J-Kaida

Well, I think I left people hanging long enough. Here's Chapter 11.



Chapter Eleven

Everyone was silent at that point. We were in so much shock that it took a while for everything to fully process in our minds. At least that was the case for me. As I stared at the lifeless body in front of me, those words played over and over in my mind.

She’s gone…she’s gone…

It was almost unbelievable. How could someone who had been so energetic and full of life a moment ago suffer such a painful death in a matter of seconds? It seemed so surreal, but the pale and lifeless body lying on the floor served as proof that this was no nightmare. This was real.
Captain Yoshizawa was dead.


“We need to call for help.” Takahashi said grimly.

Sayumi nodded. “Right,” she said. Her voice was still a little shaky. She rose to her feet and pulled out her cell phone. She quickly dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. “Eh?” Not even five seconds had gone by before she held the phone out in front of her and gave it a peculiar look. “I’m not getting a signal.”

“Here, I’ll use mine,” Eri offered. She took out her cell, only to be faced with the same problem that Sayumi had with hers. “Never mind, mine isn’t getting a signal either.” She thought for a moment. “I’m going to find Linlin and Tanaka-san.” Eri ran upstairs in search of the two females.

“Let me try,” I suggested. I pulled out my phone, ready to dial for help until I saw that it had no signal. “Huh?” It was strange. I had never been to any place where my phone couldn’t get at least one bar. “I don’t have a signal either.”

Aika and Takahashi checked their phones as well and had no luck. Risa finally got up and pulled out her phone. “This is ridiculous! Somebody’s phone has to work out here.” She checked the screen and was in complete disbelief. “What the hell? No signal?” The saleswoman shook her head. “That’s impossible. This phone has the best signal strength. I should be getting some kind of reception! Maybe I should try my other cell…”

“What would be the point?” Takahashi questioned. “We’re obviously in one of those dead zones.”

“Well, isn’t there a telephone somewhere that we can use?” Risa asked.

“I…don’t remember seeing one,” Aika replied as she thought back. “And I don’t think the captain said anything about one being here during the tour.”

“Well, then, just…” Risa furrowed her brow trying to come up with a plan. “Damn it! Then what the hell do we do?” She was clearly getting frustrated and panic started to sink in.


Eri came back downstairs with Linlin and Reina, whose faces looked just as panicked. The younger girl peered over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of the corpse. “Oh God!” she shrieked.

“So…she’s really dead?” Reina asked. The sorrow in her voice made it clear that she didn’t expect a miracle.

“Look at her! She ain’t takin’ a nap!” Risa snapped. “Just tell us that one of you has a working phone.”

Linlin and Reina gave each other a look before slowly shaking their heads. “Damn!” Risa cursed and started pacing back and forth. She ran a shaky hand through her light brown hair. “Well, can’t somebody try their phone again? Or check to see if this place has a telephone? We have to call someone! We can’t just leave her here like this!”

“We know that,” Takahashi said calmly. “But we obviously can’t call for help as long as we’re on this island and-”

“That’s the thing!” Risa interrupted. “If the captain’s dead, then just how the hell are we going to get off this island?”

Everyone kept silent. None of us had an answer to that. I hadn’t even thought about it until this point. “Now do you all see why it’s absolutely necessary that we contact someone?” Risa continued. “Unless one of you knows how to operate a ship, then we better find a way to get help, or else we’re stuck here!”


The saleswoman was right. Now that we were left without a captain, we were going to end up stranded on this island until we could find help.

“She’s totally right,” Eri agreed. “That means we all need to work together to make sure that doesn’t happen. But first things first…” Her eyes shifted to the captain’s lifeless body. “We need to get her out of here.”

Reina looked up at Eri knowingly and gave a nod. “I’ll look for some shovels.”



We had to carry the corpse out of the mansion and down the cliff to bury it on flat ground. It wasn’t easy, but Risa and I managed to get it done. It was getting dark, so we had to work fast before it became too dark to see. Reina managed to find a few shovels for us and we all took turns digging. Once the hole was big enough, we carefully put the body in and covered it back up. The sun had completely disappeared by the time we were finished.

We stood around Captain Yoshizawa’s grave in somber silence. The darkness of night seemed to make the mood even drearier. A wild dog howled a long, smooth, sorrowful note off in the distance. I stood there, looking down at the grave, wondering how this could’ve happened. It wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have died like that. We shouldn’t have had to bury her out here. We shouldn’t have been mourning her death in the middle of the night. But here we were, and there was nothing we could about it now.


Risa was the one to break the silence. “Well…that’s that. Let’s go back inside and figure out how to get off this rock.”

“Wait!” Sayumi cried out, stopping Risa in her tracks. She looked back down at the grave. “We should at least say a few words. To properly put her to rest.”

The saleswoman let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. “Fine.” She paused for a moment to think. “Um…Captain Yoshizawa was a good captain…A great captain. She had been nothing but kind and helpful since we left on her ship. And uh, she will be greatly missed….Amen.”
Seemingly satisfied with her eulogy, Risa cleared her throat. “Now, inside.”



We all gathered into the living room. Risa was pacing back and forth with a cigarette in her hand. “Ok, so just to be sure, there isn’t anybody with a cell phone that can get a signal out here?”

