Chapter 7 - Taking a Step Part 01

I slowly opened my eyes as I stirred awake from my slumber. The sound of raindrops rapidly hitting the window were accompanied by a loud boom of thunder, telling me that the storm hadn't calmed a single bit from yesterday. Sora was sleeping soundly next to me, with both of her arms wrapped around my torso and a leg draped over my waist. Sora… you're so clingy. But I don't mind it at all. I thought and smiled to myself as I gently stroked my sister's cheek, and a small smile formed on her face as well.

"Are you awake, Sora?" I asked quietly, but received no reply from her. I'll take that as a no, then.

I carefully lifted her arm and freed myself from her embrace, causing Sora to stir in her sleep a little, though she didn't quite wake up. I stood up from the bed and moved the curtain a little to peek outside, and was greeted by a flash of lightning, illuminating the otherwise dark cityscape. The boom was heard a few seconds later as I was about to leave the room, giving one last glance towards Sora before closing the door behind me. Maria and Martti are nowhere to be seen… They must have already left for their respective schools. I glanced at the clock in the kitchen. About twenty past ten… I think Maria said yesterday that she get from school at around 2 pm, so we've got some time with just the two of us. I'll also have to call Hideki at some point, too. I stretched and sat down at the dinner table, noticing a little piece of paper on the table. Picking it up, I realized it was a message written in English left by Maria.

"Good morning, Haruka and Sora! Martti and I woke up and noticed you two were still sleeping, and we didn't want to wake you two up. The two of us should be back around 3 pm, give or take a little, after we're done with some shopping. If you two want to go and have a little soak outside, there's a spare key on the desk in my room, and there's some food in the fridge if you get peckish. In case Hideki does show up today, I've already told him my address, so you guys can let him in. I think that's about everything, so I'll see you later today!"

- Maria

I placed the message back onto the table and gazed out of the window. This storm isn't giving up any time soon, huh? I doubt Hideki will be able to get here today.

"Haru." Sora's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned around to see her standing by the door. "You left me alone in the bed." She continued and pouted.

"Sorry. You looked like you were sleeping so peacefully, so I didn't want to wake you." I replied to her with a smile and moved the chair next to me, gesturing her to sit on it.

"I woke up the moment you left me, Haru. I've slept together with you for so long, I can't sleep without you any more." Sora said matter-of-factly and walked over to sit next to me. "Where are Maria and her little brother?" Sora then asked me.

"Already left for school." I replied and gestured towards the message she left us. Sora picked it up and skimmed through it quickly. "It'll take a while before they get back here. I was thinking of calling Hideki soon to see if he can make it here today, and talk with him about our plans, since we can't just impose on Maria for too long."

"So… We're here alone for multiple hours, then?" Sora placed a hand on my thigh and gently caressed it. I'm not even surprised that's the first thing she suggests… I placed my own hand on top of hers and stopped the motions.

"There's just no helping you, is there? I don't think we should do it while we're here. We don't want to make a mess of things."

"Then we'll just have to be careful. Come on, Haru. I know you want it." Sora freed her hand from my grasp and brought it up to my hair, gently raking through it.

"Well… you may be correct, but… We have to think rationally. Even if we've got the chance to do it here, I don't think we should. I feel like it would be… disrespectful towards Maria." Sora sighed and pulled her hand away, then rested her head on the table.

"Whatever."

"I'll make it up for you, I promise." I said and gently patted her on the head.

"I'm getting some Déjà-vu vibes here… But fine. We won't have sex while we're here, but I still want affection and attention from you, Haru." Sora lifted her head up as a flash of light could be seen outside the window.

"Of course, Sora." I leaned in and captured my sister's lips with my own. Both of us closed our eyes as we enjoyed the intimate kiss we shared, all the while the storm raged outside, bringing a loud boom into our ears. After a few seconds, we separated and I could briefly see a look of disappointment on Sora's face.

"I'll be wanting a lot more where that came from, Haru." Sora said to me and smirked. "But for now, I'm hungry." She then said and looked towards the fridge on the other side of the room.

"Well, let's see what Maria left us and I'll see if I can make us something."

