I Want it All (Lorielle)

Daiki walked through the Riverside Carnival holding onto a small blue bear in his left hand. His younger sister’s arms were wrapped around his neck and shoulders as she rode around on his back. She was resting her head on top of his, telling him about her week, “--then Akiko told me that she scratched her knee after falling off her bike. I’m a little afraid of bikes now. Her knee looked really, really bad.” She suddenly stopped and pointed ahead of them, “I want to ride the Ferris wheel.” Daiki laughed at her simple request, “Okay. We’ll ride the Ferris wheel.” She tapped on his shoulder with her hand, “I want to play another game.” He turned his head and gave her a puzzled look, “Do you not like the teddy bear you won?” She shook her head, “I like him, but I want Brother to win another so he has a friend, and I want ice-cream.” He pushed her higher onto his back as she started slipping, “Didn’t Father say you couldn’t have any sweets until you bring that math grade up? Where is it at now?” She glanced away, “I’m not doing well.” He was almost to the Ferris wheel now, “That means no sweets then.” She pushed out her bottom lip and widened her eyes, “Pwease, Daiki.” He sighed slightly at his sister’s behavior. She acted younger than she was, and it was so adorable that he had to give in, “Okay. I’ll get you ice-cream before we go home.” Her train of thought changed again, “We have to win the animal first.” He walked off to the side and put her down, “Make up your mind. We have to leave in thirty minutes so we get home on time. Choose what you want to do.” She stomped her foot on the ground, “Why can’t we stay longer? I want to do more.” She turned around and continued to pout, “It’s not fair.” He kneeled down to her level and held out the bear to her, moving it as if it were speaking, and changed his voice, “We can’t stay, Kaede. Mommy and Daddy are expecting us to be home at a certain time. If we stayed longer, they would get upset. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” She lowered her head and turned back to him, “No.” He reached out his hand and pet her head, “Good girl. So, what should we do?” She pointed back to the Ferris wheel, “We can go on that.” With that said, she ran off ahead of him. He stood up as fast as he could and ran after her, but she was a very fast child, “Kaede, don’t go off on your own.” He yelled after her.

Lorielle found herself in need of a bit of fun time. With the drags at school, she had become stagnant to it all. Kind of odd considering how stagnant she seems to act to herself. The thought made her chuckle slightly walking in. The DJ job was fun, but does not have the social aspect of it all; preferring to stay anonymous to the crowd, save for the manager, and some of the employees, and whoever tries to meet her after her shows. She would try to enjoy the lights and the fun that was encompassed around the innocence of the carnival. She giggled lightly, shaking her hands a bit at the child-like excitement she had practically running in after making a modest payment for a ticket. She would not get on many rides, despite her need to go out and be fun. It would be much more satisfying to walk around it, possibly meet new people. So be it. That was going to be her intention once she walked in.

She would not have much trouble finding someone to talk to, or rather, them finding her. She would be walking on the side of the ferris wheel, only to be practically run into by a tiny girl, just managing to sidestep gracefully out of the way. She would then hear a man running after her, shouting at her to come back. Maybe it would be a good idea to help him? She did not know particularly what to do; the little girl seemed so excited. She would dodge the man as well, running after them trying to chase the girl down. She would not really say much, just try to grab at the girl to maybe prevent her from doing something dangerous. It was a sudden act of kindness, and she did not know why she did it, but she was glad she did.

Daiki chased after the little girl, noticing that a woman had now joined him. What kind of brother was he to let this happen? Eventually he stopped when he realized the most powerful weapon on his side, “You won’t get any ice-cream if you don’t come back.” Those words were enough to make her come to a grinding halt, “But you promised.” She used the power of pouting once again. Daiki looked away from her gaze so he wouldn’t give into her, “Ice-cream is for good girls.” He pointed at the girl who had chased after Kaede, “Like her. She was trying to help us.” Depending on where and if she had stopped, Kaede would go over to her and speak, “Are you a friend of Daiki’s? My name is Kaede. I’m his big sister.” She would them go over to her brother and insist on being picked up, which he would gladly do, “See. I’m bigger than him.” It was true. When he held her, she was slightly taller, “Daiki, say thank you to the nice lady.” He shook his head at her manor of speech, “I’m appalled at the way you’re acting. Remember, be a good girl and introduce yourself properly.” He set her down again, and she would drag him closer to the new woman. She tossed back her hair, pulled up the hem of her dress and curtsied for the woman, “Hello. My name is Kaede Tanaka and I am seven years old. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The way she spoke was suddenly much more formal. He kneeled down to her level again and pat her on the head, “That’s a good girl. Now you can have ice-cream.” He stood up straight and nodded to the new girl, “I am Daiki Tanaka, age 18. Kaede here is my sister. Thank you for your assistance.” It wasn’t like him to act this way, but in front of his little sister, it was a normal occurrence. He didn’t want her picking up bad habits after all.

