And Then, They Fell in Love

The light shining in her eyes was the first thing Sara noticed upon waking. She grumbled, pulling a pillow over her eyes from the offending light. Next to her, she swore she felt something move. Without thinking, Sara rolled over, and immediately remembered the fact she did not pull out her bed last night.

However, what her body landed on what not the floor. Floors didn’t groan.

Sara scrambled off a very disgruntled Ichijouji Osamu, who was grumbling to himself in Japanese. He blindly reached for his glasses (something Sara was grateful she didn’t break), and slipped them on before glaring at her. “Good morning to you, too.” He muttered.

“I’m so sorry!” Sara blubbered quietly, throwing her hands over her mouth. “I had no idea that you were on the floor.” She stopped and though over this last sentence, gazing at him curiously. “Why were you on the floor?”

“I fell asleep last night after the movie ended.” Osamu explained. The two had popped in Star Wars after their talk, and Osamu was pleasantly surprised to find Sara was as much an avid Star Wars fan as he. They made it through half of “The Empire Strikes Back” before both fell asleep. “I was sleeping quite pleasantly until something heavy fell on me.”

She sent him a glare. “I’m not that heavy,” she protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Tell that to my broken ribs.”

Grabbing a pillow from the couch, Sara promptly whapped Osamu in the chest with it, trying not to laugh at the “Ommf!” he let out. Not to be outdone, Osamu grabbed the other, and a pillow fight assembled in the middle of the Ichijouji living room. It wasn’t until Ken walked in the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and was smacked in the face with a stray pillow, that it ended. Ken blinked, and shook his head, staring at his brother and Sara with wide eyes.

“Don’t ask.” Osamu said, breathlessly. He pushed a stray piece of hair from his eyes, and grinned at his younger brother.

Ken didn’t. He simply rolled his eyes and headed back toward his room.

Osamu regained his composure first, his breath even again. “How long does it take you in the bathroom?”

“As in, getting ready for the day?” Osamu nodded at her question. “Um . . . Around thirty minutes, but usually less. Enough time to take a shower and throw on what little make-up I actually wear.” Sara shrugged. “I don’t take an hour, if that’s what you mean.”

“Good. If we want to see all of Odaiba today, we need to get an early start. The earlier we get there, the later we can stay.” His logic didn’t match with Sara’s, but she figured he knew what he was talking about. “If you have good stamina, we can walk across the Rainbow Bridge, and then hit up the shops. I probably won’t put you on the Ferris Wheel until after dark. That way, you can see Tokyo lit up. We might be a large city, but we do have some beautiful sights.”

“I don’t doubt it.” As if she could doubt anything he said anymore.

Osamu nodded, standing from his position on the floor and stretching. “I’ll let you take a shower first, then I’ll get in after. By the time that you have your hair fixed and stuff, I will be ready to go.” With that he started toward his room, leaving Sara alone in the living room.

She took her time in the shower. After the previous night’s activities, and her ‘date’ this morning, Sara felt stressed beyond belief. It was a good stress, though - one that made her excited about the days events. Clearly, Osamu had been planning this for a while, because he seemed to know every little thing they were doing. It made her wonder how long, exactly.

She sighed, shutting off the hot water and grabbing a towel from the rack. The bathroom made her feel uncomfortable. It was a tick Sara had always had - using someone else’s bathroom. To her, her bathroom was private, and something she didn’t enjoy other people being in. She held the same respect for others, and usually exited as quickly as she could.

A knock on the door startled her. “Sara? Are you okay?” It was Osamu.

Realizing she had gone far beyond the time she told him, she rushed to get her clothing on. “Yea, sorry. The hot water felt good.”

A chuckle came through the door. “I hope you left some for me.”

With a rush of steam, Sara opened the door and grinned at the stunned teen. “Of course.”

“Good Lord,” Osamu coughed. “I think I’m entering the sauna.”

Sara shot him a glare and went to fix her hair, ignoring the laugh that followed her to his room.

