Finding Nana (Zana/Zane~Chan)

Nineteen

TWO MONTHS AFTER RECEIVING LUCINDA'S LETTER

ZANE

I was behind the curtain, adjusting a light so that it was a little dimmer. We had been rehearsing for this play for the past eight weeks, and tonight was the night we were going to perform it. It was sort of a musical you could say, with a singing part that would be performed by Katelyn. 

This whole ordeal was written by one of the he'd doctors who had a passion for writing, and Aphmau helped her generate a few more ideas, sort of adding nice touches that would contribute to it in a way that would make us feel more comfortable about putting this on.

The stage was in an auditorium, kids on benches, wheelchairs, some with an IV line, while others had a cast of some sort. There was even one kid I saw who had a prosthetic leg that I saw while peeking from behind the curtains. 

"You ready baby brother?" Garroth came up to me from behind, smiling at me.

"Sure. Your costume good?" I adjusted the feathers he had plastered all over himself. "You bet!" he replied, grinning. "The ladies will swoon for me in the crowd!"

"Garroth, you do realize they're all kids, right?" my eyes narrowed at him.

"Really? Oh, then I guess I'll swoon them afterwards!" he laughed, and I rolled my eyes. Pulling a lever, I opened the curtains fully as the lights dimmed. Dante stood in the centre of the stage, reciting the lines he had been practicing.

I didn't pay attention to the performance, since I had seen the whole thing rehearsed several times. I just focused on lighting and giving Kim signals, who was sitting at the back, adjusting the lights and their colours, as well as audio. Lucinda was using her magic for special effects, the kids gasping in awe whenever she did so. I cracked a small smirk under my mask as the curtain call took place at the very end. 

We all gathered backstage, talking to the doctor who had written the play.

"Thank you all so much for helping me make this idea reality." she grinned at us. "That Meif'wa girl who recommended you all sure picked well. Speaking about that girl, she told me to give you this letter once the play was over." she rummaged in her coat pocket, pulling out a white envelope.

"Is one of you here named Travis?" she raised an eyebrow, scanning us.

"Oh! That would be me." Travis walked up to her, taking the letter. "Thank you so much for this." he added.

"No. Thank you again for helping the hospital make this a success. It's nice to see a smile on their faces. I'm sure that they'll talk about the play for weeks to come." the doctor grinned, and we waved our goodbyes to her as we left the auditorium. 

***

"Want me to read it out while we're still walking?" Travis asked us, walking next to Katelyn while peering at the letter.

"Sure." Aphmau replied. "The faster we know the better!"

"Okay." he took a deep breath, pulling away the flap, pulling out a lined sheet of paper. Clearing his throat, he began to read from it.

"You know,

I really didn't appreciate you and Dante scaring me with that cucumber. While it may have been fun and games, I still didn't think it was necessary. Oh, and when you tried to shove a slice of bread onto my face, that wasn't cool either.

For this task, bake a loaf of bread and go to the address listed on the other piece of paper in the envelope. It's the address for a soup kitchen for the elderly and homeless, and they serve hot meals for those in need.

Volunteer there for one night, and the director there will give you the next letter.

Kawaii~Chan."

"Your letter was pretty short." I remarked.

"Tell me about it, and it was for science by the way!" Dante added. 

"Yea, okay. I didn't appreciate it though when Na-Kawaii~Chan ran up to me, panicked because two people decided to come up behind her and suffocate her with a slice of bread." I shot back. "I almost killed you both." my voice darkened, much lower than before.

"Yea let's not talk about that." Travis answered. He then pulled out the paper that had the address on it.

"We'll go to this place tomorrow." Aaron suggested. "If you're all free."

"Sounds like a plan." Laurence nodded.

"Alright. Then it's settled." I agreed. We all carpooled home, and I couldn't help but sigh that I had almost said Nana instead of Kawaii~Chan for the second time. I missed her a lot, especially with her not contacting me.

I decided to go to bed early, when I heard Garroth calling me. His voice seemed panicked, and I was confused. I walked over to where the TV was, and the room was dark, the only light coming from the blaring screen.

"What is it Garroth?" I asked him, rubbing my eyes.

"Isn't Kawaii~Chan from Japan?" he asked me.

"Uhh, yea." I answered him. "Why do you ask-"

I stopped dead in my tracks when I looked up at the screen, headlines lining the bottom of it, while a news reporter spoke swiftly, recalling the events that had appeared.

"Why would Japanese news by here?" my brother looked up to me.

"Because it's serious you idiot." I peered at him plucking a feather out of his hair. "There was a shooting."

While I tried to remain cold, I couldn't help but worry. While of course I had no idea if Nana was involved by any sort, I still couldn't help but worry for her.

***

HOURS EARLIER

NANA

The sun was beginning to set, and I was grilling fish with one of my younger sisters Azumi, giggling to myself as she told me jokes. Mother wasn't around to scold us, so we took this opportunity to loosen up a little and joke around. I had bandaged my hands once again, applying aloe vera to my hands to help my roughened skin. I of course, didn't want blisters again, but feeling the palms of my hands felt so different from how they were two months ago.

"So how's the garden?" she suddenly asked me out of the blue. My eyes widened as I blinked, looking at her.

"Oh! It's great! Grandfather isn't angry as always now. He's been stern, but hospitable."

"That's odd. From what we've all seen, Grandfather has a heart of stone. No one hasn't been able to break through and please him."

I mean, no one hasn't been able to carry on the legacy of the Nakamura family's abilities until he encountered me.

"It is kind of odd, but when you work in the same garden, and be persistent in hard work for two months straight, you could say that you've earned respect by then." I cracked a small smile, knowing all I could do was lie.

"we should probably get this fish back to the shelter for the rest of the fa- ow! Since when were fires so loud all of a sudden?"

I stood up, immediately recognizing the sound.

"Azumi, that wasn't the fire."

I knew that sound too well after Starlight.

"They're gunshots."

***

For those confused a little on the array of events, I'm assuming MyStreet is in America based off of hints throughout the series, and so Japan is 2 hours ahead of EST (eastern Standard Time), which is the timezone I live in. Just some timeline info as well as clearing confusion for everyone who may be thrown off by anything.