I got up and made my way to the fridge. As I opened it, I knew why exactly Maria had to go shopping today, as the fridge was quite empty. A carton of milk, a bottle of juice, a couple of microwave meals, some vegetables and what I presumed were various cooking ingredients were pretty much everything I could see. What caught my eye however were two plates covered with aluminium foil. Could these be what Maria meant? I took one of the plates and placed on the counter next to the fridge. Lifting up the aluminium foil revealed a pile on pancakes underneath. This must be what they had for breakfast. I took out the other plate and peeked under the aluminium foil on that one as well. Looks like some meatballs and mashed potatoes… She must have either prepared this on in advance, or then it's leftovers. Either way, it might make for a good lunch if we get hungry again before Maria and Martti get back. I put the plate back into the fridge and brought the pancakes to the table where Sora was waiting.

"Maria left us these for breakfast. I could also see if there's some toast, if you don't want to eat pancakes." I said as I placed the plate down and removed the aluminium foil.

"Pancakes are fine, as long as there's something to go along with it." Sora said to me.

"Alright, I'll see if there's some jam somewhere."

I took two smaller plates from the cabinet and placed a pancake on one them, then put it into the microwave to heat it up. I found some strawberry jam in another cabinet, and left it on the table while we waited for our pancakes. Soon enough, we were enjoying the pancakes Maria had made for us. We ate together in silence, the only sounds coming from our cutlery and the storm outside. Hmm… This might be a good time to inquire about her plans regarding Maria and Martti… Yeah, this'll be as good a time as any.

"Sora." My sister lifted her gaze to meet mine. "What… did you tell Martti yesterday? Or rather, what are you planning regarding the two of them?" I decided to just straight up ask her about it. Sora looked down at her plate for a moment before answering.

"What do you think I'm planning?" Sora asked me and took a piece of pancake into her mouth.

"Well… Seems like you're trying to 'hook them up', so to speak, to get them into a relationship like we have." I said and scratched my cheek.

"There you have it then." Sora finished her pancake and held out her plate. "Another one."

"Right." I sighed and took Sora's plate, and putting another pancake on it to warm up. "I still want to know what you said to Martti, though." I said as I sat down after putting the plate in the microwave.

"I asked him what he feels towards his sister, then had a little talk with him about how he should act upon his feelings." Sora said and began to play with her fork. "I told him I'd talk to Maria today as well, and that he should 'make his move' afterwards."

"You've really thought this out, huh? But… are you… sure about this? I mean… we don't want anyone interfering in our affairs, and I'd say it works both ways..."

"Yes, I am sure. Martti is totally in love with his sister, that is certain. I don't know precisely what Maria feels, but I've told her to think about her feelings before, and I want to talk about it again with her today. I'm positive though that she does feel something towards her brother, and with a little push, I'm sure it'll work out."

"What if it doesn't? It'll cause things to become awkward between them, and it might result in problems for us as well. And even if it does work out… Their father didn't seem like the kind of person who would just accept something like that." The microwave made a 'ding' sound and I stood up to give Sora her pancake.

"That's their problem. You said yourself that we wouldn't stay here for long." Sora took the plate from me and let out a small sigh. "...I just want to help them with this. There's a possibility for them to find happiness like we have, and while I'm here, I might as well help them." She said quietly and bit into the pancake. I was left a little speechless by her. Sora… You're caring enough for other people to help them? You've really changed, huh. Although…

"Sora… Could you perhaps be doing this because… You think Maria might be… interested in me?" Sora stopped chewing and stared at me for a few seconds.

"No." She replied after swallowing. "Initially, I did have that suspicion about that, but not any more. And even if she is going for you, I'll just have to make my position clear as your lover." She then aggressively stabbed the pancake with her fork to drive her point home.

"Let's… hope it doesn't come to that." I let out a small sigh and turned my gaze outside and watched the storm outside for a few moments. Sora can be stubborn… I guess I'll just see where this whole thing goes. "Alright, I won't stop you then. I think I'll see about calling Hideki now and discuss the situation, okay?" I said as I stood up and walked over to Sora.

Sora nodded and resumed her meal, cutting up a piece of pancake to shove into her mouth. I smiled and ruffled my sister's hair a little before making my way back to our room, glancing at the clock on the way. Nearly 11… Hideki should be at work at the moment, unless he's closed up shop for today. He would probably inform us if he's coming this way, but he hasn't called us. After returning to our room, I picked up my phone from the table and unlocked it. No new messages. I guess I'll just have to call him then. I quickly found Hideki's number from the contact list and dialled it.

"Ah! Haruka-kun! Ohio!" Hideki's cheerful voice greeted me as he picked up the call.