Thirty minutes later, Sara stood at the end of Rainbow Bridge, looking at the other side with wide eyes. “We’re walking this? Osamu, this has to be at least twenty miles long.”

Osamu shook his head. “Actually, it isn’t even a mile. Hardly even half a mile.” At Sara’s still skeptical look, he sighed. “If you don’t want to walk this, we can take the transit.”

“No, no. This sounds fun. How many times can I say “I walked across Rainbow Bridge”?”

He grinned. “You would be surprised.” Osamu started the walk, and turned to her suddenly. “Do you watch anime?”

“A bit, why?”

“Have you seen, or ever heard of the anime Digimon?”

Sara grinned and almost grimaced at the same time. That particular anime had been an obsession with hers at age eleven through fourteen. How ironic for Osamu to bring it up. “I used to love it,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Good. Do you remember the hometown all of the Chosen Children lived in? The television station Yamato and Takeru’s father worked for? The huge Ferris wheel you saw at least a few times during the series.”

“Of course.”

Osamu grinned. “Sara Adams,” he announced, leading them out of the walkway and waving his hand in front of him “Welcome to Odaiba.”

Now that Osamu had mentioned Digimon, everything started to come back to her. It was as if she had stepped from her living room and straight into the television show. What she had assumed to be an imaginary place, as most animes were located, was actually a life, functioning city.

Kara would be so jealous. That is if she could get her sister to believe her.

They visited the Fuji TV station first. Osamu had contacts, it seemed, all over the place, and they were invited for a private tour of the large sphere. It provided a great view of Tokyo and Odaiba. She snapped a few photos and promised herself she would e-mail them to Kara that evening.

To her surprise, Osamu also drug her shopping. He was recognized, of course, and several times they had to stop to sign autographs, take pictures, and chat with the little kids. As he had in the Wal-Mart, Osamu’s face lit up with a light that told Sara this was his passion. For Osamu, the kids were what made all the fame worth it.

“Why do you do that? She asked as they broke free from a school group, who was still giggling behind them. “You won’t give adults and other teenagers the time of day, but yet you’ll spend ours with five year olds.”

“Kids are innocent.” Osamu answered quietly. “They haven’t seen the ugly part of life yet. Kids would give their right arm to meet someone famous, and it makes a big difference if that famous person acts like they care. I guess I want them to look back in twenty years, remember meeting me, and say “I remember Ichijouji Osamu - he was really nice.” He sighed, and shrugged as if he had not other words. “All I want is to be remembered.”

He said nothing else on the subject, and Sara didn’t press it. It wasn’t any of her business, despite her curiosity. “Where are we headed now?”

Osamu hadn’t moved from his position in front of a store. “What do you think of that outfit?” He pointed at the mannequin in the window, which was sporting dark blue jeans with red embroidery, and what looked to be a fleece hoodie. All in all, it was a cute outfit. The price tag, however, made Sara’s heart stop.

“I can’t afford this.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Who said you are paying for it?”

“Osamu!” she protested. “Together they would cost almost one hundred American dollars!”

“Your point?”

Once again, Sara was reminded of the difference in their money situation. While Sara would have a hard time spending thirty dollars on clothing at Wal-Mart, Osamu had no problem with paying any amount of money for clothing. Money was money to him - something he had always had, and always would. He paid for the clothing before Sara could stop him, and ushered her into a bathroom to put them on. Osamu smiled as she emerged, took her other clothes from her, and stuffed them into a bag.

“Off we go,” he said cheerfully, ignoring the amazed look Sara was giving him. She chuckled, and he looked at her curiously. “What?”

“You.” Sara smiled.

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re . . . I don’t know. Amazing.” She shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain it. Totally different that the face you put on for the world.”

Osamu looked suspicious. “You talked with Kouji.” He accused.

“Maybe. But I can’t deny what I see with my own two eyes,” Sara agreed. “You’re much more fun this way. Stay. Please?”