Everyone shook their head. The saleswoman groaned and took a drag from her cigarette. “Well, that’s out then…”

“Hold on,” Takahashi interjected. “What about the chef? Ishikawa-san? Does she know what’s going on?”

“I don’t think so,” Eri said. “She said she was going to sleep after she finished dinner. I haven’t seen her since then.”

Risa blew out a puff of smoke. “Someone better find her and bring her down here so we can fill her in. She can probably help us out too.”

Linlin raised her hand. “I’ll go look for her.” She got up from the couch and left the living room.

Risa finished her cigarette and threw it in a potted plant. “Ok. Now, are we sure there isn’t a telephone in this mansion?”

“I haven’t seen one,” Aika answered. “But we can check again just in case.”

“That could take a while,” Takahashi said. “And if we don’t find a phone, we would have just wasted a bunch of time.”

“Well, if you have any other suggestions, speak up,” Risa replied.

“We could check the yacht,” Eri suggested. “I’ve worked on enough ships to know that there has to be some sort of communication system on it that we can use.”

“Good idea. All right, let’s-”

A terrified scream came from upstairs, stopping Risa mid-sentence. She froze and looked up. “That can’t be good.”


Everyone rushed up the stairs to see what the scream was for. At the end of the hallway, we found Linlin slowly backing out of a room, trembling.

“Lin!” Aika called out. “Are you ok?”

Linlin had opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Risa walked up to the frightened musician and put a hand on her shoulder. “What happened? Did you find Ishikawa-san?”

“I…” The Chinese girl paused before she stammered her response. “S-she….She’s dead.”

Risa was stunned. “What?!” She turned her head towards the doorway that they were standing in front of. The saleswoman went past Linlin and went inside. The rest of us exchanged dreadful looks before following Risa into the room.

We walked cautiously inside and saw Risa standing at the side of a bed. In the bed was Ishikawa-san, who looked like she was still asleep. Next to the bed were a bottle of sleeping pills and a glass of water sitting on top of a nightstand.

Risa spoke with her back towards us. “Linlin was right. Chef’s dead too,” she said gravely. “Must have died in her sleep.”

I heard a few gasps and sobs come from the others behind me. Again, we had been given the last thing we needed; another death. At least no one had to witness this one take place, and at least she appeared to have gone out more peacefully than the captain did. Still, Ishikawa’s death didn’t make our situation any easier, but further complicated it.

Risa seemed to be at the end of her rope. “I’m going to bed. We’ll bury her in the morning.” She turned around and faced us. “For now, leave it be.” The saleswoman pushed her way past me and the others that crowded in front of the door.

That was it. In one day, we had lost two valuable people. Now it was just the 8 of us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Any bets on who's going out next? >: D

As I promised, here's the next chapter of TOTLB.


Chapter Ten

At this point, I wasn’t sure if I should thank Linlin or punch her in the face for putting me up to this. The one drink I didn’t intend on having managed to turn into two. Then three. Then four. After that, I lost count and stopped caring. I ended up being Risa’s guinea pig, testing out the mixed drinks she created. Most of them were actually really good. The drinks that I didn’t care too much for were gladly taken back by Risa and she finished them herself.
After a while, the saleswoman got tired of bartending and plopped down into a stool next to Takahashi with a bottle of beer. “I think you guys had enough.” The saleswoman took a sip of her beverage and set it down. “And I’ve had too much to drink to be standing on my feet all night.” She dug in her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, setting them on the bar. “None of you bums even tipped.”

A few seconds later, a little metal object hit Risa in the forehead and landed in her lap. She picked it up and laughed. “A whole 5-yen! Great! Now I can finally buy that Ferrari I always wanted,” she said sarcastically. Risa pocketed the coin and took a cigarette from her pack. “Jerks.”

“Yer welcome!” Aika shouted back.

Risa shook her head and put the cigarette between her lips. Before she could reach for her lighter, Takahashi grabbed it and threw it over her shoulder.
Risa frowned with her unlit cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth. “Why’d you go and do that? Now I have to get up!” As soon as she tried to stand, the actress pushed her back down on the stool. Risa was obviously getting a little frustrated. “What the hell, Aichan??”

“Aichan”? Someone sure is friendly.

Takahashi leaned in closer to the saleswoman. “You wanted a tip, right Gaki-san?”

“Gaki-san”?? I found that nickname hilariously appropriate.

“I was just messing around,” Risa confessed. “I don’t need a tip. I need a smoke!”

“Well…here’s a tip anyway.” Takahashi moved in closer until she was practically on Risa’s lap. “You should stop smoking.”

The saleswoman watched her cautiously. “And why is that?”

“Because I don’t like the taste it leaves behind.”

Risa looked confused. Before she could speak, Takahashi snatched the cigarette from her mouth and planted a kiss right on her lips.

“Yeah!” Aika cheered. “Get some!”