"Ohio, Hideki. Are you at work right now?" I walked over to the window and gazed out into the storm. I had been captivated by storms ever since I was little, so I couldn't help but be entranced by it. Even if it did cause some huge problems for us.

"Yes, I am. The storm has cleared up a bit over here, but it's still very rainy. I might be able to drive over there tonight, if that's what you're asking."

"Well, to put it simply, yes. We're still at Maria's place at the moment, and she should be returning at around 3 pm today. If you do come pick us up, I'll assume that we'll be spending the rest of our vacation at your place, then?"

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that, Haruka-kun. You see, there's a friend of mine that I've mentioned you two to, and he seemed to be very excited about meeting you." Hideki paused, waiting for my response.

"What… did you tell him about us?" I doubt Hideki would reveal the relationship Sora and I have, but… The way he put that seems odd.

"Nothing too much. Just that I'm currently offering two teenaged Japanese siblings a place to stay. He does also know your names, of course."

"What does he want with us, then?"

"Well, first of all, he's very interested in Japanese culture and customs, similar to Maria. Secondly, he works in the tourism business, and he wants to work with Japanese tourists in order to improve the experience Japanese tourists have when travelling here." Hideki explained to me.

"So… you're saying he wants to work with us, then? What do we get out of it?"

"I asked him the same question, and while he couldn't make any promises, helping him would likely include staying at a hotel and going on tours. In other words, you would get a place to stay other than my house."

"That sounds… pretty good. What about payment? I doubt we'd be doing this for free."

"That's the best part! You'd be paying him by helping him. As I said, he is looking to work with tourists to improve the experience they have when travelling here. You would probably have to talk over the details with him, but that much should be guaranteed. And if it isn't, I can pay for a hotel room for you two while you help him out."

"Hmmm… Alright, I'll ask Sora what she thinks, and we'll decide on what to do. Could you tell me a little more about him, while we're at it?"

"Certainly! He's a Finnish man who goes by the name of Harri. He's quite bilingual, being fluent in English, Swedish and German, and he also knows some Japanese and Spanish. He lives primarily in Rovaniemi, a city to the north of Oulu, and that's where he operates." Rovaniemi… I've seen the name on maps, that's for sure. It's a popular place for Japanese tourists to visit. "I think he's already got a few Japanese tourists that have agreed to help him, but since I told him you two were close friends of mine, he wanted to meet you two personally. I'll call him today on my lunch break and inform him about your current predicament, so if you could have your answer by tonight, I could pick you two up tomorrow and send you off to him. If you two want to, that is."

"Yeah, I'll give you a call later today, probably after Maria and her little brother have returned. Talk to you then, and possibly see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, take care, you two!"

Another flash of light could be seen outside as I ended the call with Hideki, followed by a boom of thunder shortly afterwards. I placed the phone back onto the desk in the room, and immediately afterwards, the room was engulfed by darkness. Huh? That's odd. Did Sora turn off the lights? After my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I turned towards the door and reached for the light switch. As I pressed it, however, nothing happened. That's… not good.

"Sora? Are you there?" As another flash of light illuminated the room, I picked up my phone again to act as a light source.

"Haru!" Sora's voice came from the kitchen, and I made my way over there with the help of the small light coming from my phone.

"It seems the storm cut out the power. Did anything happen when the lights suddenly went out? Are you hurt?" I asked and took my sister into my embrace.

"I'm fine. I had just put the remaining pancakes back into the fridge and was sitting down when it happened. How about you? Are you okay?" Sora asked and looked into my eyes in the darkness, or faces illuminated by my phone.

"Yeah. I just finished talking with Hideki when the lights went out. I'll admit, at first I thought you might have turned off the lights in order to take me in the dark, but flicking the light switch disproved that."

"Hmm… It would be much harder for you to resist in the dark..." I felt Sora's hand creeping up my torso, and she closed the distance between our faces.

"Sora..." Was all I managed to say before her lips crashed onto mine. I saw Sora's closed eyes for a brief moment when lightning struck outside, illuminating the room. We stayed like this for a few seconds, until Sora broke the kiss.

"Haru..." Sora squeezed my shoulder, but then let go. "...I'm really having to hold myself back right now, you know? I really want to just… do you right here and now, but… You did promise to make it up to me for not having sex while we're here… and I'm looking forward to that." Sora reluctantly separated herself from me, but stayed close, as it was very dark. "What did Hideki say to you? Is he coming over today?" She then asked, as if nothing had just happened.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I needed to talk to you about that." In the little amount of light provided by my phone, I saw Sora raise an eyebrow. "You see, Hideki had a proposal for us. He has a Finnish friend called Harri, who is looking for Japanese tourists that are willing to cooperate with him. Hideki told him about us, and he wants our help."

