I forgot how loud it always was on this island. The boat finally came to halt, docking near a pretty popular beach. As I looked outside the window, I could see the sands filled with people and the waters near the shore being splashed about lively. The captain stood up, his hands moving in exaggerated gestures to let us know we could get off. I followed along in a file, dragging my suitcase behind me. When my feet touched land, an overwhelming sense of joy washed over me. I hated the ocean, and my stomach hated it just as much. I hunched over, taking in deep breaths to ensure I didn't end up getting even more sick now that I was finally stable. Seagulls flew overhead squawking loudly as they peered over the beach goers, I assume to find potential victims for their theft. As I stood on the wooden docks, a man bumped into me as he rushed out of the boat, knocking my hair down. I began to re-tie it as I looked with raised eyebrows at him. He bounced off of me, tumbling, being composed of slim sticks for limbs that his tight suit looked loose around. He snarled at me as he adjusted his glasses.

"Watch it!" He looked me up and down.

I shrugged confused as to how the collision was my fault. My mood was sour as well. I hadn't returned to my home island just for vacation. I was there for a funeral. "Oh shut up."

"What did you say to me?"

"I said shut it." I sighed and closed my eyes, not wanting to escalate it further. I began to continue off, picking up my phone to call a lift. The man began to yell out something, but I ignored it, standing on the sidewalk. It was a busy morning. I watched as cars zoomed passed apartments, and others walked with calls to their ears, moving very erratically as they spoke. Seemed everyone was having a lovely start to their day.

The memories began to hit me harder than I would have thought. I glanced at the beach again, it was never that busy. At Least not this one. When I was a kid, I used to sit with them all at the dockside beach, we'd talk nonsense for hours till the sun set. I began to chuckle at myself remembering how close we all were. Joseph, Sebastian, Akari, Hana… I had to grit my teeth as I thought of her, biting back tears. I didn't understand it. How had she been killed? Hana? When we were kids, she was always so kind to everyone. Especially me. Up until high school, when I left to become a detective, I had dated her for a few years. I grew up with her and her younger sister, Akari. Their family had taken me in when I was small, losing my own to murder. I began to feel a knot in my stomach, one tied by self regret. I had left at the end of high school, deciding that was my life moving forward. I didn't take her or anyone else's opinions into regard. I left on bad terms, with everyone. Especially her. We had a huge fight, and in hindsight I was just being an ass. Trying to distance myself from everyone to lessen the burden. Now…five years down the line, I'm doing what I always wanted to…but the case I'm secretly working on is that of my own ex-girlfriend who I left for this stupid shit in the first place.

I had to do it in secret. The whole reason I left is because the police here don;t like interference. Nonsensical considering it would ease case work on all sides. Idiots. I stood in casual attire. A fitted, dark blue shirt, matching cargos and a pair of white sneakers. I looked down at them as I took in more breaths, trying to steady my accelerating pulse. My mind raced back to when I got the call. It was Akari who called me. She was the only one I had been in contact with over the past year. Her voice was shaky, I knew something was off. As I greeted I didn't get anything in return, only muffled huffing, and finally-

"It's Hana…she's…she's dead."

I hated everything that day, wondering what the hell happened to someone like her. Was it a robbery gone wrong? Was it targeted? What the hell was it? I had to find out. I had to.

As the lift arrived, I stepped in with even more anxiety.

How the hell do I face everyone after all these years? 

The lift pulled up to the location. I took my luggage out the lift, staring at the small complex. It held two floors, five rooms on each. Akari said her room was number ten. I began to make my way up the stairs. They were old metal, with that ancient pattern of the rice shaped texture. Each step was steady and unnerving as the rust underfoot gave way to small clouds of iron. The top corridor was made of old tiling.

"Room number 6," I said, reading aloud the placements. I continued along till the end. I had realized her own room was the last, but continued to point at the numbers out of sheer dramatic boredom. When I finally stood at the door, its dark, wooden front made me swallow hard. How many years had it been? How is she going to react to seeing me? What should I say to her? What am I even doing here? I clenched my fists, wishing I had booked a room somewhere instead. The egregious pricing on last minute notice did not seem so bad compared to the awkward encounters I had cooked up in my head. As I paced back and forth, trying to muster up the courage to knock, the doorknob turned. Its janky sound made me stand up straight and feign calmness. The door began to slowly creep open, suddenly jerked by the chain lock. I could notice a pair of pale hands gripping the outside of the wood, before a gasp sounded. The door quickly shut, the sound of chains falling soon came after. It swung wide open. Akari stood with her hands behind her back, staring at me with a faint smile. Her dark hair was a mess, spilling over her shoulders and down her back. Her doe eyes were framed by haphazard bangs, and her eyebrows were raised. She stood in a grey shirt and workout shorts, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Akari…"

"Ellis! It really is you." She stepped out the door, beginning to poke and prod me. "I must be dreaming." I let out a snicker. "Look how tall you've gotten. I used to be way taller than you. I feel sad now. Come in, come in." Her hands shot to her sides as she looked back in the apartment. It was a cluttered mess. "Ahh…Sorry about the mess….I was supposed to clean before you got here. I got…busy."