I turned my head away to avoid seeing their little make-out session. I heard a bit of laughter from the woman next to me. “Well, they look like they’re having fun,” Reina observed. She gave me a look that sent chills down my spine. “I wouldn’t mind a little fun myself…”

Before I could protest, she sat right down on my lap, threw her arms around my neck and started kissing me. What’s even more surprising is that I didn’t tense up and fight her off. I actually was enjoying it. It was hard not to. The lady knew what she was doing. The way her tongue swirled around mine, and the way her nails gently scraped the back of my neck made me shiver. Her kisses began trailing down, and I let out a moan when I felt her bite my neck; I felt her lips curve up into a smile against my skin, satisfied with the reaction she got from me. The kitten went back up and playfully nibbled on my bottom lip as her hands wandered to the buttons on my shirt. She slowly went to work on undoing the buttons, one after another until...
“Hey, Junjun I-…”

I froze. I knew whose voice that was. “Eri?” I looked up and saw the girl with her eyes wide open and mouth agape. Linlin was right behind her with a smug grin on her face, nodding in approval. Once Eri had gotten over the shock, her eyes showed a different emotion. She looked…hurt?

Reina gave a sheepish grin and quickly got down from my lap. She cleared her throat. “Well, I, um…eh,” she mumbled before scurrying out of the room, making the situation even more awkward.

Linlin could hardly wait to say something. “Heh, looks like we got down here just in time. If we had come in any later, Jun would’ve been shirtless.”

Finally realizing that my shirt was halfway unbuttoned, I hurriedly buttoned it back up.

“….Um, well we were wondering where everyone was,” Eri said, obviously not wanting to discuss what she just saw. “Linlin and I were the only ones at dinner.”

“Eh?!” Risa exclaimed. She was in Takahashi’s lap this time, wrapped up in the actress’s arms. “Damn! I forgot all about dinner.”

“So did I,” Captain Yoshizawa spoke up from one of the tables. She had her arm around Sayumi. “Sorry, everyone. I should’ve reminded you all.”

“Oh, it’s not your fault, Captain,” Takahashi assured. “Besides, I’m sure Ishikawa-san cooked plenty of food. There’s sure to be leftovers.”

Linlin chuckled nervously. “Actually….”

Everyone’s attention shifted to the Chinese musician, hoping she wasn’t going to say what they thought she was.

Linlin, feeling the tension in the room, whistled and checked her watch. “My! Look at the time! It’s late. I should be getting ready for bed. Bye!” And she ran back upstairs.


Eri sighed. “Anyway, is Aika down here with you?”

I looked at the stool where she had been sitting and it was empty. I scanned the room, not seeing the kid anywhere. “Um…she was.” I replied.

“Found her.” Risa picked the little yankii up from behind the bar. “Must’ve passed out. Need me to wake her?”

Before Eri could answer, Aika woke up on her own, startled from being moved around. “What the-…” she looked up and realized Risa was the one carrying her. “Put me down!” she angrily demanded.

The saleswoman scoffed. “Fine,” she said, completely letting go and sending Aika to the floor with a thud.

Sayumi whined. “I’m hungry! What are we going to eat now?”

The captain thought for a moment. “Well, there’s a grill out back. How about I make us some barbeque?”

Nobody had a problem with that idea. Yoshizawa stood up. “All right then! But first…”

The captain went over to the bar and took the beer that Risa left sitting out. She put the bottle to her lips and chugged what was left. She placed the empty bottle back on the bar. “I hate to see a good beer go to waste.”

“Oh,” was all Risa could say. She scratched the back of her head. “Forgot that was even there.”

“That’s because you were too busy with something else,” Takahashi teased.

Eri looked at the two, completely confused. She then shook her head. “I don’t want to know.”

“Hey!”

I looked down to see Aika still on the floor. “Are you all gonna keep ignoring me, or am I gonna get some help?”

Captain Yoshizawa smiled. “Hang on I got you.”

Just as she began to walk over and give the delinquent a hand, she suddenly fell to the floor hard.

“Oh my God!” Eri cried out. The captain’s body began convulsing violently. “Somebody do something!”

“We can’t do anything!” Sayumi exclaimed. “She’s having a seizure. We have to wait until it stops!”

“How long is that gonna take?!” Risa yelled out of panic.

“I don’t know!” Sayumi yelled back. “Calm down!”

“How can I be calm while seeing this?!”

The captain’s lips started to turn blue and the muscles in her face contracted so badly that it gave her a sick and twisted expression. It was painful just to watch. And what made it worse was that we couldn’t do anything to help.

“Oh God…” Aika uttered in horror. She looked as if she was sick to her stomach. “I can’t watch this!” She covered her eyes.

Finally, the captain’s body lay still on the floor. Her skin was pale, and the muscles in her face were still stretched out to where it looked like she was forced to smile under extreme pain. I wasn’t sure what exactly happened, or how it happened, but it didn’t look like she was going to make it.
We watched as Sayumi knelt down next to the captain, fearing the worst. She put her fingers to Yoshizawa’s neck to feel for a pulse. After waiting a moment, the aspiring nurse let out a quiet sob. She looked back at us while fighting back tears. “She’s gone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a great way to end the chapter, right? Let the mystery begin! -evil laugh-

rndmnwierd: LOL Well, at least you commented.

Lawrence: You're welcome.

darkacex99: Enjoying an update from a good fanfic with a healthy, wholesome, and nutritious breakfast is the best way to start every morning.


