Chapter One: The Summer it All Ended:

I met Kaoru while I was on vacation with my friends. It was my birthday then. My friends decided to take me out to Okinawa for the weekend. This was quite the surprise to be honest with you. The whole plan went like this:

Back then, I worked at my family’s art dealership. I am to become the sole heir later this year. That day was one of last good days that I would ever have. My morning started out great. I woke up to a text message from my mother. “Happy 20th, Setsuna!” it read. I couldn’t help but to smile. “Thanks mom,” I thought. I got and went through my daily routine to get ready for school and work. They went all out for breakfast for me this morning. I got my favorite dishes today. The chef made me Pork Shogayaki for breakfast this morning. You can imagine my shock when I saw that on the table with steamed rice and ginger tea waiting on the table for me. I had to blink to see if I was dreaming.

“No,” a familiar voice said. “This is all real.” I looked up and saw my mother walking into the kitchen. I really became happy now. My mother smiled at me as she stood next to the chef.

“Happy birthday, Setsuna-chan!” she greeted me.

“Thanks mama, Honda-san!” I replied. We all bowed together. I sat down at the table to eat my breakfast. My mom smiled at me still.

“I’ve got a better present for you,” she spoke up. I looked up at her a little bit.

“Hm?” I asked with food in my mouth. Mother sat down at the table with me. A pearly white smile came onto her face.

“How would you like to inherit the whole dealership?” she asked calmly. I nearly choked on some pork after hearing that. I forced myself to chew faster so that I could talk.

“Really?” I said after I swallowed. Mother gave me a little nod.

“Well,” she said. “More into October, to be fair.” It didn’t matter to me when.

“Wow,” I silently mouthed. That was sure one Hell of a birthday present! A late one, but it was one hell of one! My mother kept her smile.

“Now finish up,” she said. “You’ve got a busy day ahead of you to see your present!” I nodded quickly and began eating again. I was to inherit the whole dealership? Was I dreaming? Could this day get any better? Apparently, it could!

So far, my day started out normal enough. I got to drive to school and work today. (Mother and I share a car. She uses it while I walk or ride the subway to school.) Mother decided to let me drive today. Freedom nearly choked me to death with high bliss. I almost couldn’t even back out of the driveway. My mother had to help me calm down before she left.

“Now, now, Setsuna,” she told me calmly. “This is only for the day. Don’t let it go to your head.” I nodded with that warning as I came back to earth.

“Right,” I said. “I do apologize.” Mother gave me a kind little smile.

“I understand,” she told me. We bowed and I started up the car. Mother waved at me as I slowly pulled away. And with that, I was off. School went on rather nicely today. This is my last semester at Todai. I get to graduate in a few days. Yes, I am counting down every single day. Lucky for me, I’m at the top of my classes. Always have been, always will. Usually, I am bored at school. I’ve got my main credits out of the way already. I have left are my electives. They are so easy that I have to fight not going to sleep during class. Today wasn’t that bad though. I was counting down to touring the important parts of the Hirata Art Dealership. Yet, my day took a nice little twist from there.

Since I only have morning classes this semester, lunch and the rest of the day is free for me all week. I just planned to take it easy for the rest of the day and have dinner with my family. That’s when my life slowly began to spiral downwards.

I walked over to car to leave the campus for the day. I pulled out my key to unlock my door. Then suddenly, someone snuck up behind me and grabbed me wildly. I became scared as I felt a heavy pressure covering my mouth. I tried to fight off my attacker, but they quickly overpowered me. I ended up being dragged into a big black van and pushed inside. The door shut behind us and drove away. I looked around frantically. Five people were in the van with me. They all had on Bill Clinton masks and dressed in black.

“What you do want from me?!?” I screamed. “Why are you doing?!? My family has tons of money. Just don’t hurt me and let me go!” My captors didn’t speak at first. I waited in deep fear for my life.

“We know!” the driver said. “We don’t want your family’s money.” I looked on confused.

“Then, what do you want?” I asked. My captors laughed at me. They all ripped off their masks. I recognized them right away.

“Suki? And Aki? And Chika? Hikari? Kiku?” I asked. “What are you guys doing here? What’s going on?”

“Happy birthday!” my friends said in unison.

“Had you going, huh?” Kiku asked as she drove the van. “We’re kidnapping you to Okinawa for the weekend!” It took a moment for it all to sink in. I slowly began to get it all.

“B-But what about my family?” I asked quickly.

“Already taken care of!” Chika said next to me.

“We called your parents before class let out and told them our plans for the weekend,” Suki added in the front passenger’s seat. “They even helped us pack up your things for the trip and load up while you were in class.”

“Including the kidnapping part?” I asked.

“No!” Aki said quickly. “We left that part out!” I breathed easily. Kiku took a small glance at me and turned back to the road.

“Relax, you silly Birthday Girl!” she assured me. “You’re in good hands with us! You just enjoy the weekend and let us spoil you rotten! You need to get away from your family and work for a small break before graduation anyway. Just consider this a birthday and graduation present wrapped into one with a big red bow.” I looked at her, the rest of my friends, and my boyfriend.

“You promise, guys?” I asked, slightly unsure.

“Yeah!” they all said. I sat back and slowly began to smile. “Well okay,” I said. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“That a girl!” Aki said. “This will be the best weekend of your life!” He held my hand as he spoke those words to me. I couldn’t help but to smile as Kiku drove us all the way to the airport. He always manages to make things sound so much better in the end. Eh, may this trip won’t be so bad after all.