He was quiet for a moment, before he stopped a bench and sat down. “I have had a public image since I was four. Before I entered my first year in school, my parents and others began to notice I was different. I learned things extremely fast. I learned my entire ABC’s in three days, could count to one-hundred by the end of the week. . My brain just functions different. I’m like a computer. You tell me something once, and it stores forever.

“The press soon got wind of me. I had my first interview with a morning show at seven, and promptly rattled off any math equation they gave me. I started as a wonder child, and was certified as a child genius at the age of eleven. Now at seventeen, I’m a heart-throb, a sex symbol, and a million other things I don’t want to be. I hate the fame. I know I have stated that before, but I honestly do. I never got the chance to live a normal childhood. My father has always pushed me to be what he wants me to be - he hates it if I act ‘normal’. He says I’m above that.” Osamu snorted in disgust. “Sometimes I wish I could have a normal, everyday life without all the press. For once, I wish I could have a relationship and not have it plastered all over the tabloids the next morning.”

It had to have been the most words Sara had heard from Osamu. He had literally just spilled his soul to her, and she could do nothing but blink. Slowly, she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “I wish I could help.”

He met her gaze, those violet eyes boring into her own. “You have helped more than you realize.” Osamu placed a hand on the back of his neck, scratching momentarily before speaking. “It’s starting to get dark. Do you want to ride the wheel now?”

Sara glanced toward the giant wheel to her left, her face taking on the shape of concern. “Um . . .”

“Problems?”

She shook her head. “No. Not at all. Um, sure. I’ll ride it.”

The closer the came to the Ferris Wheel, the bigger it got. Sara tried to push back her huge fear of heights, telling herself it was some silly Ferris Wheel. She had ridden these things as a child and nothing had happened. Still, none of the ones at Frontier City or Six Flags happened to be this tall.

“How tall is this?” she whispered to Osamu as they stood in line for tickets.

“115m tall. It’s around 377 feet tall.” Sara’s look apparently became more panicked, because he chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll hold your hand.”

He did. Osamu paid for their tickets and held her hand as they boarded. Sara kept her eyes shut as the wheel began to move backward, shuddering at each stop.

“Sara,” Osamu prodded, squeezing her hand. “Open your eyes. You’re missing the lights.”

“Are we on the ground yet?” She peeked an eye open, and realzed they were at the peak of the wheel. Odaiba seemed a lot smaller from up here. Sara swallowed. “Oh Lord, we’re high.”

The city was beautiful at night. The busy streets of Tokyo and the small island of Odaiba lit up, looking like one giant Christmas tree Beneath her, the wheel lit up and blinked as well. Sara slowly pulled her camera from her purse and quickly snapped some pictures.

“This is beautiful,” she whispered. The wheel started to move again, and this time, it didn’t stop. She grabbed Osamu’s hand in terror, and squeezed her eyes shut again, mad at herself for being so scared of heights. She managed to convince herself the wheel was not going to come off it’s hinges and roll away.

“You really are afraid, aren’t you?”

This time as she opened her eyes, she found Osamu’s staring back at her. Sara nodded, swallowing nervously. Was it her imagination, or was Osamu moving closer?

This had to be a dream.

Before she could move, blink, or even think, Osamu leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

The whole world ceased to exist in those few moments as Osamu kissed her. He was gentle, and almost shy - as if were something he wasn’t sure of. It didn’t matter to Sara - she had no clue what she was doing.

It was a short kiss - small, sweet, and everything first kisses should be. The Ferris Wheel finally made it’s stop for the last time, and they exited the small car. Neither of them talked, instead, Sara let Osamu grab her left hand again and lead her through the streets.

“Are you tired?”

Sara’s yawn answered for both of them, and she was suddenly aware of how weary she was. Osamu chuckled and led her to the transit.

As they entered one of the cars, Osamu turned to her, an amused look on his face. “If I had known kiss you would shut you up, I would have done that sooner.”

Sara managed to glare at him. Hard.