Lorielle would stop almost abruptly, landing on her feet just enough to where she would not topple over when the man threatened to take the girl’s ice cream. The greatest weakness of young children. She would smile at the innocence of it all when it eventually worked. The girl would walk over to him, and say hi, which made her smile widely. “Hey there Kaede! You’re very big,” she would say to Kaede. She was a sweetheart. Children sometimes always got through to her heart easily. She would giggle a bit when she told the older boy to thank her. “Hello Kaede. I’m Lorielle Rutherford,” she said holding her hand out for her tiny hand to shake, shaking it if she took it. “You talk like you are an adult already. Are you preparing?” she would ask. She would look upon the man as he introduced himself as Daiki Tanaka. “Lorielle. Nice to meet you,” she said smiling. She would take another look around the area, looking at the nice lights and slight injection of eager he suddenly felt. “I am 17 actually. In any matter, were you guys about to head for the ferris wheel? Room for one more?” she would ask smiling. She was hyping up to get on, and could only get better with someone new.

Kaede would look at Lorielle’s hand as she held it out. She had never shaken anyone’s hand before, as she was taught to never touch someone when they met. She would just stare at the extended appendage and wonder what to do. Daiki would laugh, bend down behind her, genteelly grab her hand, and place it in Lorielle’s, “This is a modern western greeting, Kaede. It’s to show someone you don’t mean to harm them.” The little girl’s eyes went wide at the new knowledge. She hated learning, but knowing stuff, she liked. Then, she was asked a question, “No. That’s just how Daddy told me to talk around strangers. Something about appearances.” Daiki picked her up again to quiet her down. He then looked as the woman, “Our father believes it first impressions. It’s actually the first thing he taught us. However, little Kaede here isn’t old enough to break his weird rules about greeting just yet.” Then, she asked to join them on the Ferris wheel. Daiki smiled, “I have no objections. Just be warned, that ride is intense and terrifying.” It was obvious that her was making a joke. Even Kaede laughed at the absurdity of it.

“Yup. I come from England Kaede. I haven’t been there in so long,” she said smiling. It really was a long time since she had been to England. Most of her life she was in Japan, due to a job her family had gotten. She did not regret the change, in fact, she welcomed it. But she still retained some of her mannerisms, such as her accent. She would kneel down to her smiling. “Don’t worry. We can be friends if you’d like,” she would say in her noticeable English accent. She would look up at Daiki, talking of first impressions, and the mold this girl has yet to break. She would stand up smiling to him. “Ah give her time. She is bound to follow her brother. She seems to be doing just fine in that regard already,” she said, being sarcastic considering how that was clearly what Kaede did not do. Hopefully, he would catch the joke.

Lorielle would smile at Daiki, not particularly laughing at his joke. Unless he was being serious; he certainly looked as though he was. “Don’t worry. Kaede, you will protect Daiki if he gets scared right?” she would ask. Before waiting for his reaction, she would speed off to the ferris wheel leaving Daiki and Kaede to follow. She had no idea why she was so eager. She felt like a child. Maybe Kaede brought it out in her; bringing out some old lost innocence she used to have.

When she would approach the ferris wheel, she would wait for the two, waving for them to join. Once they would make it, she would look upon the lights as the ride slowed down to a stop. The caretaker would let them on, and she would sit in the ride built for four, and wait for them to hop in before it would start. “Cmon cmon!” she would call.

“So, you aren’t Japanese?” Kaede’s head tilted to the side in confusion, “No, she’s from the big lump on the map with all the little shapes.” She seemed to understand this description. She whispered into Daiki’s ear, and he nodded. She then cheered, “We can be friends. I have a friend from across the world. Akiko will be jealous.” Daiki pet her head, and responded to Lorielle, “You bet she will. He looked at Lorielle, “She’ll have to take after me and not Hideki or Naoki though. Right?” The question was obviously meant for the child. He had only mentioned it so Kaede would know which brother to take after. She puffed up her cheeks and began pouting, “I don’t want to be like those two.”

When Lorielle treated her like she was braver than Daiki, her eyes lit up and her smile got large, “I will protect Daiki when we get to the top. He has nothing to fear while Kaede is there.” Daiki didn’t say anything as the woman ran ahead of them. Instead he told his sister to hang on and ran after her. He wasn’t as fast as her, not by a bit, but he didn’t care. Little Kaede seemed to be having fun, which meant he was doing his job as her older brother. He only slowed down when he reached the Ferris wheel. He set the girl inside and climbed in after her. With each of them inside, the safety door would close and the ride would start.

Kaede stared out the window in excitement, “I want to go there someday.” She pointed to a river that was still frozen over. Daiki nodded at her, “Okay. I will take you. Maybe when it’s running though.” She shook her head, [color=#6633ff] “I want to go now.” He shrugged his shoulders, “Okay. Maybe next weekend, but not today.” She obviously didn’t like the deal, but she was okay with it. She sat down and looked at Lorielle, “Do you see somewhere you want to go? Since we’re friends, I’ll make Daiki take us.” His gaze quickly switch to her, “Hey! Don’t abuse your poor brother like that.”