So, here's a surprise. I actually have Chapters 10 and 11 completely finished. In fact, I finished writing them a few days ago and I'm currently working on Chapter 12. But what kind of writer would I be if I didn't make you guys wait? -evil laugh- Doesn't it drive you crazy knowing that two chapters are done, yet you still can't read them? WHO KNOWS HOW LONG YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT?! ψ(｀∇´)ψ


...

I'll post Chapter 10 later today. Now...back to work.

Guess who's back?? I know, it's been way past overdue, but I'm finally here with an update.
So, here's the short version of what's been happening. Went to college, college sucked, dropped out, and now I'm enlisting in the military. Yeah, me of all people. But anyway, I'm most likely going to be gone by September, so I figured I better finish TOTLB before I'm gone. Because it IS a fic that I'm really enjoying. And there's nothing better than enjoying your work, right? With all that said, here goes Chapter Nine.

BTW, it's been awhile, so if you forgot the entire story like I did, I believe it starts on page 18.


Chapter Nine

The ship soon came to a stop and the captain informed us that we reached the island. She then instructed us to get all our belongings and to meet on the pier; she was going to give us a quick tour of the island and mansion before letting us loose. Eri and I went up to our room to grab our things so we could go. I picked up my suitcase with a grunt. I had forgotten how heavy it was. I quickly scanned the room to make sure I didn’t leave anything before I headed back downstairs.

“Ah!” Eri exclaimed as she went down the steps. “Can you believe we’re already here? I’m so excited!”

“Yeah, so am I.” My arm had already gotten tired from carrying this suitcase, so I switched it over to my other hand. “And ready to set this damn thing down,” I added.

Eri laughed. “I’d carry it for you, but I already have my hands full.” She lifted up her arms to show the two bags she was carrying.

I looked at her luggage. It looked to be considerably lighter than mine. It had to be considerably lighter than mine. “Oh, I see. Wanna trade?”

Eri turned around and smiled. “Nope!”

I followed Eri outside and went to join the group on the pier. We were the last ones off the boat. I put down my suitcase on the wooden platform with a sigh and took in a breath of fresh island air. The warmth of the sun and the cool, gentle breeze was a perfect balance. I looked up at the sky, a perfect shade of blue. Not a single cloud. Just as I imagined.

“Well!” Captain Yoshizawa said clapping her hands together. “Here we are! Lovely, isn’t it?” She pulled out her pocket watch to check the time. “All right, let’s get going! We’ve got quite a bit of walking to do.” She turned and pointed off in the distance. “See that cliff right there? That’s where the mansion is.”

I looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a big, white, modern-looking mansion, sitting at the top of a sea cliff…a sea cliff that was quite tall and quite a distance away from the pier we were standing on.

“You cannot be serious,” Takahashi said in disbelief. “You expect us, me, to walk?”

Captain Yoshizawa replied, “Well, you could call for a taxi, but there are none here because this is a private island; so you can either walk or stay here. Whichever you choose is fine with me.”

The wealthy woman scowled. “Fine.” She turned to Risa. “Carry my bags.”

The saleswoman looked up. “Wha-“ Before she could finish her sentence, she had Takahashi’s luggage shoved into her. Rolling her eyes, Risa took it along with her own bags.

“Ok!” the captian exclaimed. “Let’s go!”



“So…tired…,” Linlin gasped. “Need….water….food…”

“We just left the damn pier, Lin! We barely went anywhere!” Aika snapped. “Get a grip.”

“Can’t…go on….not gonna…make it…” Linlin continued. “Help…carry me.”

“Get the hell off me!” the delinquent yelled.



The walk wasn’t too bad. I wouldn’t say it was too great either. Carrying a suitcase that weighed a ton didn’t help make the walk even a little pleasant. Lucky for me, Eri agreed to carry it halfway and I gratefully carried her bags, which were indeed not as heavy. At least I was doing better than Niigaki Risa.

“Finally!” The saleswoman dropped the luggage she was carrying when we reached the front of the mansion. She sat down on the steps to catch her breath. “Damn.”

The captain, not tired at all and still full of energy smiled. “Well, I can see everyone enjoyed our brisk walk.” Her sarcastic remark earned a few disgruntled comments. She laughed. “Ok, maybe not.”

“Hey, Captain, can we get to our rooms and put up our luggage before we go on with this tour?” Risa asked. “I don’t plan on walking around the whole place with all this stuff. My back is killing me…”

“Oh, all right,” Yoshizawa agreed. “I’ll show you to the guest rooms.”

The captain led us inside the mansion, which was as luxurious on the inside as it appeared to be on the outside. The furniture, the decorations, even the walls and floors all looked expensive. The hard-to-please Takahashi was seemingly impressed. “Well,” she said. “Not bad at all.”

Each of us was able to have a room to ourselves. I kind of missed the thought of being able to share a room with Eri, but we’d have plenty of opportunities to be around each other while we were here.
And this time, I wouldn’t have to sleep on a couch and wake up with a sore neck.

“Come along everyone!” Captain Yoshizawa called out. “We’ve still got plenty to see!”


The tour took longer than expected. For one, this mansion had a lot of rooms. There was the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, and the bathrooms of course. We were also shown the game room, the bar, the library, the recording studio, the indoor pool, the outdoor pool….and the captain made sure to go into detail about every single thing in each of the rooms. When the tour was finally over, everyone was ready to go do their own thing.

