by Lara Yokoshima

Chapter One - A New Beginning

Eiji’s descent began to accelerate as he continued to plummet towards the dark sea of hopelessness and despair. His hands frantically reached for the small point of light that was twinkling overhead amidst the massive blanket of darkness, but it did nothing to slow his fall.

“Help!” he cried out desperately, “Someone, please! Help me!”

The light was growing dimmer as he continued to fall, and Eiji could only scream as the darkness began to consume him. Seeing that his efforts had become futile, he closed his eyes to prepare for whatever awaited him in the sea of despair.

But suddenly the young man felt himself being lifted and carried away from the darkness. Through half closed, heavy eyelids, Eiji could see the small glimmer of the distant light becoming larger and brighter as he was carried towards it.

He could feel his strength returning and his fear vanishing as the stranger carried him into the warmth of the light. Wishing to know the identity of his savior, Eiji looked up to see his rescuer’s face. His eyelids were quickly forced shut again however, as an intense, blinding light seared his eyes when he tried to gaze upon the stranger’s face.

Eiji slowly opened his eyes and the familiar image of his bedroom quickly came into focus. He sat up, and looked around his room with disgust. His bed covers had been thrown onto the floor in his sleep and he noticed that one of his pillows had somehow found its way onto the floor at the other side of the room.

“That dream again!” he thought as he looked over the mess in his room, “Am I to have this dream every night and never learn the identity of the stranger that saves me from falling into the black abyss?”

Eiji finally began to make his way out of bed and onto his feet. He immediately began setting his bedroom back in order so that there was no evidence of his nightmare left behind for his brother to discover. The last thing he wanted was to burden Kamuro with his problems, as the teenager would no doubt worry, and dwell on the matter just as he had done the first time Eiji mentioned the strange dream. His eyes then moved to the small alarm clock beside his bed. “Five after eight,” Eiji mumbled, “I suppose I should get ready for work.”

Once he finished tidying up his bedroom, Eiji made his way down the small hallway to the bathroom. He stared tiredly at his reflection in the mirror for a moment before he began brushing his teeth. Eiji could hear his younger brother moving about in the kitchen and could smell the faint aroma of steamed rice. He is up early today…

“Good morning,” Kamuro pleasantly greeted his older brother as he entered the kitchen. “Hey,” Kamuro said with a sudden look of concern, “what happened to your face?”

“Nothing,” Eiji immediately replied in a somewhat irritated voice. He moved his hand to cover the red mark on his cheek, preferring not to discuss the unfortunate outcome of his date from the previous night. “What is for breakfast?”

Kamuro set a plate of food in front of his brother at the table. “Steamed rice,” the teenager announced proudly, “and fried tofu.”

Eiji sampled a small portion of the food on his plate and nodded his head in approval. “Perhaps you should fix breakfast every morning” he said with a grin. He wondered what had motivated his brother to wake up so early and cook for him.

“I take it that your date ended in a bit of a disaster.” Kamuro pressed his brother for details, hoping that Eiji would at least give him some information about his night.

Persistent, Eiji thought, as always. “I told her that we were not right for each-other,” the young man finally conceded, “and she did not like that very much.”

“You must be going for some kind of record,” Kamuro chuckled, “are you trying to see how many women you can get to slap you in the face?”

Eiji rolled his eyes, not finding his brother’s observations very humorous. He decided that it was time to change the subject. “So, what is with the breakfast? What is the occasion?”

Kamuro’s smile widened. He quickly stood up and began fumbling through the contents of a nearby drawer. After a few moments he brought a small, neatly wrapped box to the table and handed it to his older brother. “Happy birthday!” the teen said with a wide smile.

The paper covering the small package is quickly peeled away by Eiji’s hands and a small, plain looking cardboard box is soon revealed. Eiji looked the small box over curiously before opening it, attempting to guess what its contents might be. Inside, at the bottom the small box, was a small piece of paper with two golden wings printed on it.

“This coupon,” Eiji said as he read the print on the small slip of paper, “entitles you to one month of free membership at the Winged Dojo.” He set the small coupon on the table in front of him and turned his head to look at his brother. “Kamuro, where did you get this?”

“I could not find the right gift for you,” his brother answered a bit hesitantly, “so a friend of mine gave it to me. I told him about you, and once I mentioned that you liked Karate movies he said that he had just the thing for you.” Kamuro looked up at Eiji with a sad face, fearing that his older brother did not appreciate the gift. “I am sorry,” he said, his eyes threatening to spill tears, “I could give it back and get you another present tomorrow.”

Eiji felt his heart sink at the suggestion; his brother had interpreted his question as a sign of disappointment. Not only were they brothers, but for as long Eiji could remember he was the closest thing to a parent that Kamuro had. He devoted what little money he had earned to support his brother and would continue to do so without a second thought.

“No,” Eiji finally said while rising from his chair, “it is more than enough.” He grabbed the younger man by the shoulders and gently pulled him closer. Kamuro hugged his brother back, and buried his face in the folds of Eiji’s white shirt as he began to sob.

I will do everything in my power, Eiji thought as he held his teen brother, to make sure that your life is better than my own.