"Go on." Sora slowly made her way to the dinner table and sat down. I followed suit and sat down next to her, keeping hold of my phone so we could have at least a little bit of light.

"Apparently, he wants to make the experience that tourists get here better, and for that, he needs the help of the tourists themselves. By helping him, we should be able to get a hotel room, the payment being us helping him. Some Japanese tourists are already cooperating with him." I explained to Sora what Hideki told me.

"Hmmm… Alright, a private hotel room sounds nice. But, is Hideki coming here today?"

"He said he'll probably be able to come here tomorrow, and depending on what we want to do, he'll either take us to Harri, or back to his place. What do you say?"

"As long as we get some alone time I'm okay with it. Either way, I'll by done with Maria and Martti by tonight. Do you know what hotel we would be staying at?"

"No, but it will be in Rovaniemi, a city to the north of Oulu. From what I know, it's a popular place for tourists, especially during winter." As I was saying this, my phone suddenly began vibrating in my hand. I looked at the screen to see a message from an unknown number.

"What is it?" Sora asked and leaned towards me, taking a peek at my phone.

"It's a message from an unknown number." I said and opened up the message.

"Hello, Maria here! Hideki gave me your phone number, Haruka, in case something happened. Has the storm cut out the electricity there as well? Over here, the whole school is dark! The teachers said something about lightning striking a weak point in the power grid, so half the city is without electricity until it's fixed. Since that could take hours, the rest of the school day has been cancelled for today. I'm on my way to Martti's school now to see if they'll let him go, too, so we'll be back quite soon!"

"Oh, it's Maria." I said after reading her message. "She says she got my number from Hideki, and that because the storm has cut out the electricity, they'll be coming back earlier."

"Oh? Well, that's good, I guess. Gives me more time to execute my plans." Sora said, and in the faint light, I could see a grin on her face.

"For their sake, I hope things work out. I wouldn't want for their relationship to turn for the worse, since they're already so close." I happened to notice that the battery on my phone was getting low. Hmmm… I could ask if she's any candles or a flashlight anywhere. I began to type a response to Maria.

"It'll be fine. I'm positive that it will work out, and if it doesn't, I'm sure that they'll be fine anyway. What are you typing?" Sora leaned closer to me again.

"I'm asking her if she's got any candles here, or a flashlight, so we don't have to stumble around in the darkness. My phone will run out of battery soon as well."

I finished typing my message, and it only took a minute or two for me to get a reply, saying that there was a flashlight in the desk in her room. I left Sora in the kitchen as I made my way to Maria's room. I couldn't see well in the dark, but her room seemed quite normal. A bed by the window with a nightstand next to it, a bookcase on the right side of the room and her desk on the opposite side, with a computer on it, along with various other things, such as notebooks and pencils. I walked over to the desk and began opening the drawers to find the flashlight. After rummaging through nearly all of them, I noticed that the last drawer, the one on the bottom left, was locked, but the key was still in the lock. It's probably locked for a reason, but… I couldn't find the flashlight in any of the other drawers… I turned the key in the lock and opened the drawer, revealing the flashlight inside.

I put my phone in my pocket and turned the flaslight on, which was a significant upgrade from the weak light of the phone. As I was about to close the drawer, something inside of it caught my eye.

It was a photo with two people on it, a boy and a girl. They were sitting down on what looked like a rock, with the boy sitting in the older girl's lap with the girl's arms wrapped around his waist. Both of them had big smiles on their faces. The photo must have been quite a few years old, but I could easily recognize Maria and Martti as the girl and the boy in it. I picked up the photo and turned it around, seeing something written in Finnish on the other side, along with a date. The date is probably when the photo was taken, but… I wonder what 'Rakas pikkuveljeni' means? The symbol next to the writing is obviously a heart. Wait, what am I doing? I'm invading her privacy! I placed the photo back in the drawer and closed it before heading back to Sora, but not before briefly noticing something else in the drawer as well.

That wasn't the only photo in it, and the brief glimpse I got told me that all of them were pictures of Martti.

**************

(A/N: Rakas pikkuveljeni = My dear little brother)