“So! Any questions?” Yoshizawa asked.

“Why on Earth did you take so long with the tour?” Takahashi wondered aloud.

“Any other questions?” the captain asked, ignoring the comment.

Linlin raised her hand. “What about dinner?”

“Oh yes! Ishikawa-san is already working on that,” Yoshizawa replied. “It should be ready in another hour or so. Just be in the dining room by then to eat.”

“Nee, Captain,” Sayumi called out in a sweet voice. “Aren’t you going to stay a little longer? At least until after dinner?”

Yoshizawa thought about it for a moment. “Well…”

“Please?” Sayumi pleaded.

The captain smiled. “Oh, why not? Since you said please.” She winked at Sayumi, making her blush.

“Well, if you’re done,” Risa interrupted. “I’m gonna go get familiar with the bar.” She walked off, leaving the rest of us behind.

The captain scratched her head. “Uh…I guess you’re all free to go.”

And with that, the group separated. Takahashi mentioned something about getting a drink, and Sayumi practically attached herself to Yoshizawa and went in the opposite direction. That left Reina, Eri, Linlin, Aika, and me standing around as if we were lost.

“So…now what?” Aika asked.

“I don’t know,” Linlin answered. “There’s so much here, I don’t know where to start.”

“Well,” Reina suggested, “I think I’ll go grab my swimsuit and hit the hot tub.” She began to walk towards her room to change. “Feel free to join me,” she called out as she disappeared upstairs.


“There’s your chance, Junjun,” Eri teased as she nudged my side with her elbow.

“Eh?!” I could feel myself starting to blush. “Oh, knock it off!”

“Hey, you’d better take that invitation,” Linlin joined in. “Or I just might swoop her up myself.”

“Go right ahead!” I shot back. “I won’t stop you. Besides, I don’t even have a swimsuit!”

“Even better. Just hop in naked and wait for her!” Linlin said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. I smacked the back of her head. “Ow!”

“Hey,” Eri interrupted. “Where’d Aika go?”

I paused and looked around. The kid was nowhere to be seen. “I guess she found something to do,” I figured. “We should do the same.”

We decided to check out the game room to play some pool first. To my surprise, Eri was really good at it. She beat me with no problem, and was winning against Linlin. I asked her what her secret was.

“It’s all about angles,” she answered proudly after sinking another ball with a trick shot.

Linlin shrugged. “I just aim and hope I get lucky.”



We finished playing pool and wandered around the mansion. “Hey, check it out!” Linlin pointed across the room to a white grand piano. She walked over to it and messed with a few keys. “Eh, not really good with this instrument. Do either of you play?”

I hesitated before answering. “I can play a little...”

The young musician clapped. “Great! Sit tight, I’m gonna grab my guitar.”

“Eh?” I watched as she hurried upstairs.

“I didn’t know you played piano Junjun,” Eri wondered. “How long have you been playing?”

“Only a few years,” I replied. “I used to receive private lessons back in China.” I sat down on the piano bench. “Haven’t touched one since I came to Japan.”

“Don’t start without me!” Linlin called out. She rushed down the stairs with her guitar and sat next to me on the bench. “Well, you mind playing a little something?”

I got a little nervous. “I don’t know…I haven’t played in a while.”

“Aw, come on Junjun!” Eri begged. “I was looking forward to hearing something.”

“Yeah, come on Junjun!” Linlin imitated. “Don’t tell me I brought out my guitar for nothing.”

Oh, what the hell? “Ok. Anything you had in mind?”

“Hmm….” The younger Chinese girl tilted her head up and thought to herself. “I’m in the mood for some blues. Give me a little improv in the key of F. I’ll join in.”

I took in a deep breath and placed my fingers on the keys. I was thankful she chose something I was good with. I played some chords with my right hand and improvised a bass line with my left. Linlin soon joined in, playing some riffs on her guitar. I noticed Eri had her eyes closed and was moving along with the music. I had to admit, we sounded pretty good for a spur of the moment performance. Linlin played like a musical genius, almost as if it was a rehearsed piece. We traded off back and forth; I’d play some riffs, and she’d play the chords. A couple of times she took some of the riffs I played that she really liked and played them back on her guitar. We were both in our zone, fully taken in by the music.

After a few minutes, we ended our little performance. Linlin and I gave each other a high-five. Eri clapped with delight. “Wow, I’m impressed! That was really good!”

“Yes, it was.”

I snapped my head towards the door where Reina had just walked in. She had on a baby blue bikini and still had water droplets dripping down her body. “Forgot my towel. I came in to get it and heard you guys playing so I stuck around to listen. And I must say, it was lovely. You two should start a band. Get some drums, a string bass, maybe a saxophone…that’d be real nice…”

I missed half of what she said because I was distracted by her body in that bikini of hers…which was still dripping wet, mind you.

Linlin broke me out of my trance. “Thanks, Tanaka-san! I just might look him up when I get home.”

What? Apparently I missed quite a bit of the conversation. She really needs to go dry off! And get some clothes on!

“Hey,” Reina spoke softly as she approached me. Oh God…

“I was wondering if you wanted to join me for a drink at the bar…When I get dried off and into some clothes of course.”