I dragged my suitcase inside. I wasn't one to complain about kindness extended to me. "Don;t worry, I can help out after everything if you want."

"Really!" She beamed. "Sweet as ever, I guess you really are Ellis. Even if you look like you live off protein shakes and hair oils." She looked up at my hair.

I snorted. "Leave my hair alone. It looks quite fabulous if I do say so myself."

"Seems you've gotten fruity."

"Don't even…"

She began to laugh, moving past the messy living room to a hall. She pointed to the left side. "Your rooms over there. It's at least tidied up, so you won't need to do much there."

I smiled. "Thanks, I really appreciate it." I stopped before passing her. We just stood there in this awkward silence. The only sound filling the room was the ticking of her clock. I began to contemplate my next words, unsure whether to keep acting like nothing had changed. I couldn't just pretend everything was normal. "I'm sorry Akari. Maybe if I was here-"

"Shut up!" Her voice broke. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Don't you dare say it….don't say it. Please." she began to tremble, her hands tightening into fists. "What's done is done. Nothing can change that, Ellis."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I just…" I felt my own voice beginning to quiver. I knew she was feeling it worse than me. How couldn't she? That was her own sister. I can't be the one crying like I lost my only sibling. I had to hold on. At Least until I was alone. Before I could open my mouth to speak, she began to whimper. "Akari?"

"Mi…Mi…I…I'm just glad you're here now. That's all that matters." she squeezed her hands a bit tighter, before she head butter my chest. She broke away after a moment, her hair hiding her face. The tremors continued. "I'm not going to get ready. You should too. The procession starts soon."

I nodded, going blank. "Yeah, you're right."

She began to walk off. She sniffed, clearing her voice. "Chop chop then."

I watched as she walked off to her own room. Slamming the door shut. The silence that followed reminded me that everything wasn't normal. Someone close to us had died, and ignoring that would be childish.

I lugged the suitcase to my assigned room. Deciding to unpack with what extra time I had. I hoped she would take longer than me to change so I could settle all my things in. I threw the suitcase onto my bed, unzipping it and opening it up. At the bottom sat all my clothes, a laptop, and my notebook. Strapped to the top, were my guns. A pistol and a mac 10, both with more than a couple extra rounds. I had grown quite paranoid during my career. Coming across gangs, psychopaths, and just all around sick, demented people. I would rather be over prepared. Then under. I placed the sub-machine gun under my bed, and kept the pistol laying on the sheets. I changed into a suit in quick fashion. I moved to the mirror, staring at my own disheveled appearance. I had grown bags under my eyes, and my hair had been tied a mess, half of it falling out of the bun. I couldn't care enough to fix it. I began to button up my shirt, stopping at the final button. The second time I'm ever wearing something nice, and it's for something so crappy. I put a tie on. I could never do the loops correctly and it always ended up looking like I choked it out when I finally did. No matter how many times I redid it, I could never get it right. I stepped out, the heels of my formal shoes clinking on the wooden flooring. I had strapped the pistol to my waist, under the blazer. As I waited on the old couch for Akari to finish up, I took in how messy the place actually was. Fast food containers were strewn across the table, and clothes were scattered all around. She really is having it rough. I sighed as I thought about it. The anguish that filled her ever since the incident happened. Yet, the amount of mess was over the top for a simple two days. Maybe she began to stress eat, or throw things around in anger. When we had video called, the few times when she wanted to show off the place, it was always tidied up. It was strange to see her and the place in such an unruly condition.

She finally stepped out of her room, wearing a long, black dress. She smiled at me as she came into the lounge, shaking her head. "You still don't know how to make a tie, do you?"

I shrugged.

"Some things never change," she walked over to me, bending down and grabbing the tie.

"Hey, it looks-"

She frowned. "It does not look fine! Hana wouldn't be happy if I let you tie that thing like some sailors knot."

I began to laugh. Her older sister always had the habit of fixing up my clothes if I ever got messy or lazy. She was right. Hana would be fuming from above. "Fine." I turned away as she redid it, just from the way it sat on my collar I could feel the improvement in quality.

"There, now we can go."

I stood up as she beckoned me to the door. We began to walk, it wasn't too far from her place. As we did walk, the mist cleared a decent bit, replaced by the unrelenting heat from the sun. It seemed like the business from earlier had calmed down. The townsfolk sat, lounging on their patios or leaning out their windows with a lit cigarette. Akari began to ask me questions about city life, how work was, how I had been, the walk was filled with random catching up. I had realized then how little I actually stayed in contact with them all. Whether I had just grown distant, or felt guilty about how I left, I wasn't sure. The procession was within eye distance.

"You know, you've lost your accent, you sound just like those city boys." She jabbed.

I felt a bit shy at the remark, like I was a different person. "I don't."

She tilted her head to the side. "If that's what you believe."

We split up once we arrived at the hall. The women stood to the left, the men to the right. It was a fairly big hall. Mahogany flooring and walls, with mosaics patterned around it. Everyone was dressed in black clothing. Hana's coffin sat on a slightly raised stage. When I saw it, I began to feel my throat tighten.