Lorielle would let them talk, as she did not understand, but they clearly did. It was nice to see her ability to make the girl smile. She was certainly a fun little thing. She only got even cuter when she began to pout. "Oh, don't you worry. You may end up like me!" she had joked before her running off.

Once the ride would begin, Lorielle would lay back, completely relaxed, lowering her head to the side to look out at the view of the park. The town could even be caught in view as well. For a modest town, it surely had it's views at the right moments, as most views did while riding a ferris wheel. "Such a nice place. How come I have never seen you around? You look like you go to Kizuna Academy," she said, striking up a conversation. In truth, she had no idea if that was truly where he went, but it would be a god way to speak to him before she ran out of things to say.

Looking back at Kaede, who had asked if she had a place she would like to see, Lorielle would give a moment of pause. "I dunno," she said looking out side as the ferris wheel was halfway up, moving slowly. "I have seen much of this city. I like to explore alot. How about you Kaede? Anywhere you or Daiki want to see besides the river?" she would ask.

Daiki was actually surprised when Lorielle mentioned the Academy, “I am a student there actually. Year three, class A.” He stared at his sister as she went back to looking out the window, “May I assume you go there too?” He may have seemed rude by not looking at her, but he was more concerned about Kaede, “Press any harder on that window and you’ll fall right through it.” With those words, the girl backed away, “That’s not true. Is it?” He nodded at her, and she moved over to Lorielle’s side, clinging to her “Daiki is scaring me.”

He laughed at his sister, “I thought you were going to protect me.” He looked Lorielle in the eyes, “Didn’t she say that?” Regardless of the answer, he would attempt to cross his legs as well as he could, “Personally, there is somewhere I want to go, but it doesn’t exist just yet.” He was speaking more softly than usual, “And Kaede should hope to see her college after four years of attendance.” She began to kick her legs back and forth, “I don’t want to go to college.” She leaned against Lorielle. It had been getting more and more obvious over time, but it finally hit that she was halfway asleep.

Lorielle had called it. Daiki went to school with her. It was a wonder why she never noticed him. Then again, there were plenty of people at the school, she easily could have. Not to mention he was also a third year, unlike her who was still in her second year. She lifted her head and looked at him. “Yeah I do. I’ll have to see you sometime,” she mentioned. She would turn to Kaede when he warned her about falling through the window. That could have been a bit of a mean thing to say, but nonetheless, it made Kaede run to her and grab onto her. The girl had the grappling strength of wire. Lorielle would grin and place a hand on her head, rubbing it for a bit. “She has the right idea,” she said to Daiki. She would then look down at kaede. “Don’t worry. I am sure he just wants to keep you safe,” she said. He seemed quite protective of his sister, not that she could blame him. However, she could not relate, being an only child herself. Kaede was so adorable, in all her innocence, and did nothing but make Lorielle smile when she spoke.

She would look at Daiki when he asked her to recall what Kaede had said a bit ago. She smiled, clearly recognizing that Daiki wanted her help to turn the battle between the siblings in his favor. “Yes she did. You can do it Kaede, you’re strong,” she said. Daiki had slowly lowered his voice in answering her question. “What do you mean? New building under construction perhaps?” she said, taking a stab at what he meant by “not in existence yet”. Lorielle did not mean to, but she had stuck her tongue out when he mentioned college. What an awful word to mention around the lazy girl. Kaede seemed to agree when she expressed her disdain, then leaned on her. Lorielle would run her fingers through her hair softly, letting her quiet down a bit. “Someone’s tired,” she said aloud. She looked outside and noticed the ferris wheel had gone another revolution, and was already on its third. And it looked like it had been slowing down, which in itself, must have been a cheap ferris wheel ride to only go around three to four times. “How lame, the ride is almost over,” she said with a slight frown. She would turn to Daiki and think for a second. The man was certainly nice enough. He held responsibility and carried it out well. She admired that kind of man.

Maybe Lorielle understood his position as an older brother when she mentioned that all he was trying to do was protect Kaede. It brought a smile to his face, “I’m your big brother. All I want is to see you safe. Okay?”  The girl falling asleep nodded her head slowly, and let out a mumble. Her next few words after that were inaudible as she fell even deeper into sleep. He then looked at Lorielle and laughed, “Maybe it is a building. Maybe it’s new world. Maybe it’s anything in the universe. I just know that it doesn’t exist yet.”  It was a very roundabout way of saying that there was nowhere in particular he wanted to go at this point in his life. Daiki reached over and grabbed his little sister, setting her down in his lap. She was now completely out of it, “I guess we’ll just have to meet again someday.”  The ride was now coming to an end. It stopped at the bottom and the doors were opened. Daiki would wait for Lorielle to get off first, then follow after her, “So sorry, but we need to get home. May we see each other again.” With those words, he took off; little Kaede in his arms.

{EXIT}