“I, um, well,” I stuttered. “I don’t really drink, but-“

“She’d LOVE to!” Linlin answered for me.

The catlike woman smiled in amusement. “Great, I’ll meet you down there. See ya.” She walked off towards the stairs.


I waited until she was gone before I went off on Linlin. “What the hell did you do that for?!”

“What did I do?” Linlin asked innocently.

I wanted to smack her so hard. “You know what! Don’t play dumb!”

“Oh come on, Junjun! It’s obvious you like her!”

“Shhh!”

Linlin lowered her voice. “I was just helping you out. She wants to get to know you better. And from the way you were undressing her with your eyes, I can tell you wouldn’t mind that.” I glared at the musician, trying to hide my embarrassment. She looked to Eri, hoping she would come to her defense.

“Well…” Eri trailed off. “It wouldn’t hurt, Junjun. It’s not like she’s asking to marry you. Just to have a drink.”

“But I don’t drink!”

“Then just get a Coke or something! Stop being difficult.” Linlin stood up. “Now, I’m gonna put this guitar away and get ready for dinner. And find out where Mittsi went. Peace!” She did a little pose with her guitar while putting up a peace sign before rushing upstairs. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I’ve known these people for not even two days and they were already involved in my love life.

“Ok, I’m ready!” Reina walked down the stairs, completely dry and in some casual clothes; white shorts and a purple tank top. “Let’s go.” She took my hand and led me to the bar downstairs.


Surprisingly, there were more people down here than I thought. Risa was here, of course, behind the bar playing bartender and mixing drinks. Takahashi was sitting at the bar with a drink, and she was…smiling? At Risa…She must’ve had a few.

Sayumi was obviously drunk, sitting on the captain’s lap and openly flirting with her. But what really caught my surprise was Aika sitting at the end of the bar.

“Yo! Hit me with another!” she hollered at Risa.

“Aika?” I called out.

She turned around. “Hey! It’s Junjun! And her girlfriend!” She patted a stool next to her. “Siddown!”

Choosing to ignore the ‘girlfriend’ comment, I joined her at the bar. Reina followed and took a seat next to me.

“Here ya go.” Risa placed a glass with a dark liquid in front of the delinquent. She looked at me and Reina. “’Sup?”

“ ‘Sup’?” I mocked. “The hell are you doing serving drinks to minors?”

Risa gave me a strange look. “What are you, a cop? Relax, Jun. Damn. Have a drink.” She placed a drink identical to Aika’s in front of me. I shook my head.

“Oh no, I don’t-“

“Juuuuun~” Aika whined. “Try it! It’s SoCo and Coke. It’s good!” She already finished hers and looked ready for another. I was still skeptical. She pouted. “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

“Fine!” I took the glass and chugged it down in one go. It burned a little, but it wasn’t too bad. “Happy?”

“And you said you didn’t drink,” Reina teased. She called out to Risa. “Fix me a Hawaiian Sunrise!”

“Gotcha!” the ‘bartender’ replied and went to fixing Reina’s order.

Reina studied me curiously. “You ever had a Hawaiian Sunrise, Junjun?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DONE! Chapter 10 is coming real soon! I mean, like, SOON soon!

Surprise! I got the next chapter of TOTLB! I figured I better get a move on with this story before I head off to college....because once I'm there, I'll have tons of legitimate excuses for why I can't update.


Chapter Eight

After what felt like hours of waiting, although only 30 minutes had passed according to Linlin, lunch was finally served. I had stayed at the table with Eri, Linlin, and Aika the entire time just to make sure I wouldn’t miss a second meal. We talked about random things to pass the time and we ended up getting to know each other a little better. Pretty soon, the all of the passengers were in the dining hall, chatting with each other as the food was being served.

I quickly glanced around the room and noticed how the group was divided; Reina was sitting with Sayumi at one table, and Risa joined Ai at another. It was almost like everyone had their own little clique, and hardly socialized with anyone outside of it. In fact, I don’t think anyone knew a thing about the people they weren’t sitting with at the time. But, this was only the second day. Perhaps we’d all become more familiar with each other once we were on the island.

I looked up from my nearly empty bowl of ramen and took a glance at Reina on the other side of the room. She was laughing with Sayumi about something, too absorbed in their conversation to notice me. Just as I was about to continue eating, I could see Reina looking in my direction out of the corner of my eye. When I looked back, I caught her staring at me as my eyes looked directly into hers, but she didn’t turn her head or look away out of embarrassment. Instead, she smiled and continued gazing into my eyes as if she wanted me to notice. For just a short moment, I was captivated by the playful glint in her eyes, right before the flirtatious wink that made my heart flutter. Then, the moment ended just as quickly as it began when the woman turned back to her roommate, continuing their conversation as if nothing happened.

I quickly looked back down at my bowl, now a little flustered and slightly embarrassed. I picked up my glass of ice water for a drink, trying to keep my hand steady so that I wouldn’t spill it all over myself. After a couple of sips, I sat the glass back down without spilling a single drop. I let out a small sigh of relief before I noticed the curious looks I had been getting from the others at the table.
“What?” I asked trying to sound nonchalant. They all kept silent, but I could tell something was up by the way they kept studying my face. “What? What are you staring at?” I asked again.

“We could ask you the same thing, Junjun….” Eri said with a smirk on her face as she dug into her salad.

“Oh yeah, we could,” Linlin agreed. “If we didn’t already know the answer. Right, Mittsi?” She playfully elbowed the teen in her side, getting a small grin out of her in return.

“What on earth are you guys talking about?” I asked, not having the slightest idea of what they were getting at. Again, they didn’t say a word and went back to eating their meals. “Oh, come on! Would you just tell me what’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on,” Eri said casually. She took a sip of water from her glass. “What’s going on with you and Tanaka-san?”


“WHAT?!” I blurted out as I was caught off-guard by Eri’s question. I couldn’t believe she had said that! Now I knew why they were acting so funny. They must’ve caught me looking at Reina a moment ago. How did they…How long were we staring at each other?!? I don’t know what my face looked like, but my reaction must’ve been priceless. Linlin burst out laughing, and even Aika let out a snicker. I noticed the other passengers stealing glances at our table, making the situation even more awkward. I kept my voice down so that I wouldn’t attract any more unwanted attention. “What are you talking about? There’s nothing going on!”

“Sure,” Aika said sarcastically. “Of course there isn’t.”

“I’m serious!” I insisted. “I barely even know her!”

“Mm, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind getting to know her….” Eri teased.

“Not that we blame you,” Linlin chimed in. “Tanaka-san is a nice-looking lady. I think she might like you, too.”

“I don’t know….She might be too much for you, Jun,” Aika suggested. “If all it took was a wink to have you shaking, you might have a heart attack if she tried anything else.”

The whole table erupted with laughter, while I sat with my arms crossed and a frown on my face. I admit, I was more embarrassed than upset or angry, but I was getting a little tired of the teasing. To think I was interested in Tanaka Reina….I didn’t even know her! I doubt she was even the least bit attracted to me in the first place. Who knows why she was staring at me? And that wink probably meant nothing anyway….

I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder. “It’s ok, Junjun,” Eri said as their laughter died down. “We’re only kidding.”

“Yeah, well quit fooling around,” I muttered, still feeling embarrassed.

Linlin tried her best to hold in a laugh so she could speak. “Oh, we’ll quit fooling around with you.” She began to chuckle. “We’ll leave that to Tanaka-san.”

The three howled with laughter again at my expense. As pissed as I was that they were still going with this, I decided to keep quiet about it. They were only kidding, like Eri said, and they weren’t saying anything too terrible. Just a little childish teasing...but did they have to do that when the person they were teasing me about was in the room?!


Thankfully, the captain entered the dining hall to announce something shortly after, taking the attention away from me. Everyone quieted down as they awaited the news.

“Good morning, everyone,” Captain Yoshizawa greeted with a smile. A few people said “good morning” in return, the rest just smiled and gave a nod in response. “Just wanted to let everyone know that we’ll be approaching H!P Island soon. Should only be an hour or so until we get there. Had we not had that storm last night, we would’ve made it by now…but, fortunately we aren’t too behind schedule.”

My excitement rose from hearing the captain’s announcement. I couldn’t believe we were already this close to reaching the island; which meant I was that much closer to a relaxing vacation in a beautiful, tropical paradise….And to think it was only yesterday when I thought this was all just a hoax.

“So,” the captain continued. “Make sure to take all your belongings with you off the ship when we arrive. There’s a mansion on the island that you all will be staying in for the weekend. I’ll be sure to show you where everything is, and I’ll even give a quick tour of the rest of the island. After that, I’ll be taking the yacht to run a few errands. I’ll return Monday evening to pick everyone up, and we’ll make it back to Tokyo the following morning.” Captain Yoshizawa looked around at each of us. “Any questions?”

“Will there actually be enough rooms for each of us in this so-called “mansion”?” Takahashi asked. “Or will we be sharing beds with strangers again?”

“Not unless you want to,” the captain replied with a grin. “You might get lonely in a room all by yourself.”

“Doubt it,” Takahashi said through her teeth. She glared at the saleswoman seated next to her before rolling her eyes in disgust.

Captain Yoshizawa gave a polite nod and turned back to the rest of us. “Anyone else?”

Linlin hesitated for a moment before she raised her hand and waited to be called on.

“Ah yes,” the captain said pointing to Linlin. “Lin-san, was it? Go ahead.”

“Well…I was just wondering….If we’re going to be on this island for the weekend, and you’re going to be taking the yacht….What are we going to eat?”

I thought I heard a groan come from Aika after Linlin’s question. Captain Yoshizawa gave a little chuckle before she answered. “Don’t worry. The mansion’s stocked with plenty of food. Ishikawa-san will stay and do all the cooking.”

Linlin seemed to be relieved. “Ok, I’m good.”

“Well then,” the captain carried on. “If there are no other questions, I’ll get back to navigating the ship. Thank you.” She bowed and exited the dining hall.

Silence fell over the room for a moment after the captain left. Everyone must’ve been anticipating our arrival to H!P Island. I was feeling a little anxious myself. This was going to be a whole new experience for me, since the only island I ever been on was Japan. I wondered what it was like to be on a tropical island, like the islands of Hawaii. I had seen a few pictures of the islands; white sand, palm trees, exotic flowers, sparkling ocean waves, and clear blue skies. I always wanted to know if the sky really was as perfect as it appeared in the pictures….


Linlin suddenly began to clear her throat loudly as if she had something important to announce. We all stopped and looked at her curiously, wondering what was getting ready to come out of her mouth. She stood up and started to speak. “Well, since we’re all here, I think this would be a good time to try to get to know each other. Introduce ourselves, you know?”

Risa scoffed at the suggestion. “Are you serious? What is this? Kindergarten?”

Linlin frowned at Risa’s remark. “Well, hey, if I’m going to be on this island for three days, I’d like to have the comfort of knowing that I’m not surrounded by a bunch of deranged, cold-blooded killers.”

Risa waved her hand about. “Look around! Do you see anyone that looks like they’d be capable of killing someone? I doubt anyone here has even killed a cockroach.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” Reina got up from her seat and began introducing herself. “My name is Tanaka Reina and I’m from Fukuoka Prefecture. I’m 21 years old, and I work as a defense attorney. I graduated from Waseda Law School at 18, becoming the youngest graduate, and I’ve been practicing law ever since.” She bowed and then sat back down.


Linlin smiled. “Thank you, Tanaka-san! Well, I guess I’ll go next.” She cleared her throat once more before continuing. “I’m Qian Lin, also known as “Linlin” by most people. I’m 20 years old, and I moved to Tokyo from Hangzhou, China when I was 18 to become a musician. I go around doing small gigs here and there, singing and playing the guitar for a living. I get enough to get by, but when I do need extra cash, I turn to other things… such as gambling.” I caught Linlin stealing a glance at Risa as she said this, and the saleswoman’s face frowned up instantly.
“So! Who’s next?”


I looked across the room to see Reina nudging her roommate. “All right, I’ll go!” the black-haired woman finally gave in as she took the floor. “My name is Michishige Sayumi, and I’m 21 years old. I was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and I’m currently studying to become a nurse.” She bowed and sat back down.

“Well, I suppose I can go next,” Takahashi sighed. “Although everyone should already know who I am.” She rose to her feet and proudly boasted, “Takahashi Ai, from Fukui Prefecture, and my age is my business. My father is CEO of the wealthy Takahashi Corporation, which I’m sure we’re all familiar with. I myself, decided not to follow him into business, but to pursue my career as a famous actress.”

“Famous?” Aika sneered. “I ain’t seen you in any movies. Guess you’re still pursuing then….”

Ai gave the adolescent a cold stare. “For your information, I’m a stage actress. An uncultured child, such as you, probably has never seen a play.” She sat back in her seat and folded her arms. “Why don’t you introduce yourself? Tell us how great your life is.”

“All right, but I’m not getting up.” Aika turned in her seat to face the rest of us. “Mitsui Aika, 18, born and raised in Otsu, Shiga. I don’t have a job, I’m not in school, and I been living on my own since I was 14. Around that time, I met some nice people who accepted me into their group; a youth congregation, you could call it.”

“A gang, in modern terms,” Ai interrupted.

Aika glanced at the older woman. “You could call it that too.” She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Risa gave a hearty laugh. “Great! A delinquent. Everyone check their pockets…”

“Shut it, ass,” Aika snapped before turning back around in her seat. Risa hushed, but an amused grin could still be seen on her face.


“Jun!” Linlin exclaimed, nearly giving me a heart attack. “Why don’t you go next?”

“Uh, all right then….” I said as I slowly rose to my feet. “My name’s Li Chun, I’m 23 years old, and I’m also from China. I moved to Tokyo about four years ago to improve my Japanese and to study art. I’m hoping I can one day become a well-known artist, and earn a living from it.” I bowed and sat back down.

“Um…I guess it’s my turn,” Eri mumbled shyly. “My name is Kamei Eri. I’m 22 years old, and I lived in Tokyo all my life. I’m studying at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology to become a marine biologist.”

“Very nice!” Linlin praised while clapping her hands. There was a long pause of silence as everyone’s eyes shifted to the only person that didn’t introduce herself. Risa noticed all eyes were on her and became annoyed. “What? If you’re waiting on me, don’t hold your breath.”

“Whatever, we don’t need an intro from you,” Aika said rolling her eyes. “We know enough. Your name is Niigaki Risa. Judging by the rest of our ages, you’re probably in your early twenties. You earn low wages as a mediocre salesperson, you have a smoking problem and a gambling addiction, and you’re a jerk to everyone except Takahashi-san just because you want to screw her.”

Risa’s face turned bright red. She shot up from her seat. “HEY!” She yelled out, pointing a finger at Aika. “I’m a damn good salesperson, you little smartass! And don’t you forget it!”

Aika was completely unfazed. “I was still dead-on with everything else.”

Risa growled and continued glaring at the back of Aika’s head, even as she sat down. An awkward silence then took over after the rude, yet sadly true “introduction”. Even Linlin had nothing to say to that. She just kept quiet and continued eating her meal like everyone else. I took a quick glance at Aika, who was finishing up her lunch as if nothing happened. I thought to myself, “She’s definitely a yankii.”


I shook my head and took a couple sips of cold water. Thank God we’re about to get off this ship.